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A Kierkegaardian guide to reading scripture

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Torrance_2016_NB_Kierkegaardian_AAM.pdf (355.0Kb)
Date
09/2016
Author
Torrance, Andrew Bartholomew
Keywords
Kierkegaard
Hermeneutics
Bible
Scripture
Faith
Theology
BS The Bible
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Abstract
Kierkegaard is well known for being critical of a scholarly reading of the bible. It is generally understood that his primary concern was that “objective” biblical scholarship was undermining the possibility of a reader’s subjective life being affected, challenged and provoked by its message. That is, it encourages an overly detached reading of Scripture that distracts persons from responding to its call to discipleship. It is indeed the case that Kierkegaard devoted himself to challenging the fact that the nominal Christians in Denmark were not actively responding Scripture. However, I shall argue that there is something much more fundamental to his critique of biblical scholarship. For Kierkegaard, the faithful reader is not primarily called to respond to the message of Scripture but to the living God who communicates to persons through Scripture. This paper will look at how Kierkegaard sought to remind Christians that Scripture is not an end in itself but a witness to the living God (who is the primary focus of the Christian life).
Citation
Torrance , A B 2016 , ' A Kierkegaardian guide to reading scripture ' , New Blackfriars , vol. 97 , no. 1071 , 7 , pp. 624-639 . https://doi.org/10.1111/nbfr.12226
Publication
New Blackfriars
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/nbfr.12226
ISSN
0028-4289
Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2016 Provincial Council of the English Province of the Order of Preachers. 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/nbfr.12226
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  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/13869

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