Kierkegaard

Rise of Neo-orthodoxy

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Karl Barth (1886-1968), a Swiss theologian, was the founder of the neo-orthodox school of theology. He studied at various universities in Germany and became a liberal pastor for twelve years in Switzerland. After seeing first hand the inherent sinfulness of humanity during World War  I he began studying Scripture and theologians like Calvin and Kierkegaard. Eventually, he abandoned liberal theology. In his multi-volume Church Dogmatics, he detailed his beliefs, which included the idea that God is transcendent and that humanity is separated from God due to sin – a condition that can only be resolved when the Holy Spirit reconciles us to God through Christ.

Impact: Neo-orthodox theology was, in many ways, universalist but was much more Christ-centered than the liberalism that reigned among scholars during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Introduction of existential philosophy

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Soren Aaby Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and exhibited from an early age the depression and insecurity that would plague him his entire life. He studied theology at the University of Copenhagen, graduating in 1840, but was never ordained. Most of his life was spent writing existential works that stressed the necessity of a moral life and the “otherness” of God. His best-known work, Either-Or, was an anonymously published debate between ethical and aesthetic ideas. In his last years, he wrote works that argued against the theology and practice of the Danish state church on the grounds that religion is for the individual soul and is to be separated absolutely from the state and the world.

Impact: Kierkegaard’s existential writings greatly influenced the Neo-orthodox theologians of the early twentieth century.

Kierkegaard, Søren Aaby

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Søren Aaby Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was born in Copenhagen. He exhibited from an early age the depression and insecurity that would plague him his entire life. He studied theology at the University of Copenhagen, graduating in 1840, but was never ordained. Most of his life was spent writing works that stressed the necessity of a moral life and the “otherness” of God. His best known work, Either-Or, was an anonymously published debate between ethical and aesthetic ideas. In his last years he wrote works that argued against the theology and practice of the Danish state church on the grounds that religion is for the individual soul and is to be separated absolutely from the state and the world. He was an early existential philosopher and his writing greatly influenced the Neo-orthodox theologians of the early 20th century.