Spiritual Writings

Rediscovered spiritual writings from "e;the most profound thinker of the 19th century"e; (Ludwig Wittgenstein). "e;The 'Kierkegaard' known to history is, in an important sense, not Kierkegaard at all. His true point of view is found in his religious writings."e; George Pattison, from the ForewordIn this new collection, Oxford theologian George Pattison translates and selects S ren Kierkegaard's previously neglected writings on spirituality works that greatly deepen our understanding of the influential thinker. In philosophy and literature, Kierkegaard ("e;By far the most profound thinker of the nineteenth century"e; Ludwig Wittgenstein) is generally perceived as epitomizing existential angst. However, there is much more to Kierkegaard than the popular image of the "e;melancholy Dane"e; or the iconoclastic critic of established Christendom. Alongside the pseudonymous books for which he is largely known, Kierkegaard also wrote many devotional works, which he called "e;upbuilding"e; or "e;edifying"e; discourses. Taken as a whole, these writings offer something very different from the popular view they embody a spirituality grounded in a firm sense of human life as a divine gift. "e;Here is the great Danish master of irony and subversion speaking with an earnestness and plainness that is all the more powerful for being unfamiliar. . . . George Pattison offers us a deeply valuable introduction to a great philosopher's hidden simplicities."e; Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury"e;Fascinating and perplexing in equal measure, these exegeses on gospel and biblical sayings display a side of the great 19th-century philosopher Kierkegaard . . .that is considerably less familiar to modern readers than his status as a protoexistentialist. . . . Kierkegaard's lyricism, insight, and passionate insistence on the enduring value of scripture are frequently a wonder to behold."e; Publishers Weekly