“Mine’: what does this word mean? Not what belongs to me, but what I belong to, what contains my whole being, which is mine only so far as I belong to it. My God is not the God that belongs to me, but the God to whom I belong; and so, too, when I say my native land, my home, my calling, my longing, my hope. If there had been no immortality before, this thought that I am yours would be a breach of the normal course of nature.”—Johannes the Seducer, from_Either/Or_”

Danish philosopher, theologian, poet, social critic, and religious writer

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher, theologian, poet, social critic, and religious writer. He is widely regarded as the first existentialist philosopher, and he lived in the early to mid 19th century. His writing examines organized religion, Christianity, morality, ethics, psychology, love, and the philosophy of religion. He often used metaphor, irony, and parable, and his work returns again and again to the question of how a person lives as a single individual, with emphasis on authenticity, personal choice, commitment, and the duty to love.