Kierkegaard wrote these as 'upbuilding discourses' rather than sermons, deliberately avoiding ecclesiastical authority — a nuance that shapes their devotional rather than doctrinal character. His Lutheran Danish context and existentialist method are distinctive, and readers should be aware that his broader corpus contains more philosophically challenging material than this accessible devotional work.
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A masterful new translation of one of Kierkegaard's most engaging works
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells his followers to let go of earthly concerns by considering the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. Søren Kierkegaard's short masterpiece on this famous gospel passage draws out its vital lessons for readers in a rapidly modernizing and secularizing world. Trenchant, brilliant, and written in stunningly lucid prose, The Lily of the Field and the Bird of the Air (1849) is one of Kierkegaard's most important books. Presented here in a fresh new translation with an informative introduction, this profound yet accessible work serves as an ideal entrée to an essential modern thinker.
The Lily of the Field and the Bird of the Air reveals a less familiar but deeply appealing side of the father of existentialism—unshorn of his complexity and subtlety, yet supremely approachable. As Kierkegaard later wrote of the book, "Without fighting with anybody and without speaking about myself, I said much of what needs to be said, but movingly, mildly, upliftingly."
This masterful edition introduces one of Kierkegaard's most engaging and inspiring works to a new generation of readers.
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Written at a level adults can engage with
Theological
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TheoScope Score = Biblical Faithfulness 85% · Theological Depth 15%