KIERKEGAARD ON CHRIST AND CHRISTIAN COHERENCE

by Paul Sponheim ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 5, 1968

The Danish thinker of a century and more ago, Soren Kierkegaard, continues to be inserted into contemporary philosophy and theology by reason of the way in which he anticipated so many of the perplexing issues of our time. This scholarly study undertakes to examine a major problem arising with respect to Kierkegaard: the degree to which his thought can be said to form a systematic whole. Are there affirmations which impart a structure to his thought and rescue it from a mass of isolated units of meaning? The author identifies two tendencies to be discerned near the center of Kierkegaard's writings: the first, a diastasis--a separation of God and man into two polarities; and the second a synthesis in which this polarity tends to be overcome. This later tendency finds its full expression in the idea of the Coherence of God and Man in Christ. The author pursues this thesis with substantial recourse both to the works of Kierkegaard and to studies of his work carried on by a growing body of scholars. The result is an essay of significance to all students and scholars in the fields of contemporary theology and philosophy.

Pub Date: June 5, 1968

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1968

Categories: NONFICTION