Abstract
An important distinction that Lessing draws is that between theologians and Christians: that is, between those who study the religion objectively and those who have faith. He comments that, although scholarly disputes may leave theologians feeling defensive and disconcerted, this kind of debate can leave Christians unmoved. ‘Objections to the letter and to the Bible are not also objections to the spirit and to religion.’1 However, this kind of comment may make us ask where Lessing stood. Sometimes he presents his arguments in a manner that is similar to a debate but with no indication which are his points of view. When we read him it is tempting to wish that he had presented his thoughts in a more direct way, but I shall claim that this is because we bring a particular kind of interest to our reading.
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Notes
G. E. Lessing, Theological Writings (London: A. & C. Black, 1956) p. 17.
Lewis White Beck, Early German Philosophy: Kant and his Predecessors (Cambridge, Mass.: Open Court, 1969) p. 341.
Søren Kierkegaard, Stages on Life’s Way, tr. Walter Lowrie (London: Oxford University Press, 1939) p. 46.
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© 1992 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Rogan, J. (1992). ‘Keeping Silent through Speaking’. In: Pattison, G. (eds) Kierkegaard on Art and Communication. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-22472-2_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-22472-2_6
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