With many Christians and people following God's teachings, the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22 was probably one of the most popular parts of the Bible. While the original story is one of faith and sacrifice, Kierkegaard's four divergent versions highlight the complexity of the event which at first seemed simple and straightforward. Kierkegaard raised difficult questions about the nature and value of the Christian faith. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the original story, God tested Abraham's faith by telling him to kill his one and only son, his most beloved son, in one of the mountains of Moriah. Abraham questioned nothing other than his faith and, in fact, obeyed God and attempted to kill Isaac; but the angel of God came at the right time to stop Abraham and gave him a ram instead of Isaac. Because God saw Abraham's fear and faithfulness, he blessed him with numerous descendants. At the beginning of Fear and Trembling, Kierkegaard tells the story of Genesis 22 in four different ways, in which he focuses on the inner thoughts of the characters involved. In the first story, Kierkegaard describes how Sarah watched her husband and son move away from the window until “she could no longer see them.” The way Kierkegaard used his words emphasizes the depressed and gloomy feeling of a mother who knew that her only child was about to be killed by her husband, the father of her child. He also describes how Abraham behaved during the journey, who "did not say a word" and with his "fatherly" expression. In this first version, Abraham decided to act as if he didn't love his son at all and that all he needed was God. The truth was that Abraham would rather Isaac lose faith in his father than Isaac lose faith in God With every little detail, from Sarah's emotional feelings to Abraham's bleeding soul and Isaac's anguished cry, the story - through Kierkegaard's words - becomes more realistic and painful enough to deeply touch my heart and soul. . The second story is shorter than the first and focuses more on the actions of the characters. In this story, Abraham decided not to kill Isaac and instead sacrificed the ram that God had appointed. However, as Isaac continued to live and grow, Abraham saw no joy in his life, because he had disobeyed God. In the third story, Abraham was confused about his actions and his faith. He couldn't understand that it was a sin that he was willing to sacrifice his son because God commanded him to do so. But it was a shame because he loved Isaac so much and had forgotten his duty as a father. Abraham did not know which sin was more terrible, for both brought upon him the same merciless consequence. The fourth story focuses on Isaac more than Abraham. In this story, Abraham did not kill Isaac. He trembled. Then they returned to Sarah's joy, but Isaac lost faith because he saw his father disobey God. In Fear and Trembling, Kierkegaard points out that Abraham's decision is morally repugnant and rationally incomprehensible. However, it also shows that if nothing is higher than human reasoning, then belief in God becomes superfluous. Kierkegaard's writings refer to people who believed in the authority and goodness of God. By emphasizing the difficulty of understanding Abraham's response to divine command, he emphasizes the difficulty of faith itself. The third story asks each of us a question: “If you were Abraham, what would you do?” It seems unlikely that anyone would conclude that he would have acted like Abraham. Just as Abraham's faith is put to.
tags