Kierkegaard on God's Will and Human Freedom: An Upbuilding Antinomy

by Lee C. Barrett

Overview

Søren Kierkegaard’s authorship exhibits two different trajectories concerning the relation of responsible human agency to sovereign divine agency: one trajectory stresses free human striving, while the other trajectory emphasizes the dominance of divine agency. The first theme led to the view of Kierkegaard as the champion of autonomous existential “leaps,” while the second led to the construal of Kierkegaard as a devout Lutheran who trusted absolutely in God’s gracious governance. Lee C. Barrett argues that Kierkegaard, influenced by Kant’s critique of metaphysics, did not attempt to integrate human and divine agencies in any speculative theory. Instead, Kierkegaard deploys them to encourage different passions and dispositions that can be integrated in a coherent human life, making use of literary strategies to foster the different passions and dispositions that are associated with the themes of human responsibility and divine governance. Kierkegaard on God’s Will and Human Freedom: An Upbuilding Antinomy offers an incisive account of what makes Kierkegaard’s conception of theology as a matter of edification rather than speculation so distinctive and enduringly worthwhile.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781666914924
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	12/11/2023
Series:	New Kierkegaard Research
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

Lee C. Barrett is Henry and Mary Stager Chair in Theology and professor of systematic theology at Lancaster Theological Seminary.

Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgements Sigla for Kierkegaard's Works Introduction: Kierkegaard and the Tensive Virtues of Resting in God’s Governance and Striving for Eternal Happiness Chapter One: Kierkegaard’s Contentious Philosophical Background Chapter Two: Kierkegaard’s Tensive Theological Background Chapter Three: Kierkegaard and the Later Grace/Free-Will Debate Chapter Four: Kierkegaard’s Unconventional Practice of Theology Chapter Five: Active Leaping and Gracious Receiving in Philosophical Fragments Chapter Six: Concluding Unscientific Postscript and the Truth and Untruth of Subjectivity Chapter Seven: The Upbuilding Discourses and the Art of Being Nothing while Being Something Chapter Eight: Preparing for Communion and the Impossibility of Preparing for Communion Chapter Nine: Authorial Intentions and Divine Governance Chapter Ten: Repentance Interrupted by Birds, Lilies, and Little Ludvig Conclusion: The Conceptual Antinomy Becomes a Passional Antinomy Bibliography About the Author

Editorial Reviews

Investigating Kierkegaard’s apparent ambivalence on the classic problem of God’s will and human freedom, Lee C. Barrett reveals Kierkegaard to be a theological thinker of the first rank. Focusing upon Kierkegaard’s destabilizing and evocative rhetorical strategies throughout his literature, and employing perspectives from the later Wittgenstein, combined with deep knowledge of Kierkegaard’s philosophical and theological historical context (particularly Kant), Barrett convincingly shows how Kierkegaard circumvents the traditional metaphysical conundrums on God’s will and human freedom. Instead, Kierkegaard radically resituates the issue by pointing to the contexts of the passional and edifying uses of language about God’s will and human freedom that create a “stereoscopic vision,” “an upbuilding antinomy” nurturing, not theoretically but in one’s life, strenuous striving as well as utter restful reliance on God. Barrett’s fresh, insightful study should be welcomed by anyone concerned with questions surrounding God’s will and human freedom, but more broadly by anyone concerned with the very practice and task of theology today.

David J. Gouwens

One of our most trustworthy guides into Søren Kierkegaard offers here a thick description of the Dane’s struggle with the tensive valorization of divine and human agency. Exhibited in the process is Kierkegaard’s rhetorical style of doing theology that privileges practical reason over theoretic reason while emphasizing the necessary involvement of certain forms of passion, disposition, and virtue within religious practice. Readers will be grateful for this refreshing portrayal of Kierkegaard as theologian.

Curtis L. Thompson

If you understand how Kierkegaard navigates the problem of grace and freedom, there is a sense in which you understand his approach to Christian writing as such. On this subject, there is no better guide than Lee C. Barrett. This book situates Kierkegaard’s treatment of the will against the backdrop of previous debates and, even more importantly, models how to read him well.

Carl S. Hughes

Kierkegaard notoriously resists easy categorization when it comes to philosophical and theological doctrines. This is especially the case for understanding the relationship of divine will and human freedom. As Barrett explains so well in his new book, Kierkegaard stresses the singular importance of God’s grace and also the radical value of individual responsibility. Making sense of this striking tension is the task that Barrett undertakes. Impressively, though, he does not attempt to offer an interpretation whereby Kierkegaard could be located on some systematic chart mapping the libertarians, compatibilists, and determinists. Instead, Barrett leans hard into Kant's influence on Kierkegaard and suggests that a better way of interpreting the complicated authorship is by appreciating the "upbuilding" dynamic in play. Hence, Barrett’s goal is not to present an argument for a specific Kierkegaardian theological position, but to invite readers to develop the virtues of "responsible gratitude" and "grateful responsibility" by reading Kierkegaard. In a rigorous and existentially viable account, Barrett’s analysis is both convincing and inspiring. Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty.

Choice Reviews