Kierkegaard and the self before God : anatomy of the abyss

281 Pages·2011·1.4 MB·English

by  Kierkegaard

philosophy, religion p
o
d
k i e r k e g a a r d
a distinctive reading of kierkegaard’s philosophy of religion m
o
r
e
“A reading of Kierkegaard the theologian without setting itself needlessly
in opposition to readings of Kierkegaard the philosopher. Highly persua- k
i
sive and significant.” —Rick Anthony Furtak, Colorado College e a n d t h e s e l f
r
“In this original, passionate, and engaging book, Simon Podmore rightly k
e
reminds us that for all Kierkegaard’s unparalleled insights into the dark
g
side of soul it is in the end not sin but forgiveness that concerns him a
b e f o r e g o d
most. . . . what a different Kierkegaard we would have known if only all a
r
interpreters had, like Podmore, looked beyond Kierkegaard’s famous
d
melancholy to the hope his work is able to offer the struggling soul.”
a
—George Pattison, University of Oxford
n
Anatomy of the Abyss
d
Simon D. Podmore claims that becoming a self before God is both a divine gift and an

anxious obligation. Before we can know God, or ourselves, we must come to a moment of t
recognition. How this comes to be as well as the terms of such acknowledgment are worked h
out in Podmore’s powerful new reading of Kierkegaard. As he gives full consideration to
e
Kierkegaard’s writings, Podmore explores themes such as despair, anxiety, melancholy, and

spiritual trial, and how they are broken by the triumph of faith, forgiveness, and the love of s
God. He confronts the abyss between the self and the divine in order to understand how we e
l
can come to know ourselves in relation to a God who is apparently so wholly Other.
f
simon d. podmore is Gordon Milburn Junior Research Fellow at Trinity College and
b
British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow in the Faculty of Theology, University of Oxford. He is
e
the Secretary of The Søren Kierkegaard Society of the United Kingdom.
f
o
Indiana Series in the Philosophy of Religion
r
Merold Westphal, editor
e

i n d i a n a g
o
u n i v e r s i t y
d
p r e s s
Bloomington & Indianapolis simon d. podmore
iupress.indiana.edu cover photo by craig d. wingfield indiana
1-800-842-6796
kierkegaard
and the self
before god
preface i
indiana series in the philosophy of religion
Merold Westphal, editor
ii preface
k i e r k e g a a r d
a n d t h e s e l f
b e f o r e g o d
Anatomy of the Abyss
simon d. podmore
indiana university press
Bloomington and Indianapolis
preface iii
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
601 North Morton Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47404-3797 USA
www.iupress.indiana.edu
Telephone orders 800-842-6796
Fax orders 812-855-7931
Orders by e-mail [email protected]
© 2011 by Simon D. Podmore
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’
Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
∞ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Podmore, Simon D., [date]
Kierkegaard and the self before God : anatomy of the abyss / Simon D. Podmore.
p. cm. — (Indiana series in the philosophy of religion)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-253-35586-7 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-253-22282-4
(pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Kierkegaard, Søren, 1813–1855. 2. Self—Religious aspects—
Christianity. I. Title.
B4378.S4P63 2011
230'.044092—dc22 2010024964
1 2 3 4 5 16 15 14 13 12 11
iv preface
to keith, edith, and jonathan
preface v
vi preface
One must obtain forgiveness for every essay in theology. In all senses.
—Jean-Luc Marion, God Without Being
The joy in the thought that before God a man is always in the wrong.
—Søren Kierkegaard, Gospel of Sufferings
preface vii
viii preface
PB kierkegaard and the self before god
contents
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xxv
List of Abbreviations xxvii
1. Introduction: Anatomy of the Abyss 1
2. The Inner Abyss 10
3. The Abyss of Melancholy 50
4. The Melancholy Theophany 68
5. The Allegory of Yisra’el 90
6. The Anatomy of Spiritual Trial 120
7. The Gaze of the Abyss 151
8. Conclusions: The (Im)possible and the (Un)forgivable 181
Notes 193
Bibliography 225
Index 241
preface ix