- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: HarperPerennial; Original edition (1 Dec 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0061875996
- ISBN-13: 978-0061875991
- Product Dimensions: 20.5 x 13.5 x 2 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,228,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Spiritual Writings
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Product Description
Product Description
In "Spiritual Writings", renowned Oxford theologian George Pattison presents previously neglected Christian writings that will forever alter our understanding of the great philosopher Soren Kierkegaard. In fact, Pattison argues that the Kierkegaard known to the history of modern ideas is, in an important sense, not Kierkegaard at all. In philosophy and literature Kierkegaard is perceived as epitomizing existential angst, whilst in theology he is seen as expounding a radical form of Christianity based on a paradoxical and absurd faith that demands hatred of the world and the rejection of all forms of communal religion. However, both pictures rely on highly debatable interpretations of a relatively small selection of texts; there is much more to Kierkegaard than the image of the 'melancholy Dane' or the iconoclastic critic of established Christendom might suggest. Alongside the pseudonymous works for which he is best known - and which do indeed deal with such concepts as melancholy, anxiety, 'fear and trembling', paradox, the absurd, and despair - Kierkegaard also wrote many religious works, usually in the form of addresses, which he called 'upbuilding discourses' (which might, in English, be called 'devotional talks'). Taken as a whole, these writings offer something very different from the popular view. As "Spiritual Writings" shows, they embody a spirituality grounded in a firm sense of human life as a good gift of God. Kierkegaard calls on us to love God and, in loving God, to love life-quite concretely - and to love our own lives, even when they have become wretched or despairing.
About the Author
Soren Kierkegaard (1813-55) continues to exercise a wide influence on philosophy, literature, and theology. After a youth spent cultivating the life-style of a Romantic aesthete, he finished his studies at the University of Copenhagen with the dissertation On the Concept of Irony. Many of his books were published under exotic pseudonyms, and explored different dimensions of life outside Christianity. These include Either/Or, Fear and Trembling, and The Concept of Anxiety. He also wrote a number of more directly devotional works, including Works of Love, but in the last years of his life attacked the established Church in a series of polemical leaflets. George Pattison is a professor of theology at Oxford University.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Lesser Known Biblical Commentary
23 Jan 2011
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
The discourses that make up this book are not often referred to in other works and do not expound on the existentialist philosophy Kierkegaard is known for. These are more like traditional biblical commentary. George Pattison explains that this book is meant for lay readers, not scholars, and so some editing is required, modernizing some language, changing the frequently used masculine pronouns he and him, and cutting some length. I could not say for brevity because, while the discourses are not overlong, so many are based on the same biblical verses, so that the effect is, at times, tedious. Pattison admits the author may have intended to teach patience by this.
The discourses of Part I and the first few of Part II and III are the strong essays, in part because the others seem repetitive. Each part has a theme: Part I - the gift, which emphasizes all we have is from God; Part II - the bird and the lily, emphasizing all we can learn from the figures Jesus tells us to consider; Part III - love and forgiveness. There are important lessons here; some are rather unique. An example is from the first discourse, in which K writes that wanting God to give the perfect gift as we define it would limit God, as though he knew nothing more than we do. There are thought-provoking statements, such as "Woe to those who are so proud as not to be able to forget what makes them different, but woe, too, to those who are so lowly as not to forget what makes them different."
The format of the e-book is fine, though unnumbered footnotes present a problem.
The discourses of Part I and the first few of Part II and III are the strong essays, in part because the others seem repetitive. Each part has a theme: Part I - the gift, which emphasizes all we have is from God; Part II - the bird and the lily, emphasizing all we can learn from the figures Jesus tells us to consider; Part III - love and forgiveness. There are important lessons here; some are rather unique. An example is from the first discourse, in which K writes that wanting God to give the perfect gift as we define it would limit God, as though he knew nothing more than we do. There are thought-provoking statements, such as "Woe to those who are so proud as not to be able to forget what makes them different, but woe, too, to those who are so lowly as not to forget what makes them different."
The format of the e-book is fine, though unnumbered footnotes present a problem.
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Some Dense Reading
23 May 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is very enlightening, but I suggest some Bible knowledge before reading it. It is very dense. You wouldn't take it to a coffee house to read.
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