Dear Colleagues,

One of my favourite quotes comes from my Canadian friend and Order colleague, Gay Kennedy. “When you're dead, you’re dead for a long time.” I think SK would appreciate her irony. 

My partner, Mary Farrar and I are going to Copenhagen in July for eight days to visit her family. We are also in the process of structuring a Soren Kierkegaard pilgrimage. Beret Griffith suggested that I post our inquiry on the listserv seeking your input.

 

 

Part I - When did JWM encounter the writings of Soren Kierkegaard?

 

I’m curious about the connective tissue between JWM & SK.

When did Joe encounter SK?

The fruit of that encounter has been astronomical.

 

1.     ‘Philosophical Fragments’ - David F. Swenson, 1936. Revised by Howard V. Hong. “I always reason from existence, not toward existence, whether I move in the sphere of palpable fact or in the realm of thought.” [from Getting to the Bottom of Top – existentialism & phenomenology] At that time, Joe was an undergraduate at Asbury.

 

2.     'The Sickness Unto Death' - Walter Lowrie, Princeton U., 1941, was just published when Joe was at Union. “By relating to its own self and by willing to be itself, the self is grounded transparently in the Power which constituted it.”

 

3.     'Shaking the Foundations’ connecting ‘separation' to ‘despair', was published in 1948, the same year that Joe was at Yale Graduate School with HRN.

 

Mathews, Joseph Wesley was born on October 8, 1911, in Breezewood, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of James Donaldson and Laura (Wilson) Mathews.

 

Education

 

Bachelor of Arts, Asbury College, Willmore, Kentucky, 1936. Bachelor of Divinity, Drew University, 1939. Student Union Theological Seminary, New York City, 1939-1941.

Student Yale Graduate School, 1948.

 

Career

 

Professor of philosophy and religion Colgate University, 1948-1952.

Professor of Christian ethics, Perkins School Theology, Southern Methodist University, 1952-1956.

Dean of studies, Christian Faith and Life Community, Austin, Texas, 1956-1962.

Dean, Ecumenical Institute, Chicago, 1962-1977.

Executive Director, Institute Cultural Affairs, to 1977.

National lecturer theology, ethics, education, 1948-1977.

 

 

Part II – Colleagues that I know of, currently engaged in Soren Kierkegaard reflections include:

 

·      Michael May – Interior Mythos Journeys Michael is a lifetime devotee. Attached is his ‘One Second to Choose’. I subscribe to his 57 modules of ‘The Life Journey’.