The freedom to become a christian : a Kierkegaardian account of human transformation in relationship with God / Andrew B. Torrance.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (EBSCO, viewed December 29, 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

FC ; Half Title ; Title Page ; Copyright ; Contents ; Acknowledgements ; Abbreviations ; Introduction ; I. Listening to Kierkegaard Alongside His Pseudonyms ; a. Kierkegaard and Climacus; b. Kierkegaard and Anti-Climacus; Chapter 1. The Communication of the Christian Truth ; I. Can the Truth be Learned?; II. The Relationship Between Subjectivity and Objectivity; III. The Revelation of Sin; a. Despair; b. The Infinite Qualitative Difference and Sin-consciousness; IV. Being in the Truth; V. Passion in Kierkegaard's Thought; a. The Passion of Thought; b. Passionate Responsibility.

C. The Passion of FaithVI. Conclusion; Chapter 2. The Possibility of Reconciliation ; I. The Tale of the King and the Maiden; II. Drawing Another to Oneself; III. The Possibility of Reciprocity; IV. The Possibility of Offence; V. Encountering God in Time; VI. Conclusion; Chapter 3. The Orientation of a Life Lived in Relationship with God ; I. The Religious Category of Existence; II. Søren Kierkegaard's Christian Realism; III. Immanent Religiousness and Christianity; IV. Sin-consciousness and Guilt-consciousness; V. Repentance; VI. Conclusion.

Chapter 4. Christian Practice in Relationship with God I. Following Scripture Faithfully; a. Reading a Letter from a Beloved; b. The Perspicuity of Scripture; c. The Uncertainty of Scripture; II. The Single Individual; III. Christ is the Way; a. Following Christ; b. Following Christ Voluntarily; c. Christ as Prototype and Redeemer; IV. Becoming a Christian in the World ; V. Conclusion; Chapter 5. The Freedom to Become a Christian in Relationship with God ; I. Approaching Christianity; II. The Passionate Transition; a. Venturing the Leap; b. Preparing to Become a Christian?

C. Relationship with 'the Paradox'III. Faith in the Presence of God; IV. The Choice to Become a Christian; a. The Freedom of the Individual to Relate to God; b. Willing Beliefs; c. Human Responsibility for Sin; d. Transforming the Will; V. The Freedom to Love; VI. Conclusion; Conclusion ; I. Kierkegaard's Low Pneumatology; II. Communion with the One Who Establishes Kinshipwith Us in Time ; III. What Does it Mean to Become a Christian? ; Bibliography ; Index.

"The Kierkegaardian account of becoming a Christian has come to be perceived in radically egocentric terms. Torrance challenges this perception by demonstrating that Kierkegaard was devoted to the idea of Christian conversion as a transformative process of becoming. This process is grounded in an active relationship initiated by the eternal God who has established kinship with us in time. Torrance focuses on 'becoming a Christian' as a particular theological theme that deserves further attention - how 'becoming a Christian' or Christian transformation should be construed in relation to God's initiating and active relationship to the person. Torrance's account of Kierkegaard on human transformation demonstrates in striking ways Kierkegaard's relevance to current issues in systematic theology and philosophical theology around the nature of Christian conversion, particularly how conversion might be re-conceptualized in strong divinely-relational and transformative rather than in progressive self-developmental terms. This study also considers how Kierkegaard was able to negotiate his emphasis on the God-relationship with his emphasis on the importance of individual reflection, decision and action in the Christian life."--Bloomsbury Publishing

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