Authors /
Gordon D. Marino
Gordon Marino teaches philosophy at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. He is the author of Kierkegaard in the Present Age, editor of The Quotable Kierkegaard, and coeditor of The Cambridge Companion to Kierkegaard.
Down to earth
For philosopher Costica Bradatan, failure delivers self-knowledge in a way that success cannot.
June 13, 2023
Kierkegaard’s Journals and Notebooks
When I learned there was a plan to translate the complete edition of Kierkegaard's journals and notebooks, I was dubious as to the need. I was dead wrong.
July 14, 2015
The Deepest Human Life, by Scott Samuelson
The Deepest Human Life is an elegantly written, impassioned, and sometimes disjointed plea on behalf of philosophy. Scott Samuelson invokes poets, novelists, and theologians to defend the dialectical process that Socrates imparted.
October 2, 2014
Stay, by Jennifer Michael Hecht
Most moral arguments against suicide are built on premises of faith. But Jennifer Hecht, a poet and first-rate historian of ideas, is intent on providing secular reasons for refraining from it.
April 17, 2014
Kierkegaard, edited and translated by Alastair Hannay
Many of the readers who flock to Søren Kierkegaard are members of the philosophy guild....
March 20, 2011
A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
Aristotle famously asserted, “Philosophy begins in wonder.” Sometimes I wonder about that....
November 16, 2009
Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy
In 1621 Robert Burton published The Anatomy of Melancholy, and now, nearly 400 years later, Eric Wilson has given us what amount...
November 17, 2008
Overcoming Life's Disappointments
Joy and gratitude are the subjects of many popular books. There are workshops on grief and anger and a library of literature on depression....
April 21, 2008
Not in our backyard: Means and ends in Iraq
Philosopher Immanuel Kant argued that it is always wrong to treat a person or a people purely as a means to an end....
September 20, 2005
Back Pages
Doink! A neighborhood kid kicked a ball that nearly punched out my kitchen window....
May 30, 2005
Free Newsletters
From theological reflections to breaking religion news to the latest books, the Christian Century's newsletters have you covered.

Sidelined: Life after football
In April the NFL will bless about 250 draftees with a professional contract; the rest will be cleaning out their identities along with their lockers as they make a sharp turn out of football into n...
March 23, 2004
Job on Prozac: The pharmaceutical option
In the biblical story, God tests his faithful servant Job to see whether Job will stay devoted to God even if God takes everything away from him....
August 9, 2003
Leap of love: Kierkegaard on regard for enemies
There are serious obstacles to making the spiritual adjustment required to presuppose love.
July 17, 2002
Remote control: The ethics of watching
A century ago the bone weary must have come home from their labors and relaxed by watching the flames dancing in the hearth....
January 20, 1999