BBYYUU SSttuuddiieess QQuuaarrtteerrllyy Volume 40 Issue 2 Article 7 4-1-2001 OOff MMeenn aanndd MMaannttlleess:: KKiieerrkkeeggaaaarrdd oonn tthhee DDiiffffeerreennccee bbeettwweeeenn aa GGeenniiuuss aanndd aann AAppoossttllee John S. Tanner Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq Dig iPtaalr t of the Mormon Studies Commons, and the Religious Education Commons Commons Network RReeccoommmmeennddeedd CCiittaattiioonn Logo Tanner, John S. (2001) "Of Men and Mantles: Kierkegaard on the Difference between a Genius and an Apostle," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 40 : Iss. 2 , Article 7. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol40/iss2/7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in BYU Studies Quarterly by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Tanner: Of Men and Mantles: Kierkegaard on the Difference between a Geniu of men and mantles kierkegaard on the difference between a genius and an apostle john tanner S ofbyu I1 was once asked to introduce elder neal A maxwell to a group of BYU english majors this assignment caused me some concern I feared that my 1 audience might be inclined to revere elder maxwell for the wrong reasons or at least for secondary reasons namely for his considerable gifts as a writer rather than for his apostolic authority so rather than rehearse elder mmMaaaxxxwwweeellllllssl rr6essuumm6e I1 decided to frame my introduction with insights bor- rowed from a remarkable essay by ssoerreenn kierkegaard entitled the differ ence between a genius and an apostle in it kierkegaard emphasizes that human genius does not confer genuine religious authority thus to honor an apostle like paul as a profound thinker or notable stylist is to miss the point paul s brilliance is no more relevant to his real claim on us than is his skill as a tentmaker 1 I reminded my audience of fellow english majors that likewise 1 although we may properly admire elder maxwell for his metaphors we ought to heed his message for his mantle moreover we need to remember that the intent of his turning a phrase is to turn our hearts to god that his rhetoric is meant not to impress but to bless not to be marveled at but to years move us later I1 made the same point in an exchange of letters with a church leader ddjiisscciipplleess don t hearken to christ because his teachings are more eloquent or beautiful or profound than those of buddha or lao tzu but because he is the son of god the same applies to apostles and to all those called of god they make a claim on us not because they are the most clever people but because they speak as ones having authority we who love elder maxwell treasure his talents rejoice that god has called one with gifts that fire the mind please the ear and fill the heart but fundamentally his words command our attention because he is in very fact an apostle 2 and once again I shared a copy of kierkegaards insightful essay the dif 1 ference between a genius and an apostle BYU studies 4400 no 2 2001 149 Published by BYU ScholarsArchive, 2001 1 BYU Studies Quarterly, Vol. 40, Iss. 2 [2001], Art. 7 byustudies 150 BYU Studies shared views of kierkegaard religious philosopher and erastus snow apostle ssoerreenn kierkegaard s analysis of what qualifies a man as an apostle deserves to be better known among latter day saints than it is so does his work generally for much of it agrees with and illuminates the restored gospel often considered the father of modern existentialism kierkegaard did not regard himself as the founder of a philosophical movement but as a religious writer 3 he sought to reconceive philosophy which was then greek dominated by hegel according to christian rather than premises he also strove to reintroduce genuine christianity into the moribund but nominally christian culture of nineteenth century denmark which kierkegaard felt possessed a form of godliness but lacked genuine religious passion in this latter role especially his message to the christian world can resemble joseph smiths except kierkegaard repeatedly insists that he himself is no prophet that he writes without authority 4 A contemporary of joseph smith kierkegaard knew of mormonism but likely not much about it 5 although he lived in copenhagen when the mission- aries first arrived in and 11885500 may have seen them about town there is no evidence that he ever met a latter day saint never- tthheelleessss he understood what it meant to be a christian in much the same way as they the story of a possible near encounter with elder erastus snow serves to highlight similarities in the way both kierkegaard and a latter day apostle regarded such fun- ddaamental matters as apostles authority and revelation on friday july eras- 119911885500 FIG i erastus snow 1818 1888 in 1850 tus snow fig i an apostle elder snow attended an oorrddimmnaaatttiilooonnn of a priest 1 vor newly arrived in denmark went iinn the frue kirke where he was sur vor rounded by statues ofchrist s twelve apostles to the frue kirke to watch elder snow a modem apostle reflected that bishop J P mynster ordain a were those apostles alive they would likely priest there surrounded by be rejected by traditional nineteenth century bertel thorvaldsen famous christianity photograph by charles R savage s church archives statues of the christus and the 1850 https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol40/iss2/7 2 Tanner: Of Men and Mantles: Kierkegaard on the Difference between a Geniu kierkegaard on the difference between a genius and an apostle 151 twelve apostles fig elder snow reflected on the apostate condition of 2 the state church of denmark his journal entry reads as follows 1iipp91ath july I attended an ordination of a priest in frue kirke ladys church 1 which was attended with much pomp and show this frue kirke is at truly an elegant & costly building the head of the main saloon before the alter sic stands jesus in statuary iinn the act of preaching & on either side of the room are the ffuullli size statues of the apostles which were carved in marble 12 in rome and while viewing this scene & the curious ceremonies of the day I 1 had such feelings as I1 never before had how long thought I1 if these were llaivveeiinngg sic figures teaching & acting as they did 11880000 years ago would they sic great be permitted to grace this temple of the whore or even suffered to exist among this people but a short time ago these very priests who with their long robes are now officiating were the chief instruments iinn imprision ijlnaaggg ssiicc P C monster a baptist minister for teaching the people to repent & be bbbaaappptttiiizsseeeddd in the name of jesus infant sprinkling being then the only baptism in denmark great it would seem that after the mother of harlots had made war with the saints & overcome them slain jesus and his apostles trans- gressed their laws & changed their ordinances that now she had placed their grace statues in her temples to her triumph 6 FIG four of the life size statues of the twelve apostles sculpted by bertel thorvald- 2 sen and housed in the vor frue kirke our ladys chapel copenhagen denmark courtesy john W welch Published by BYU ScholarsArchive, 2001 3 BYU Studies Quarterly, Vol. 40, Iss. 2 [2001], Art. 7 152 BYU studies subsequently in a report of his first year in denmark elder snow expanded upon these reflections with even more pointed comments about bishop mynster fig and the established church 3 while the chief bishop surrounded by his clergy in sacerdotal robes was engaged in the services of the occasion I asked myself these questions if 1 these statues were living figures what would be their language to these men and this assembly were they to give utterance to the doctrines they taught while living how long would they be permitted to grace this building I re- 1 flected that by the influence of these clergy and at the instigation of this bishop was P C monster repeatedly imprisoned for preaching to the people that they must follow jesus down into the water and be baptized this was the bishop that thought it the duty of government to protect the people from this dangerous sect the latter day saints these are the men who while they allow the people to have access to the bible put a padlock upon it and pocket the key I exclaimed in my heart at the scene before me surely the great 1 mother of abominations with her numerous progeny of the protestant family after their fathers mmaarrttyyrreedd jesus and his apostles transgressed his laws changed his ordinances broke his everlasting covenant and drove the last vestige of his kingdom from the earth have now placed their stat- ues in her temples to grace her triumph 7 these reflections regarding the danish church and its probable reaction to living apostles are remarkably congruent with the sentiments of soren kierkegaard although kierkegaard appears to have remained entirely unknown mormon to the early missionar- ies he may very well have sat in the shadows of thorvaldsen s apostles with erastus snow that july day 8 for kierkegaard lived in an apartment at nNoorrrreeggaaddee no 43 vor only a short distance from the frue kirke 9 and he faithfully FIG 3 bishop J P mynster 1775 1854 attended the cathedral to hear mynster officiated in an ordination wit- bishop mynster preach indeed nessed by erastus snow a member of the quorum walter lowrie that kier- of the twelve kierkegaard says rejected the claim that mynster was a true kegaard never missed a single god witness of in the mold of the apostles sermon of mynster except the s painting by C A jensen 1792 1870 llaasstt1010 this means that kier courtesy of the royal danish ministry of foreign affairs copenhagen denmark kdeeggaaaarrdd would have regularly https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol40/iss2/7 4 Tanner: Of Men and Mantles: Kierkegaard on the Difference between a Geniu genius kierkegaard on the difference between a and an apostle 153 attended ordination services for bishop mynster delivered many sermons on such occasions as is evident from the fact that mynster published three n volumes of ordination sermons between and 11884400 1851 1 whether or not kierkegaard shared the vor frue kirke with erastus snow that day he certainly shared similar views about apostles and the established church these similarities became increasingly evident in his writings during the late 1i8844o0ss and i18855o0ss in 1849 kierkegaard fig 4 pub- lished his remarkable essay the difference between a genius and an apostle this essay resonates strongly with a latter day saint understand- ing of living prophets and apostles 12 in kierkegaard published training in christianity setting forth 1850 the way authentic christianity differed from its lifeless modern imita- tion 13 in that book kierkegaard like snow implicitly critiques both bishop mynster and the state church by imagining what it would mean to be a disciple if christ and his apostles were to come back to life in nineteenth century denmark true disciples in every age kierkegaard avers must follow christ as though they were his contemporaries christianity god requires contemporaneity with christ as a despised man who is also and by implication with his disciples as common men who are also god apostles of and in shortly after mmMyoynnnsssttteeerrrsss death kierkegaard launched a 1855 frontal attack on the state church explicitly rejecting the claim that myn- ster and much less his successor professor martensen was a true witness of god in the mold of the apostles on the contrary he asserted the christianity of the new testament simply does not eexxiisstt11111444 in many respects kierkegaard s critique of christendom resembles that delivered by the early mormon missionaries like them he raised a voice of warning against the established church like them he measured modern christian practice against the conditions for discipleship that obtained in christ s day and found conventional christians wanting like them he became a figure of controversy and scorn expecting to be perse- cuted and perhaps executed for his attack 15 and like them he attempted to reintroduce authentic christianity into its flaccid simulacrum which he derisively called christendom christendom has done away with chris- ttiianity without being quite aware of it he proclaims my one thesis is that christianity no longer exists my task is to reintroduce christianity into christendom 0111111666 the mcoorrmmoonnss first came to copenhagen with substantially the same mission had they known kierkegaards views on such matters as apostles authority and revelation they might have enlisted his work in support of their cause As it was kierkegaard seems to have been entirely unknown by the first missionaries and remains too little appreciated among latter day saints even today Published by BYU ScholarsArchive, 2001 5 BYU Studies Quarterly, Vol. 40, Iss. 2 [2001], Art. 7 byustudies 154 BYU Studies the authority of an apostle kierkegaards difference between a genius and an apostle is his best the brief statement about apostles authority and revelation essay derives from his book on adler a work unpublished in kierkegaards lifetime and on first translated in english under the title authority and revelation according to kierkegaards preface this book is basically an ethical inquiry into the concept of a revelation into what it means to be called by or a revelation what amounts to the same thing the whole book is basically an inquiry into the concept of authority 17 nominally the book is aimed against adolph peter adler a danish priest who in claimed to have received a revelation from christ only to 1842 hedge this claim when threatened with suspension from his position in the state church revelation was perhaps too strong an expression he later conceded 18 in a larger sense the book is about not only adler but the modern age 19 it anticipates training in christianity as well as kierkegaards attack on professor mMaarrtteennsseennss claim that bishop mynster was a genuine witness to the truth 21200 further kkiieerrkkeeggaaaarrddI1ss reflections on the nature of an apostle may have been influenced by sculptor tThhoorrvvaallddsseennss dcdeeeppplliicc- tion of the apostles as martyrs standing there with the instru- ments of their martyrdom in their hands silently facing the cchhrriis- s tus who paradoxically bids them come unto me and I will give 1 you rest 112211 the adler case illustrated to FIG soren kierkegaard the 4 1813 1855 kierkegaard how fundamentally established church kierkegaard asserted confused both adler and his age lacked apostles who were divinely appointed and who displayed three were about what it would mean to significant characteristics of christian dis- be called by a revelation 22 having cciipplleesshhiipp true apostles command our domesticated revealed religion his attention kierkegaard believed because age fashioned a faith void of fear of that authority their mantle not because of any genius skills or talents and trembling forgetting that the they may possess courtesy the royal god it nominally wwoorrsshhiippppeedd danish ministry of foreign affairs could require radical inexplicable copenhagen denmark https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol40/iss2/7 6 Tanner: Of Men and Mantles: Kierkegaard on the Difference between a Geniu kierkegaard on the difference between a genius and an apostle 155 paradoxical discipleship such as that manifest in the command that abraham sacrifice isaac religion must not be confused with a system of ethics kierkegaard warned though it encompasses morality nor conflated with esthetics though its teachings may be beautiful 23 likewise an apostle must not be confused with a brilliant philosopher or eloquent poet such that an apostle becomes neither more nor less than a genius 24 human genius has nothing to do with one s divine authority as an apostle As pauls kierkegaard wryly observes beautiful metaphors are no more rele- vant to his apostleship than are his tteennttmmaakkiinngg abilities the essential fact is that paul was called by a divine revelation 25 genius critical differences between a and an apostle let me briefly summarize kierkegaards essay highlighting aspects that resonate with mormonism A genius belongs to the finite realm of the temporal the realm of immanence while an apostle belongs to an infinite and eternal order the transcendent thus a genius is born while an god apostle is not born but is called and appointed by and sent by him on a mission as the term apostle denotes 26 likewise the genius may develop over time becoming a greater or lesser genius according to how god he develops his gifts while the apostle is either called by or is not there is no question of degree further an apostle does not necessarily become more intelligent or accomplished by his call nor is he necessarily distin- guished by natural gifts indeed perhaps he was what we call a simple person but by a paradoxical fact he was called to proclaim this new thing 112277 the genius may be ahead of his time but eventually he will be assimilated by history in such a way that his words no longer seem new or paradoxical for they are the fruits of immanence not transcendence the apostle by contrast will never be assimilated what he has to proclaim will forever remain just as new and just as paradoxical because his doctrine came into the world by revelation 28 the distinguishing feature of the genius is that his words are profound beautiful eloquent or brilliant the distinguishing fact about an apostle is his authority 1I am not to listen to paul because he is brilliant writes kierkegaard but I am to submit to paul because he has divine authority 1 an apostle s authority makes the hearer eternally responsible for how he heeds the message 29 kierkegaard illustrates this distinction by contrasting the utterances of a king to those of a poet or philosopher A royal command exercises a claim upon us that is categorically distinct from its poetic elo- quence or philosophical profundity go when someone who has the authority to say it says to a person and when go go someone who does not have the authority says the utterance and Published by BYU ScholarsArchive, 2001 7 BYU Studies Quarterly, Vol. 40, Iss. 2 [2001], Art. 7 156 BYU studies its content are indeed identical evaluated esthetically it is if you like equally well spoken but the authority makes the difference 30 to ask if a king is a genius and in that case be willing to obey him is basically to high treason honor ones father because he is exceptionally intelligent is impiety 31 likewise to ask whether christ is profound is blasphemy and is an attempt be it conscious or unconscious to destroy him in a subtle way 32 when christ proclaims that life is eternal the issue is not if the doctrine is profound or eloquent but if it is true hence who speaks is decisive christ or a professor of theology 33 these same principles apply to the apostle who is what he is by having divine aauutthhoorriittyy 31011133334444 the end or telos of the apostle s life is to bear witness bear is used here in its literal sense of to convey kierkegaard compares the apostle to a postman or envoy to a foreign court whose job is not to invent the con- tent of the message but to convey it properly the doctrine communicated to him is not a task given to him to cogitate about it is not given to him for on his own sake the contrary he is on a mission and has to proclaim the doctrine and to use authority 0111333555 the apostle exists entirely for the sake of god others but is accountable only to his life is determined by a telos beyond itself he exists in order to in the apostle s case he exists in order to proclaim a revealed message a duty which remains unchanged through- out his life and which requires that he sacrifice his life either literally or spiritually for it 36 finally his life and his word are all that the apostle personally has to validate his authority he cannot demonstrate it externally or objectively if he could demonstrate it physically he would simply be no apostle 3111333777 god entrusted with a message from the apostle offers believers no 11physi- cal certainty of his calling not even miracles which are themselves the objects of faith 38 the apostle thus has no way to demonstrate his authority that does not require faith in his testimony a witness for which he must be willing to die an apostle has no other evidence than his own statement and at most his will- ingness to suffer everything joyfully for the sake of that statement his speech 1 god in this regard will be brief I am called by do with me now what you will flog me persecute me but my last words will be my first I1 am called by god and I1 make you eternally responsible for what you do to me 31311333339999 such is kierkegaard s analysis of the difference between a genius and an apostle although couched in philosophical language unfamiliar to mcoorrmmoonnss and based on a categorical distinction between human capabil- ity and divine calling sometimes blurred in mormon culture kierkegaard s essay nevertheless accords remarkably well with a latter day saint under- standing of apostolic authority latter day saint doctrine also recognizes a https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol40/iss2/7 8 Tanner: Of Men and Mantles: Kierkegaard on the Difference between a Geniu kierkegaard on the difference between a genius and an apostle 157 similar fundamental distinction between the mantle and the man 40 had erastus snow known and understood kierkegaards essay he doubtless would have found much in it to applaud after all snow himself was to counsel the saints in a way that bespeaks a similar understanding of what it means to be a witness if we are called upon to bear the vessels of the lord to be witnesses of those things that we have seen and heard and to go forth to a ggaaiinnssaayyiinngg and reviling world we have got to lay aside personal considerations and go god forth trusting in and have all confidence in him taking our lives in our hands like the disciples of christ went as lambs in the midst of wolves and bear witness of the truth nothing wavering or flinching 41 moreover as the first modern apostle to scandinavia elder snow knew full well that he was not called for his profundity or eloquence which were initially far beyond his reach in danish in any event forced as he was to speak more with my eyes and fingers than with my ttoonngguuee4422 he was god called for what he knew by revelation namely that had spoken to a new prophet joseph smith as an apostle in the kKieierkrekgeagaardaiiraadnn sense joseph smith exemplifies kierkegaard s concept of apostle even more conspicuously than elder snow for joseph received his calling as prophet in an open vision of god and his ordination as apostle under the hands of the resurrected peter james and john 43 unlike adler the prophet joseph betrayed no hint oboffabbcaakccpkkpepededdaaallliiinnnggg about his claim to revelation from first god to last his testimony was 1I am called of a statement for which he was willing to die an uneducated farm boy joseph smith claimed divine authority not by virtue of human profundity or eloquence but by virtue of divine revela- tion the prophets doctrine remains essentially new and paradoxical how- ever long it is proclaimed in the world 114444 for it is not the product of human genius but of divine revelation it belongs essentially to the realm of tran- sscceennddeennccee not of immanence hence neither joseph nor his revelations can be assimilated into history simply as american originals rather they are essentially paradoxical situated in the immanent but ultimately in- explicable by history sociology psychology literary genius or any other naturalistic explanation As an authentic apostle joseph is a man like other men but at the same time one made paradoxically different from all other human beings god because he is sent by 4455Aass an apostle he makes an absolute religious claim upon the world rather than an esthetic one the question of the beauty or profundity of his teachings is from this point of view completely Published by BYU ScholarsArchive, 2001 9