M.P.Kierkegaard’s Curse on God and Søren Kierkegaard’s Concept ‘Sin’

-An Interpritation from Northern Ideal Historical point of View-

By Satoshi NAKAZATO

 Introduction

It is famous story that when M.P. Kierkegaard was 12 years old boy, he went up a hillock near by Sædding Church and cursed on God hard there. S.Kierkegaard’s thoughts were strongly influenced by his father M.P.Kierkegaard. It is also very known story, that he educated S.Kierkegaard to be sacrifice to God and S.Kierkegaard accepted it. A main point of my presentation is as follows;

1. The curse has backgrounds not only of Christianity, but also local mythologies and folklores around Sædding.

2.  It is possible that S.Kierkegaard’s concept ‘Sin’ comes from not only Christianity but also Nordic mythologies and folklores. His thoughts have the double standard probably. 

3.  His concept ‘enkete / single individual ’, ‘angst / anxiety’ ‘inter-esse / interest’ are good examples of the double standard.

                          I. Northern Ideal Historical Point of View

            The concept ‘Northern Europe’ is not equal to the word ‘Scandinavia’. The word ‘Scandinavia’ comes from Naturalis historia written by Gaius Plinius Secundus(AD23-AD79)[1]. According to Knut Helle, Plinius reconstructed the Latin word ‘Scandinavia’ from Germanic word ‘Skaþin-aujō’ or ‘Skađin-aujō’. ‘Aujō’ means land on the water or island. ‘Skaþin’ and ‘Skađin’ are derived from the Germanic stem of Skađan, which means danger. Scandinavia means originally ‘the dangerous land on the water’ or ‘the dangerous island’. Originally Scandinavia would indicate Skåne and land further north[2].

            The concept ‘Northern Europe’ includes Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Ǻland, Føroyar and Greenland . Scandinavia would be included by the concept ‘Northern Europe’. It is said that ‘Northern Europe’ is the same with ‘Nordic / Norden / Pohjola / Norðurlönd’. But strictly speaking, it is not true. Because the word ‘Nordic’ should be nearly the same with ‘Scandinavia’ and has some distance from ‘Northern Europe’. Shortly speaking, ‘Northern Europe’ must include not only the Scandinavian Peninsula but also the Kola Peninsula and has important connection with Siberia and the Arctic Circle. Most people think that it sounds peculiar. But such people do not notice that their own world view is restrained by Western European outline. The Sámi folk have lived Norway, Sweden, Finland and Kola Peninsula for a long time. And modern Finnish people’s genetic background is the proto-Sámi. The religious custom of Sámi has haved shamanism with beating drum, dancing and worshipping the bear. Such a religious manner can be found very wide area around the Arctic Circle. The most Northern aboriginal small social folk groups have haved it. The Inuits and the Ainu folk also have haved it.

            The word ‘Nordic’ and the word ‘Northern’ are very similar to each other. But these two words are very different. The word ‘Nordic’ indicates ‘Scandinavian’ mostly, while the word ‘Northern’ indicates not only ‘Scandinavian’ but also some connections with Siberia and the Arctic Circle. It is very interesting that most people, living in the Arctic Circle and handing down shamanism orally, are Mongoloid physical anthropologically. ‘Mongoloid’ can be reworded to ‘Asian’.

                          II. Animism and Shamanism

            I have a hypothesis that the people, who came firstly to Scandinavian Peninsula and settled down there about 9000-8000BC, might have some religious customs, the forms of which should be animism and shamanism and very similar to Northern people’s in the Arctic Circle nowadays. I can not prove it. But I can give some examples of suggestion or the other points of similarity between the past people in Scandinavian Peninsula about 9000-8000 BC and the Northern people in the Arctic Circle nowadays. They are living environment of nature and life-style.

            The Finnish researcher of shamanism in Northern Europe including Siberia, Juha Pentíkäinen writes in his book Shamanism and Culture as follows;                “The word ‘shaman’ was introduced into western languages in the 17^th century from the diary by Protopop Avvakum. This persecuted leader of the Old Beliververs had the opportunity to observe, among the Tungusic Evenki peoples of Siberia, rituals led by their religious leaders, who were known by the special name of saman. Since Avvakum’s report, the phenomenon became known in the international literature as shamanism”[3].

            The diary by Protopop Avvakum is now translated into English, Archpriest Avvakum the Live written by Himself[4]. Avvakum has written about Shaman as follows;

            “But after this he soon wanted to torture me – hear what for. He was sending his son Eremej off into Mongolian territory to make war; the Cossacks with him numbered seventy-two men and tell natives twenty. And he made a native shamanize (Russian verb šamanit), that is, tell their fortune…

            Then he started galloping around and dancing and summoning devils, and after considerable shouting he slammed himself against the ground and foam ran out of his mouth… ”[5].

            The Russian verb šamanit is formed on the Russian noun šaman[6]. Šaman is shaman in English. And this is first on record about shaman. Nowadays we often imagine American Indian shaman and African shaman. But originally the concept ‘shaman’ is coming from the Northern people around the Arctic Circle area, Tungusic Evenki peoples of Siberia.

            Shamanism might be the limitation of Western European religious thoughts. It would be very difficult for them to go beyond it. But there is some shamanism’s background, that is, the animism. The animism is a kind of view, experience, a sense of unity and some sort of ecological philosophy for the natural environment. Shamanism can not be understood without animism as it’s background. But animism is generally supposed not to be treatet as object of the religious studies.

                                 III. Curse

            The main elements of the concept ‘curse’ dated back to 19^th century at Sædding Village should not be enough understood by the limited Christian dogmatic way of thinking. There are several materials, which tell us that ordinal people at those days in the countryside of Denmark had believed many superstitions and often mixed Christianity with Northern mythology[7]. It is neither unreasonable nor imprudent that we suppose some sort of animistic and shamanistic elements in the concept ‘curse’. Worldview or sense of values is can be called as the meaning system. When we consider the meaning system in diachronic aspect, it is composed of many layers. It looks a kind of strata map. Each layer is main value or meaning of each epoch through ideal history in specific area of specific social group. We do not nearly notice the deep layers daily, which belong to our collective unconsciousness. But they are active and not dead. Some deep layers are originated from the Old Stone Age possibly.

            The family story of curse came from the following article written by H.P.Barfod in Til Minde om Biskop Peter Christian Kierkegaard –født 6. Juli 1805, død 24. Februar 1888– og hans Jordefærd – 1. Marts 1888–.

            “I Februar Maaned 1865 sad jeg en Formiddag i Bispegaarden og læste i Søren Kierkegaards Dagbog for Februar 1846(“Journalen J.J.”). Jeg fandt da følgende Optegnelse, som Biskoppen ikke før havde set:

          “Det Forfærdelige med den Mand, der engang som lille Dreng, da han gik og vogtede Faar paa den jyske Hede, led meget ondt, sultede og var forkommen, paa en Høj stod op og forbandede det, da han var 82 Aar gl.”

            Da jeg viste Biskoppen dette Sted, brast han i Graad og sagde: “Det er min Faders Historie – og vor med”, og forftalte saa de nænnede jeg ikke den Gang at optage Broderens smertelige Udbrud i den Udgave af de “Efterladte Papirer”, jeg da var i Færd med i sin Begyndelse at forberede (det skulde haft sin Plads i 2.Del af “E.P.”, S.334, umiddelbart efter det den 7de Februar 1846 daterede Stykke[8]).[9]”

           Peter Christian Kierkegaard (1805-1885) told to the editor Barfod that this journal was the details of confession, which Michael Pedersen Kierkegaard (1756-1838) let Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) know that their family had be cursed and punished by God because when Michael had been 12 years old, he had not been able to bear poverty and cursed God many times upon big hill near his home. There are various theories about period when Michael confessed this issue to Søren. Barfod supposes that the article of Søren’s journal Pap. IIA805 (1838) would suggest his personal experience when he had heard father’s confession, and it should be between May 5^th and August 8^th 1838. I suppose that it should be May 5^th 1838.

            Pap. IIA805 (1838) is as follows:

            “Da var det, at den store Jordrystelse indtraf, den frygtelige Omvæltning, der pludeselig paanødte mig en ny ufeilbarlig Fortolkningslov af samtlige Phænomener. Da anede jeg, at min Faders høie Alder ikke var en guddomelig Velsignelse men snarere en Forbandelse; at vor Families udmærkede AandsEvner kun vare til for gjensidig at oprive hinanden; da følte jeg Dødens Stilhed tiltage om mig, naar jeg i min Fader saae en Ulykkelig, der skulde overleve os alle, et Gravkors paa alle sine egne Forhaabningers Grav. En Skyld maate hvile paa hele Familien, en Guds Straf maate være over den... ”.

            It is very clear that Søren believed strongly that he had been educated religiously from childhood by his father, for to clear the curse from his family and become sacrifice to God. And it is also very clear that he broke off his engagement with Regine Olsen(1822-1904) without consulting her and her father, because he understood of himself as sacrifice to God. It is certain that Michael’s view of curse gave Søren Kierkegaard’s thoughts great influence.

            I doubt very much that such view of curse is derived from the Christian dogmatic idea of sin. Jakob Peter Mynster(1775-1854) was a kind of home paster for Kierkegaard’s family and Michael was very fond of him. And Mynster’s sermons were always a sort of moral theology, which probably comes from Friedrich Ernst Daniel Schleiermacher (1768～1834). More or less such theologies were the mainstream in those days. It is very difficult to imagine that such theologies regard and stress upon the idea of sin of curse as important. When Michael was boy, Sædding Village was also an area of pietism. And after he moved to Copenhagen, he still contacted with a group of Herrnhuter. Several researchers assert that pietism would give strong influence upon Michael and let him impress the fear and punishment of curse gradually. But I don’t agree with it. Because there were also many other people including theologians and authors, who got influence from Christian pietism, but there were only Michael, who was worried so hard by the idea of curse. The idea of curse should be not derived from Christian pietism, but from local customs and local atmosphere around Jysk Hede.

              IV. The double Standard of Kierkegaard’s concept

            The pastor and author Steen Steensen Blicher (1782-1848) writes maney local weird novels around Jysk Hede, which often is much suitable for the mood which Michael kept in his heart. Main concepts of Søren Kierkegaard’s thoughts, for instance, ‘enkete / single individual ’, ‘angst / anxiety’ and ‘inter-esse / interest’ have a common local background of ideal history.  ‘Enkete’ can be derived from the outlaw. ‘Angst’ can be derived from the fear of fall of world in Northern mythology.  And ‘inter-esse’ can be derived from some social status of night folk or night man. Michael’s family had worked as the church servant for long time and would dig graves for funeral service. And after he moved to Copenhagen, he became hosekræmmeren. It is a hypothesis that both of such a local church servant and hosekræmmeren seem a kind of dishonorable occupation. Steen Steensen Blicher writes a novel Hosekræmmeren, as if this occupation is the same with Jewish merchant written by Shakespeare. Søren had felt probably that his fahter’s social status, background and the way of thinking might be similar to night folk in Copenhagen. Søren writes about the night watchman in his pseudonym work, that is a kind of night folk and dishonorable occupation in fact. ‘inter-esse’ shows us that Søren stands between day and light literally.  I suppose that Søren tried to hide the source of his thoughts by Christianity. Therefore his thoughts are always keeping the double Standard.