The Reality of Love: An Affirmative Vision of Christianity Based on Kierkegaard's Interpretation of the Maxim: Love is the Fulfilling of the Law
Based on Kierkegaard's interpretation of the maxim Love is the fulfillment of the law the present article seeks to show how consistent use of Kierkegaard's terminology can aid in discovering the affirmative vision of Christianity implicitly contained in the philosopher's religious wri...
| Subtitles: | Section 1: Interpreting Kierkegaard: Problems and Perspectives |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2018]
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| In: |
Kierkegaard studies. Yearbook
Year: 2018, Volume: 23, Issue: 1, Pages: 179-203 |
| IxTheo Classification: | KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history NBE Anthropology NBK Soteriology NCB Personal ethics |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Based on Kierkegaard's interpretation of the maxim Love is the fulfillment of the law the present article seeks to show how consistent use of Kierkegaard's terminology can aid in discovering the affirmative vision of Christianity implicitly contained in the philosopher's religious writings. The starting point is in this case the Christian, spiritual account of love as established by God in every human being which fully manifests itself in the love for one's neighbor. Only such a love is able to fulfill the law, that is, to make the temporal, human life entirely comprehensible and full of meaning. In order to approach this thesis properly, a differentiation between the possibility of love (law, nature) and the reality of love (love, eternity) is introduced. In effect, it is shown how the concepts of law and love, related to each other dialectically, are able to explain the fundamental relation of the temporal to the eternal in human existence. The pattern as to how this relation of love to the law should be played out is Jesus Christ, as one who, by his love for God, fulfilled the law of God's love for man. In this act, he created for every human being the possibility of reconciliation with God and established Christianity as a positive religion, one in which there is actually no negative element in existence. |
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| ISSN: | 1612-9792 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Kierkegaard studies. Yearbook
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1515/kierke-2018-0009 |