The Book on Adler

Kierkegaard was driven to writeThe Book on Adlerafter news spread that a Danish pastor, Adolph P. Adler, claimed to have experienced a revelation in which Christ dictated a new doctrine. Like many others, Kierkegaard was intrigued by Adler--but for different reasons than most. Over the eight years during which Kierkegaard worked on the manuscript, the phenomenon of Adler became a concern secondary to the larger question of authority. Kierkegaard revised the manuscript many times, and published a segment of it as "The Difference between a Genius and an Apostle" inTwo Ethical-Religious Essays, but did not publish the work as a whole before his death. The latest integral version ofThe Book on Adleris included here, along with excerpts from the earlier drafts and a sampling of writing by Adler himself.

Howard V. Hong, the former Director of the Howard and Edna Hong Kierkegaard Library at St. Olaf College, is the General Editor of "Kierkegaard's Writings". Edna H. Hong is a poet, writer, and translator who has collaborated with Professor Hong on other English translations of Kierkegaard's work.