T&T Clark Reader in Kierkegaard as Theologian

Lee Barrett discusses the uniqueness and challenges of Kierkegaard’s approach to theology. He examines Kierkegaard’s explicit reflections on the appropriate way to engage in the theological task, as well as shows how the theme of God’s “otherness” is held in dialectical tension with the theme of God’s intimate love. Barrett discusses Kierkegaard’s key reflections of the nature and purpose of human life as a paradoxical journey toward self-fulfilment through a self-emptying in which the self more intensively reflects God’s self-giving love. He examines the works that describe sin as both a condition in which the individual is trapped and as a culpable act for which the individual must assume responsibility. Barrett explores Kierkegaard’s thoughts on sin, his descriptions of Jesus Christ as the enactment in time of God’s eternal self-giving compassion, his view of faith and his critique of culturally established Christianity as a form of fatal religious anaesthesia. This volume includes the following pedagogical features: - Each chapter contains its own introduction, explanatory notes, discussion questions and recommendation for further reading in both the primary and secondary literature - Includes links to Kierkegaardian texts provided by the Kierkegaard Research Center of the University of Copenhagen, the Howard and Edna Hong Kierkegaard Library of St Olaf College, as well as the resources of the Søren Kierkegaard Society