Beyond existentialism: Kierkegaard on the human relationship with the God who is wholly other

Andrew Bartholomew Torrance

doi:10.1111/ijst.12067

Beyond existentialism: Kierkegaard on the human relationship with the God who is wholly other

Andrew Bartholomew Torrance

School of Divinity

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Recent scholarship argues that, for Kierkegaard, God's absolute alterity is a consequence of sin that is overcome by the redemptive activity of Jesus Christ. On such a reading, the work of Christ delivers individuals to lives of faith that are not infinitely qualitatively different from God. This fails to recognize that the absolute otherness of God is overcome not simply by the redemptive work of Christ but in and through the person of Christ. The failure to grasp this has tied Kierkegaard to an anthropocentric theology that prioritizes Christ's contribution to existential human development. This article challenges this perception by establishing Kierkegaard's emphasis that God would remain infinitely removed from humanity were it not for the continuing mediation of Jesus Christ.

Original language	English
Article number	3
Pages (from-to)	295-312
Number of pages	18
Journal	International Journal of Systematic Theology
Volume	16
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/ijst.12067
Publication status	Published - 9 Jul 2014

Keywords

Kierkegaard
Christology

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10.1111/ijst.12067

Torrance_2015_IJST_BeyondExistentialism_AM
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This work is made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ijst.12067. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving (http://olabout.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-820227.html#terms).
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Cite this

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Beyond existentialism: Kierkegaard on the human relationship with the God who is wholly other

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Keywords

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