SKC Workshop Spring 2024

Mads Peter Karlsen

(University of Copenhagen, Denmark)

"Kierkegaard’s Critical Appropriation of the Theological Tradition"

My engagement with Kierkegaard originates from - and is informed by - a more general interest in the fundamental hermeneutical and theological problem concerning the question of how we can still make sense of and understand ourselves through Christian imagery and concepts in a secular context. As some of the major contributions in continental theology and philosophy during the last century indicates, Kierkegaard’s work offers crucial resources for a thoughtful consideration of this question. My own rudimentary attempts in this direction have been focused on Kierkegaard’s critical rethinking of three closely intertwined theological key-notions: hereditary sin, neighbor love and human equality. At this workshop, I will present a few reflections on how I have tried to think ‘with and against’ Kierkegaard on these matters.