Why is Kierkegaard not considered an Anabaptist voice...?

[Jazman]

I recently listened to this discussion of Kierkegaard's theology/philosophy and was surprised at how Anabaptist some of it sounds. (About 3/4 way through podcast is where this came out the most; the gentlemen discuss many other things as well)

I have not read Kierkegaard yet, but especially after this, I want to/need to. So maybe there's something I'm missing in his writing/thinking that would disqualify him as an Anabaptist thought-leader. Or maybe he's been overlooked?

Your thoughts are appreciated.

[PeterG]

Disclaimer—I don't really know much about Kierkegaard.

I suppose this takes us to what defines Anabaptism and Anabaptists, but I think it'd be a stretch to call Kierkegaard an Anabaptist because he neither belonged to an Anabaptist church nor specifically affirmed Anabaptist doctrines such as believer's baptism, to my knowledge. His association with the Moravians could be seen to make him Anabaptist-adjacent. There do seem to be significant points of overlap between Anabaptism and Kierkegaard, and I agree that greater consideration of his ideas in the context of Anabaptism could be fruitful. In this regard he is much like the Lutheran Pietists, or, at a somewhat greater remove, Pascal and Chesterton.

[Josh]

I consider Anabaptism to simply be biblical Christianity, so other people with no Anabaptist connections who earnestly search the scriptures and try to live them out end up "Anabaptist adjacent". I would view the historical Moravians this way, even though they continued to practice infant baptism.

Anabaptists themselves I doubt have ever read much of his writings. I read Works of Love at the recommendation of a friend around 7 years ago, and I would daresay it influenced me with a lot of Anabaptist ideals, even though I don't think I've ever encountered an Anabaptist that would recognise the name.

[Wayne in Maine]

As the originator of existentialism, and in particular a proponent of Christian existentialism, Kierkegaards approach to “theology” is quite in line with Anabaptism.

Reading Kierkegaard as a freshman ministerial student may well have been one of the levers that flipped me eventually from a Wesleyan-Holiness Evangelical to an Primitive Anabaptist.

[joshuabgood]

As the originator of existentialism, and in particular a proponent of Christian existentialism, Kierkegaards approach to “theology” is quite in line with Anabaptism.

Reading Kierkegaard as a freshman ministerial student may well have been one of the levers that flipped me eventually from a Wesleyan-Holiness Evangelical to an Primitive Anabaptist.

Kierkegaard's version of subjectivism made so much sense to me.

[Wayne in Maine]

As the originator of existentialism, and in particular a proponent of Christian existentialism, Kierkegaards approach to “theology” is quite in line with Anabaptism.

Reading Kierkegaard as a freshman ministerial student may well have been one of the levers that flipped me eventually from a Wesleyan-Holiness Evangelical to an Primitive Anabaptist.

Kierkegaard's version of subjectivism made so much sense to me.

It is one of the reasons why, in apologetics, I prefer to appeal to "Authenticity" over "Truth", because philosophically (and practically) truth is subjective - it actualizes an individual whether or not it is objectively authentic. We see this here on Mennonet all the time.

[PetrChelcicky]

Of course, Kierkegaard is ranting against a church-state connexion in particular and against "the world" in general - which may endear him to Anabaptists. On the other hand, he is an extreme individualist and has no sense for collectives which seems to imply local churches - which seems to me extremely un-Anabaptist.