Since I don't have the actual book to read out of, I had to look up .pdf files on the internet and I found a pretty good condensed version of part one.
I found it interesting that Kierkegaard asks, " I despair good or bad?" because obviously you would want to answer that it is bad. However, he comes back to say that despair is an infinite good because through despair, people are led to search for God and ask for his help or for his salvation. It's an interesting point of view that I would not have thought to look into. Kierkegaard really surprises me sometimes.
I commented on Francesca's post.
I also found it interesting that Kierkegaard refers to despair as a "merit." It reminds me of Hosea 6:1 - "Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces, but He will heal us; He has injured us, but He will bind up our wounds." God often works in us more when life isn't so great as opposed to when our lives are going just the way we want them to or think they should.
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