Freedom to Become a Christian

A Kierkegaardian Account of Human Transformation in Relationship with God

Häftad, Engelska, 2018

AvAndrew B. Torrance

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The Kierkegaardian account of becoming a Christian has come to be perceived in radically egocentric terms. Torrance challenges this perception by demonstrating that Kierkegaard was devoted to the idea of Christian conversion as a transformative process of becoming. This process is grounded in an active relationship initiated by the eternal God who has established kinship with us in time. Torrance focuses on 'becoming a Christian' as a particular theological theme that deserves further attention — how 'becoming a Christian' or Christian transformation should be construed in relation to God's initiating and active relationship to the person. Torrance's account of Kierkegaard on human transformation demonstrates in striking ways Kierkegaard's relevance to current issues in systematic theology and philosophical theology around the nature of Christian conversion, particularly how conversion might be re-conceptualized in strong divinely-relational and transformative rather than in progressive self-developmental terms. This study also considers how Kierkegaard was able to negotiate his emphasis on the God-relationship with his emphasis on the importance of individual reflection, decision and action in the Christian life.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2018-07-26
Mått156 x 234 x undefined mm
Vikt327 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor232
FörlagBloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN9780567683540

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What is at the center of Kierkegaard’s diverse writings? Kierkegaard claimed that his whole authorship pertained to the issue of becoming a Christian, and Torrance (School of Divinity, Univ. of St. Andrews, UK) takes him at his word. He focuses on two of Kierkegaard’s questions: How does a human become a Christian? What is God’s relation to a human in the process of becoming a Christian? Conversion, in Torrance’s reading of Kierkegaard, is a process over time and cannot be reduced to a temporal instant, even if it begins at a specific time. According to Torrance, Kierkegaard holds that “as [a human] stands before the God who is love, she becomes transformed by this love, and thereby receives the freedom to love, which, up until that point, was an impossibility.” This may fit with a Lutheran theology of the bondage of the will, but some will seek a cooperative approach in which a human must freely and sympathetically cooperate with the divine love on offer for there to be conversion and transformation before God. The issue concerns how much human agency figures in conversion and transformation. Torrance develops his interpretation with considerable historical and thematic detail. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.