Edifying Discourses in Diverse Spirits

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Edifiying Discourses in Diverse Spirits, also Upbuilding Discourses in Various Spirits, was published on March 13, 1847, and is one of the first books in Søren Kierkegaard's second authorship. The work consists of three parts titled On the Occasion of a Confession (also translated as Purity of Heart), What we Learn from the Lilies in the Field and from the Birds in the Air, and The Gospel of Sufferings, Christian Discourses.

In this work, Kierkegaard, discusses different aspects of living. In the first part, Kierkegaard talks about double-mindedness and ethical integrity, and leaves the reader to work out the clues to the nature of the good. In the second part, he discusses how if we focus on the birds and the lilies in silence, we would come to realize the joy of being a human being. In the third part, Kierkegaard argues that suffering is an integral part of the Christianity of the New Testament.

[edit] References

• Hong, Howard V. & Edna H. The Essential Kierkegaard. Princeton University Press, 2000.
• D. Anthony Storm's Commentary on Discourses
• English Translation of the Purity of Heart