Kierkegaard begins by presenting two theories of the discovery of Truth. First is Socrates' adherence to the doctrine of recollection. For Kierkegaard this limited pursuit of truth does not accurately reflect his own eagerness to uncover Eternal Truth. In his pursuit Kierkegaard contradicts Enlightenment sentiment that God is a universal concept which can be discovered anywhere and instead proposes divine revelation upon which a person's consequence as a thinker depends. Essentially he is presenting this discussion of the nature and acquisition of truth through traditionally known religious terms. He advocates for Christianity for personal reasons, arguing that no one is helped by sitting on the fence and that religious belief is simply a choice, one which he has arrived at as a result of his own scientific education.
Moving onto an essay upon the nature of thought, Kierkegaard begins by establishing the service of thought in the healing and growth of the individual. He identifies an inherent paradox in the nature of thought -- a person cannot find what he already knows because he knows it already and he cannot determine what to learn because he does not yet know it. Relating this state of paradox back to religion, Kierkegaard attributes the uncertainty of thought to human sin, which he describes as a corruption, a kind of willful ignorance of truths which were apparent from birth but became murky or were rejected later. Rejecting personal reliance, Kierkegaard believes the first step toward genuine growth is to acknowledge one's own entire dependence upon the "Teacher," in this case God. This is repentance. After this moment a person becomes consequential and their thoughts relevant to the collective search for Truth.
Next Kierkegaard examines how a person transitions from learner to teacher. He identifies God as the ultimate Teacher and explores why this would be. Motivated by love, God desires to be understood by people, so he speaks into the individual knowledge of the spiritual realm. There is an inherent frustration in this exchange, however, because the Teacher's instruction is so foreign that it may not be able to be understood by a mere person. In response, Kierkegaard outlines three theories of how God could bridge the gap between instruction and learning: elevate man to His own status, reveal Himself to man, or become man. The third option leads to Kierkegaard's exploration of the ultimate paradox: how can God be understood as a man if He does not sin like a man? Kierkegaard believes that Reason clashes with the individual's ability to know God because He is spirit and consequently foreign to man, but man can overcome this dilemma by releasing his control and finding peace in the unknown.
Finally, Kierkegaard leans into religious belief as a foundation for knowledge. He believes that, even were a person alive at the time of Christ's birth, that person could only hear secondhand and consequently would need to apply some degree of belief to the event. While this witness may be a source of historical information, he cannot dispel disbelief anymore than a person of a century later. For Kierkegaard this decision to believe transfers a person from non-being into being, sleeping to wakefulness. They become open to a new realm of possibilities which offer freedom because this person has willingly chosen to enter into this new condition. Further refining the argument, Kierkegaard says that Faith is the necessary tool to awaken a person because the transforming medium is not visible or essentially knowable.
