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Fools for Christ
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This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.
We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
184 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
3 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
About the author
Jaroslav Pelikan
197 books131 followersJaroslav Jan Pelikan was born in Akron, Ohio, to a Slovak father and mother, Jaroslav Jan Pelikan Sr. and Anna Buzekova Pelikan. His father was pastor of Trinity Slovak Lutheran Church in Chicago, Illinois, and his paternal grandfather a bishop of the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches then known as the Slovak Lutheran Church in America.
According to family members, Pelikan's mother taught him how to use a typewriter when he was three years old, as he could not yet hold a pen properly but wanted to write. A polyglot, Pelikan's facility with languages may be traced to his multilingual childhood and early training. That linguistic facility was to serve him in the career he ultimately chose (after contemplating becoming a concert pianist)--as a historian of Christian doctrine. He did not confine his studies to Roman Catholic and Protestant theological history, but also embraced that of the Christian East.
In 1946 when he was 22, he earned both a seminary degree from Concordia Seminary in Saint Louis, Missouri and a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago.
Pelikan wrote more than 30 books, including the five-volume The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine (1971–1989). Some of his later works attained crossover appeal, reaching beyond the scholarly sphere into the general reading public (notably, Mary Through the Centuries, Jesus Through the Centuries and Whose Bible Is It?).
His 1984 book The Vindication of Tradition gave rise to an often quoted one liner. In an interview in U.S. News & World Report (June 26, 1989), he said: "Tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. Tradition lives in conversation with the past, while remembering where we are and when we are and that it is we who have to decide.
"Traditionalism supposes that nothing should ever be done for the first time, so all that is needed to solve any problem is to arrive at the supposedly unanimous testimony of this homogenized tradition."
According to family members, Pelikan's mother taught him how to use a typewriter when he was three years old, as he could not yet hold a pen properly but wanted to write. A polyglot, Pelikan's facility with languages may be traced to his multilingual childhood and early training. That linguistic facility was to serve him in the career he ultimately chose (after contemplating becoming a concert pianist)--as a historian of Christian doctrine. He did not confine his studies to Roman Catholic and Protestant theological history, but also embraced that of the Christian East.
In 1946 when he was 22, he earned both a seminary degree from Concordia Seminary in Saint Louis, Missouri and a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago.
Pelikan wrote more than 30 books, including the five-volume The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine (1971–1989). Some of his later works attained crossover appeal, reaching beyond the scholarly sphere into the general reading public (notably, Mary Through the Centuries, Jesus Through the Centuries and Whose Bible Is It?).
His 1984 book The Vindication of Tradition gave rise to an often quoted one liner. In an interview in U.S. News & World Report (June 26, 1989), he said: "Tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. Tradition lives in conversation with the past, while remembering where we are and when we are and that it is we who have to decide.
"Traditionalism supposes that nothing should ever be done for the first time, so all that is needed to solve any problem is to arrive at the supposedly unanimous testimony of this homogenized tradition."
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 24, 2012
Wonderful book. Really good. So much to think about. This is an exploration of the Holy, or the Numinous, in relation to the values of truth, goodness, and beauty. Pelikan's main argument is that it is tempting to try to reduce the Holy to one or other of these values, as typified in intellectualism, moralism, and aestheticism. But the Holiness of God is far too great and terrible a reality to be encompassed by domesticated terms such as these. This is not at all to say that these are irrelevant categories. He means to show that truth, goodness and beauty are defined by God himself, and not the other way around. As negative and positive exemplars of this, Pelikan reviews the lives of Kierkegaard, St. Paul, Dostoevsky, Luther, Nietzsche, and J. S. Bach. Very thought provoking.
September 3, 2013
Jaroslav Pelikan tastefully unveils through essays on six renown geniuses that the attributes of God should never subject God to said attributes. Often times an attribute of God is given such priority that it, in fact, is viewed as the superior of the two.
In 'Fools For Christ' Pelikan looks at the 'Holy and True,' 'Holy and Good,' and the 'Holy and Beautiful' through the eyes of Kierkegaard, the Apostle Paul, Dostoevsky, Luther, Nietzsche, and Bach.
One of my professors, Reggie Kidd, shared with us how this book is one of his all time favorites. After reading, I can see why. My copy is ridden with underlines and margin notes. It will certainly be a book I refer back to many times in the future.
In 'Fools For Christ' Pelikan looks at the 'Holy and True,' 'Holy and Good,' and the 'Holy and Beautiful' through the eyes of Kierkegaard, the Apostle Paul, Dostoevsky, Luther, Nietzsche, and Bach.
One of my professors, Reggie Kidd, shared with us how this book is one of his all time favorites. After reading, I can see why. My copy is ridden with underlines and margin notes. It will certainly be a book I refer back to many times in the future.
February 11, 2013
Not a long or difficult book, but engaging and insightful. Pelikan takes the categories of the true, the good, and the beautiful, and shows how Christianity, or the encounter with Christ, transforms one's relation to these. Each category may be confused for the Holy, or substituted falsely for it. One doesn't get to the holy, to Christ, through them (approached this way, (each is either inadequate or a counterfeit), but having encountered the Holy, then the true, good, and beautiful can be seen and repurposed in a world with Christ at the center.
May 3, 2023
This is a little book, but it’s extremely dense.
I’ll need a second reading and maybe a third to really grasp all that is offered here.
I’ll need a second reading and maybe a third to really grasp all that is offered here.
January 9, 2017
This was a fine book, which I wish I would have read more slowly. There is much to think about in its pages.
The six chapters analyze Kierkegaard's understanding of the Holy and the true, Paul's understanding of the truth in Christ, Dostoevsky's understanding of the Holy and the good, Luther's understanding of the goodness of God, Nietzsche's understanding of the Holy and the beautiful, and Bach's understanding of the beauty of holiness.
The six chapters analyze Kierkegaard's understanding of the Holy and the true, Paul's understanding of the truth in Christ, Dostoevsky's understanding of the Holy and the good, Luther's understanding of the goodness of God, Nietzsche's understanding of the Holy and the beautiful, and Bach's understanding of the beauty of holiness.
February 28, 2024
This is my first Jaroslav Pelikan read, and I fail to think of anything more glowing of his work in 'Fools for Christ' than the genesis of my desire to read absolutely everything Pelikan wrote being born just a few dozen pages into the 1955 series of essays. Pelikan is brilliant here, wonderfully weaving poetic gestures for the reader alongside the philosophical and even historical elements of Christian thought. Anyone who reads the book will find that this almost artistically playful but serious approach to the topic of how man is tempted to synthesize (and even disorganize in the case of Nietzsche) the One Holy God fits more than well.
My five-star review is not to suggest I agree with Pelikan on everything he suggests, nor do I think the book is without its fair share of real faults. By the end of the book, it felt as though Pelikan was ready to speed through his essay on Johann Sebastian Bach. That's unfortunate considering the life of Bach and his proper approach to the Holy and the Beautiful is maybe the more underdeveloped topic in the book and in modern scholarship since the 20th century. That being said, the other essays on the equation of the Holy and the True and the Holy and the Good are more than fine indeed. Another criticism one might have is that there could have been a better digestion of the historical aspect of the men discussed for each essay.
Pelikan seems entirely comfortable not having all the answers, which is a refreshing air of a Christian intellectual. Again, Pelikan seemed to have more fun with these essays than most might have writing about such weighty topics. This is evident in the fun little comical bits he throws in every so often. That's a mature place to be as a Christian, and the fact that he wrote this at the age of 32 is simply inspiring. This is highly recommended to all Christians and even non-religious readers will find Pelikan's philosophy engaging and important. Read this book.
My five-star review is not to suggest I agree with Pelikan on everything he suggests, nor do I think the book is without its fair share of real faults. By the end of the book, it felt as though Pelikan was ready to speed through his essay on Johann Sebastian Bach. That's unfortunate considering the life of Bach and his proper approach to the Holy and the Beautiful is maybe the more underdeveloped topic in the book and in modern scholarship since the 20th century. That being said, the other essays on the equation of the Holy and the True and the Holy and the Good are more than fine indeed. Another criticism one might have is that there could have been a better digestion of the historical aspect of the men discussed for each essay.
Pelikan seems entirely comfortable not having all the answers, which is a refreshing air of a Christian intellectual. Again, Pelikan seemed to have more fun with these essays than most might have writing about such weighty topics. This is evident in the fun little comical bits he throws in every so often. That's a mature place to be as a Christian, and the fact that he wrote this at the age of 32 is simply inspiring. This is highly recommended to all Christians and even non-religious readers will find Pelikan's philosophy engaging and important. Read this book.
February 9, 2023
Jaroslav Pelikan (1923-2006) was an American scholar of Christianity, its history and theology, and taught for many years at Yale. The sub-subtitle of this book (mine is the 1955 paperback) is "Impressions of Kierkegaard, Paul [as in the apostle], Dostoevsky, Luther, Neitzsche, Bach." The chapters are Kierkegaard: The Holy and the True, Paul: The Truth in Christ, Dostoevsky: The Holy and the Good, Luther: The Goodness of God, Neitzsche: The Holy and the Beautiful, and Bach: The Beauty of Holiness.
My focus here is on Bach: "According to Bach, the highest activity of the human spirit was the praise of God, but such praise involved the total activity of the spirit" (155). "As the praise of the Eternal God, Christian art was an expression of boundless freedom; but as the praise of the God who had limited [Godself] in the Incarnation, it bound itself to form" (159). "As the medium of a historical faith, Christian art had to be cast in terms of the historical repository of its tradition; but as a expression of faith in the living God, it had to be relevant and contemporary in its use of this repository" (162). "Christian art did not have a primarily programmatic function in relation to the Word, but it could illuminate or even transcend the content of the words with which it was joined" (165). "In these and other ways, Bach was led by the overpowering mercy and overwhelming grace of the Holy to acknowledge a new dimension of life and value. . . . that Holy has been made flesh and has dwelt among us in Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life" (171-172).
My focus here is on Bach: "According to Bach, the highest activity of the human spirit was the praise of God, but such praise involved the total activity of the spirit" (155). "As the praise of the Eternal God, Christian art was an expression of boundless freedom; but as the praise of the God who had limited [Godself] in the Incarnation, it bound itself to form" (159). "As the medium of a historical faith, Christian art had to be cast in terms of the historical repository of its tradition; but as a expression of faith in the living God, it had to be relevant and contemporary in its use of this repository" (162). "Christian art did not have a primarily programmatic function in relation to the Word, but it could illuminate or even transcend the content of the words with which it was joined" (165). "In these and other ways, Bach was led by the overpowering mercy and overwhelming grace of the Holy to acknowledge a new dimension of life and value. . . . that Holy has been made flesh and has dwelt among us in Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life" (171-172).
May 27, 2024
Pelikan does an excellent job of taking many authors in the Christian and Western tradition and synthesizing them. He also orients the reader (appropriately) by identifying God as coming down from heaven instead of us making our way up to Him. Most of this is negative theology - saying what it's not and what we should not do - and he acknowledges this. It's a great starting ground for further discussions. I found the Paul and Luther essay to be a little rambling, but the Bach, Kierkegaard, and Dostoevsky essays were life changing. The Nietzsche essay helped me understand Nietzsche better. Would recommend this to anyone! Definitely making my friends read some of it.
March 17, 2024
Wonderfully deep and helpful book.
This is probably my third or fourth time reading through it. I think it should be required reading for every Christian philosopher, theologian, or minister.
This is probably my third or fourth time reading through it. I think it should be required reading for every Christian philosopher, theologian, or minister.
December 30, 2015
Originally published in 1955, this small book (~170 pages in the hardcover first edition) is a masterful analysis of the difference between an awe-filled, worshipful relationship with God and three competitors/impostors, namely intellectualism, moralism, and aestheticism. Highly recommended!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews