 Although it is a subject of debate whether to take at face value Kierkegaard’s claim that his entire work serves a religious end – after all, it seems to be contradicted by other remarks of his – it is nevertheless clear that combating confusion, including illusions about faith, was central to his  work.[5]  Kierkegaard suggests that speculative philosophy contributes to this confusion by transforming Christianity into a sort of philosophical theory or system. (Hegel is frequently – if not always entirely fairly – parodied in this connection.) In so doing, it imports into religion modes of inquiry that distort the essential nature of faith.