Kierkegaard and the Concept of Revelation

Book excerpt: Gathering together the various strands of Kierkegaard's thought--his understanding of the relationship between faith and reason, the relevance of historical knowledge to faith, the nature of religious conversion, the concept of truth, the limits of religious authority, and the dialectic of religious communication--Emmanuel creates a fresh and unified perspective on Kierkegaard's religious position. By revealing the inner connections between what are often perceived as fascinating but discrete aspects of Kierkegaard's complex authorship, this study provides the first comprehensive interpretation of Kierkegaard's view of Christian revelation and the central importance of that concept for understanding the development of his religious philosophy.