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Scripture in the Thought of Soren Kierkegaard
Book by Rosas, L. Joseph, III
219 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 3, 2016
I hate writing reviews of anything, especially long ones. However, This book deserves a killer review, so here we go. I recommend this to the following individuals:
(1) Students of Scripture - Sadly, this group is the least likely to read Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard's alleged ties with Neo-orthodoxy & existentialism have left an outward impression of him as a heretic. He has been misrepresented/mislabeled by a number of writers, especially Christian writers. He is one of the most important yet ignored theologians since the Reformation. This book does a great job of laying out his approach to Scripture (straightforward), his view of Scripture/inspiration (very high), and his appropriation of the text. Any student of Scripture will be surprised by the standard of orthodoxy S.K. upheld in his work. He was a critic of "pop-Christianity" (Christendom). Many of the trends he despised in the Danish State Church are evident in popular (specifically American) Christianity. Plus, the back of the book (50 pages or so) contains an appendix to all references to Scripture as well as bibliographical information. This book is definitely a resource for students & exegetes of the Bible.
(2) Students of Philosophy - Unless you are doing in-depth study of S.K. as a philosophy student (i.e. an entire class on his works), chances are you will read "Fear & Trembling", "Concluding Unscientific Postscripts", and maybe "Sickness Unto Death." These are seminal works, but they will not relate the full extent of Kierkegaard's work. This book lays out the full extent of his work in survey form, showing the progression of indirect communication (a literary tool of his early works, yet invaluable for understanding later works) and direct communication (the approach in later works). The opening summary of his life (22 pages) will offer some insight into the nature of his peculiarity. In my opinion, anyone reading anything about S.K. should be required to read this book. It will build a framework around his key ideas, works, relationships, and literary progression.
The fact that C. Stephen Evans (The Kierkegaard expert in North America) writes a testimonial of approval on the back should move a Kierkegaard-enthusiast to check this out.
(1) Students of Scripture - Sadly, this group is the least likely to read Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard's alleged ties with Neo-orthodoxy & existentialism have left an outward impression of him as a heretic. He has been misrepresented/mislabeled by a number of writers, especially Christian writers. He is one of the most important yet ignored theologians since the Reformation. This book does a great job of laying out his approach to Scripture (straightforward), his view of Scripture/inspiration (very high), and his appropriation of the text. Any student of Scripture will be surprised by the standard of orthodoxy S.K. upheld in his work. He was a critic of "pop-Christianity" (Christendom). Many of the trends he despised in the Danish State Church are evident in popular (specifically American) Christianity. Plus, the back of the book (50 pages or so) contains an appendix to all references to Scripture as well as bibliographical information. This book is definitely a resource for students & exegetes of the Bible.
(2) Students of Philosophy - Unless you are doing in-depth study of S.K. as a philosophy student (i.e. an entire class on his works), chances are you will read "Fear & Trembling", "Concluding Unscientific Postscripts", and maybe "Sickness Unto Death." These are seminal works, but they will not relate the full extent of Kierkegaard's work. This book lays out the full extent of his work in survey form, showing the progression of indirect communication (a literary tool of his early works, yet invaluable for understanding later works) and direct communication (the approach in later works). The opening summary of his life (22 pages) will offer some insight into the nature of his peculiarity. In my opinion, anyone reading anything about S.K. should be required to read this book. It will build a framework around his key ideas, works, relationships, and literary progression.
The fact that C. Stephen Evans (The Kierkegaard expert in North America) writes a testimonial of approval on the back should move a Kierkegaard-enthusiast to check this out.
December 29, 2018
Indispensable, given the fact that there are so few books that explicitly survey Kierkegaard's use of scripture. Therefore, my main criticism is that it was too brief in some places and also skipped over several of Kierkegaard's important works. But what was covered was very helpful and judicious, and ought help more evangelically oriented Christians to better realize Kierkegaard's massive contribution and influence through the 20th century, which will surely continue on into the future given the ever present existential needs of modern/postmodern people.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews