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ly together. Rather than knowing ourselves the impression that there is a God and that
as dependent beings, constituted by God, “he,” he himself, his self, exists before this
as sinners we see ourselves as not needing God” (Kierkegaard 1983).
God for our wellbeing. In contrast, salvati- The opposite of this despairing life is faith,
on is chiefly characterized by faith in Christ, which Kierkegaard poignantly defined as
which is the fight to believe the truth about “that the self in being itself and in willing to
oneself in union with him: that, on one be itself rests transparently in God.” Faith
hand, my sin goes so deep that I cannot means accepting who we truly are and con-
plumb its depths, and that, on the other senting to become what God has made us
hand, my sin has been imputed to Christ to be.
and expiated in his death so that, in a “hap- True self-understanding and faith come
py exchange,” my sin is transferred to Christ from an encounter with God in Jesus Christ.
and Christ’s righteousness is imputed to me Kierkegaard did not think any technique or
(Bayer 2008). method could be guaranteed to move a
Luther pointed to four outward signs that person to faith. Rather than trying to con-
help us see the gospel truth about oursel- vince people or coerce them with shame or
ves: preaching, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, fear, he called them to consider themselves
and absolution through confession. These as individuals who exist before God and
signs/images of the gospel show us oursel- to meet him. Kierkegaard said he couldn’t
ves in relation to God, giving us true self- make anyone trust in Christ, but he could
understanding. compel them to become aware of Christ’s
Luther’s emphasis of “being in relati- offer, and so “by compelling him to beco-
on” was also an essential aspect of Søren me aware I succeed in compelling him to
Kierkegaard’s psychology. Our relation- judge” (Kierkegaard 2000).
ships, whether with God or others, provi- Finally, Thomas Merton contributes to this
de a “criterion” or ideal to which we strive rich dialogue mostly by keeping the conver-
to attain. To the degree that people relate sation going. At a time in the 20th century
to God, they are more or less conscious of when the Christian psychology of Augu-
their highest criterion, who they truly are, stine, Luther, and Kierkegaard was being
and who they are meant to become (Kier- forgotten by many pastors and substituted
kegaard 1983). with current ideas from the new wave of
Because God gives us the freedom to choo- modern secular psychology, Merton (2007)
se whether or not we will relate ourselves spoke with the same theological depth as
to him as our criterion, it is possible to for- his Christian forbears while using contem-
feit what God intends for us and to live in porary language:
“despair.” This choice to enter the despair “To say I was born in sin is to say I came
of our nothingness apart from him goes lar- into the world with a false self. I was born in
gely unconscious, and such a life is a great a mask. I came into existence under a sign
tragedy and waste: “there is so much talk of contradiction, being someone that I was
about wasting a life, but only that person’s never intended to be and therefore a denial
life was wasted who went on living so de- of what I am supposed to be.”
ceived by life’s joys or its sorrows that he Merton was thankful for Freud’s explora-
never became decisively and eternally tion of the unconscious, but inasmuch as
conscious of spirit . . . . never became awa- Merton opposed Freud’s atheism, he rejec-
re and in the deepest sense never gained ted the idea that neuroses, psychoses, and
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