Kierkegaard's Theology of Encounter provides a theoretical framework that brings the unity of Kierkegaard's 'middle period' into relief. David Lappano analyses Kierkegaard's writings between 1846 and 1852 when the socially constructive dimension of his thought comes to prominence, involving two dialectical aspects of religiousness identified by Kierkegaard: they are the edifying and the polemical. How these come together and get worked out in the lives of individuals form the basis of what can be called a Kierkegaardian 'social praxis'. Lappano argues that the tension between the edifying and the polemical can be coherently maintained in a communicative life that is also characteristic of a militant faith. This militant faith and life is presented as a critical guard against absolutisms, fundamentalisms, and intellectual aloofness; but the 'militant' individual is also utterly dependent, in need of edification and critique, and therefore chooses the risk of encountering others, seeking relationships out of a commitment to the development of people and communities in co-operation. Therefore, not only does this dialectic provide readers with an important theoretical framework for understanding Kierkegaard's 'middle period', it is also a valuable resource for a constructive analysis of active social living suitable for theology in the twenty-first century.

David Lappano is based at the Centre for Christian Studies.

• Introduction
• Part I: Kierkegaard s Social and Intellectual Context
• 1: The Historical and Intellectual Context of Kierkegaard s Authorship
• Part II: Encountering the self before God in Confession and Communion: The Edifying and the Polemical in the Individual
• 2: In Church, On the Occasion of Confession
• 3: In Church, On the Occasion of Communion
• Part III: Encountering the Public and Encountering the Neighbour: The Edifying and the Polemical in the World
• 4: A Polemical Encounter with The Public : The Present Age and Kierkegaard s Critique of a Society without Persons
• 5: An Edifying Corrective to the Spiritlessness of the Age: The Eternal
• 6: Encountering Neighbours and the Works of Love
• 7: Edifying Practice II: Building Up a Diverse Society of Persons
• Part IV: Encountering Christendom and Encountering Disciples: The Edifying and the Polemical in the Church
• 8: The Church and Christendom: Kierkegaard s Polemical Stance Prior to the 1855 Attack Campaign
• 9: Where the Polemical Meets the Edifying: Becoming a Church Militant
• 10: The Church Militant: Extramural and Intramural Christianity
• Bibliography