Kierkegaard – A Christian Missionary to Christians

Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) had a mission. The church had become weak, flabby and inconsequential. Being a Christian was more a cultural heritage than a spiritual reality. His mission—reintroduce the Christian faith to Christians. How could he break through to people who were members of the church and thought they were Christians already? Like an Old Testament prophet, Kierkegaard used a variety of pointed and dramatic ways to shake people from their slumber. He incisively diagnosed the spiritual ailments of his age and offered a fresh take on classic Christian teaching.Mark Tietjen thinks that Kierkegaard's critique of his contemporaries strikes close to home today. We also need to listen to one of the most insightful yet complex Christian thinkers of any era. Through an examination of core Christian doctrines—the person of Jesus Christ, human nature, Christian witness and love—Tietjen helps us hear Kierkegaard's missionary message to a church that often fails to follow Christ with purity of heart.

"Tietjen effectively reminds us of how Kierkegaard, with what amounts to a doctorate in theology, was deeply concerned about church culture in Denmark at a time when being a Dane and a Christian were commonly equated, and where the church's extraordinary teachings about Jesus (the God-man) seemed too easily accepted by many and too little acted upon. Tietjen show us Kierkegaard's life-long passion, as a committed critic, was to call the Church of Denmark back to discipleship after Christ. . . . Tietjen brings out a key thought of Kierkegaard's: unless we proclaim what must be offensive—that the lofty God became a lowly human for our salvation—we have not proclaimed the gospel. I ask, do we evangelicals take this for granted? Then let's heed the Dane's warnings through Tietjen: don't lose its wonder or be content to admire Jesus, rather than imitate (follow) him.", "While Tietjen makes no pretense of giving us a Kierkegaard primer, he has produced a valuable contribution for those who might struggle to distinguish Evangelical faith from Evangelical culture.", "Who can forget Schaeffer's charge that the melancholy Dane's notion of the 'leap of faith' accelerated Western civilization's 'escape from reason' and plunged us into the 'line of despair'? Due to this and similar caricatures, evangelicals have often viewed Kierkegaard with suspicion. Fortunately, Mark Tietjen's Kierkegaard: A Christian Missionary to Christians (IVP Academic) should help set the record straight, not least on what Kierkegaard meant by the concept of 'leap.' . . . Writing for those who don't know philosophical and theological jargon, he shows how Kierkegaard's body of work bears witness to the fact that nominal Christianity is no Christianity at all. . . . Historically, evangelicals have focused almost obsessively on apologetics and doctrinal precision. These are not bad things, Kierkegaard would say. But they are not the essence of Christianity. To be pure in heart means repenting of our sins, reorienting our will to obey Jesus, and suffering willingly on his behalf. We still need a 'missionary to Christians,' and Tietjen reconnects us with someone who fits the job description as well as ever.", "Kierkegaard: A Christian Missionary to Christians is a pleasure to read. Tietjen brings a great resource to all Christians. This book is an excellent primer to Kierkegaard's religious thought, and Tietjen shows how the nineteenth-century Danish philosopher can speak meaningfully to a modern audience."

Mark A. Tietjen (PhD, Baylor University) is director of religious life and Grace Palmer Johnston Chair of Bible at the Stony Brook School in Stony Brook, New York. Former secretary-treasurer of the Søren Kierkegaard Society, Tietjen is the author of Kierkegaard, Communication, and Virtue: Authorship as Edification.