A solitary Danish philosopher, he wrote against the comfortable religion of his day to recall that faith is a decision of the whole being, taken in anguish and silence. A tormented believer, he made of his pen and his prayer a long struggle to become truly Christian.
In their own words
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.
Journals (1843)
Purity of heart is to will one thing.
Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing (1847)
To pray is not to hear oneself speak; it is to come to silence, and to remain silent, and to wait, until the one who prays hears God.
The Lily of the Field and the Bird of the Air, 1849 (translated from the Danish by the Manna team)