AI Summary
5 min read“I am afraid to die,” says Søren Ulrik Thomsen early in this conversation. “I am absolutely afraid. It is an unpleasant thought.” Then he adds: “Yes, I do believe in eternal life. But faith and knowledge are not the same. If I knew that there was a life after death, then there was no need for my faith.” This distinction — between what we believe and what we can possibly know — runs through the entire episode. Thomsen, one of Denmark’s most celebrated poets, is speaking with priest Sørine Godfredsen about aging, death, dignity, and the strange persistence of hope.
The fear of death and the shape of faith
Thomsen insists that the most unsettling thing about death is not the pain or the loss, but the sheer unknowability. “Death is the fundamental phenomenon of what we can’t possibly know,” he says. People who report near-death experiences do not impress him: “They haven’t been dead. They are not dead.” Faith, for him, is not a way of turning ignorance into certainty. It is “what doesn’t turn against what we can’t possibly know, but what we can’t possibly know.” He describes faith and ignorance as holding each other in a snap — two things that depend on each other rather than canceling each other out.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **Opening: The Fear of Dying** - Thomsen states he is afraid to die and distinguishes between faith and knowledge regarding eternal life.
- 2 (03:37) **Prejudice Revealed: Poetry vs. Life** - Thomsen reads a prejudice: his poetry might distance him from real life. He rejects this, arguing poetry is part of reality and a fight against death.
- 3 (07:30) **The Concept of "Hjemfallen"** - Thomsen introduces the Old Norse word "hjemfallen" (home-fallen), meaning to live on conditions you didn't set for yourself.
- 4 (09:43) **The Illusion of Immortality in Youth** - Thomsen discusses the strength and unruliness of youth, including the feeling of immortality.
- 5 (13:33) **Being in Sync with Your Time** - Thomsen explains the brief period in life (roughly ages 25-35) where a person is fully in sync with their generation and can define the era.
- 6 (16:09) **The Grotesque and the Fear of Aging** - Thomsen uses grotesque, humorous prose to confront his fear of aging and loss of dignity.
- 7 (19:41) **Dignity and Self-Discipline** - Thomsen discusses the fight to preserve dignity through rituals and self-discipline, especially when the life force is low.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Søren Ulrik Thomsen er 67 år og stadig bange for alderdommen og døden. Han har det svært med alderens svækkelse af sanserne, udvisken af skellene mellem mande- og kvindekroppen og måden hvorpå den virkelighed, der i så mange år har været hans verden, forsvinder omkring ham, som når nære venner dør. Og selvom han tror på Gud og evigheden, så betyder det ikke, at han har sluttet fred med døden. En fornemmelse som Sørine godt kan genkende. Men på trods af frygten, så er der fortsat så mange ting, der holder Søren Ulrik Thomsen forankret i livet. Han finder livskraft i hverdagens ritualer og sine nærmeste, som når han troligt går i kirke, læser nye bøger eller går ture med sine venner.
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