ABSTRACT
Allusions to scriptural passages concerning Christ’s crucifixion pervade Kierkegaard’s literature from the pseudonymous works to the later Christian discourses. Predictably, the references and allusions become more frequent in the explicitly Christian literature. Throughout the corpus, the passages that Kierkegaard relies upon remain relatively constant. He uses these passages to develop the themes of Jesus’ crucifixion as the atonement for sin, the cross as the manifestation of God’s love in the form of suffering lowliness, and the passion of Christ as the prototype for the Christian life. Kierkegaard’s concentration on these particular elaborations of the crucifixion stories is explained in his own writings. For example, in a journal entry of 1854 Kierkegaard announces that the sacrifice of the God-man is the atonement, a loving sacrifice that elicits a grateful response, and also the example that demands the imitation of being unconditionally willing to be sacrificed for others.1 In another journal entry of 1849 Kierkegaard nuanced this distinction, making it clear that although Christ is indeed the prototype, the atoning aspect of Christ’s death cannot be emulated.2 Insofar as Christ is the savior and reconciler of the race, the follower cannot hope to resemble him. In spite of this caveat, as we shall see, Kierkegaard did use many aspects of Jesus’ crucifixion as paradigms for the Christian life of self-abnegation in service to God. We shall consider Kierkegaard’s use of the New Testament passion narratives in relation to each of these three major themes of atonement for sin, manifestation of divine love, and paradigm for emulation.
