Abraham, the father of all nations, is the perfect model of faith in Fear and Trembling, a book written by Søren Kierkegaard. It contains Kierkegaard's obsession with the story of Abraham and his son, Isaac, which occurs in Genesis 22. Abraham, a faithful follower of God, was given the task of sacrificing his son, which was the most difficult task he had ever accomplished. This article will discuss the paradox that includes unethical actions and how Abraham is faced with a difficult task, who must choose between sacrificing his son or ignoring God's command and uses his faith, courage and ethics to accomplish the task. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In Fear and Trembling, Kierkegaard explains the parable of Abraham and Isaac and how he falls into the parable. In the parable “The Binding of Isaac,” God commands Abraham to offer his child Isaac to Him as a sacrifice. After Isaac is bound at the altar, a moment with Isaac and God occurs. God stops Abraham before he completes the sacrificial process, saying "now I know that you fear God." Abraham looks up and sees a ram and sacrifices it rather than Isaac. This shows Abraham's absolute faith and obedience to God. Kierkegaard is particularly attentive to the way the world distracts from the overarching issue of trust. He realizes that if he legitimately registers a desire for activity, it will not produce the intended effect. As it is written in the Bible: “Always hear, but never understand; always see, but never perceive…” In this way, Kierkegaard decides to address individuals through illustrations, for example by developing a story that legitimately identifies with the message rather than in a roundabout way. He tells the story of Abraham and Isaac to highlight three things: uncertainty, risk and challenge. Kierkegaard highlighted these three elements in his novel to help the reader fully realize that uncertainty, risk, and challenge are necessary for absolute faith. The main element was a risk, namely the risk of obedience. This is a consideration used by Kierkeegard that gives readers more depth as to what the paradox entails. Abraham had the choice to obey and disobey, the risk of obedience. Although he chose to obey, there could have been a chance that he would use his ethical mindset and not take action. In Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling, he discusses the difference between faith and "infinite resignation." People with “infinite resignation” might resign themselves before acting. This means that they, according to a famous saying, “think before they act or do.” “At the crucial moment, Agamemnon, Jephthah and Brutus heroically overcame the agony, heroically lost their beloved and were left to accomplish the task externally.” The act of resignation now ends before the sacrifice of the child. To have infinite resignation, it is not necessary to perform any particular act, but simply to make the mental movement of presenting one's limited will to the unlimited. In the event that Agamemnon's daughter had been struck somewhere by the gods just before he abandoned her, he would be just as much of a hero anyway, not because of the physical sacrifice but because of his resignation. Kierkegaard tells us that if infinite resignation is done correctly, then no future disappointments will be able to interfere with its infinite nature. This implies that whatever courage is associated with infinite resignation does not come from the activity itself, but ratherof previous resignation. Activity is not important for infinite resignation, nor would it be capable of annihilating infinite resignation. He argues that an individual with infinite resignation just isn't as extraordinary as a result of his activity. Now for faith, faith requires action. “by virtue of the absurd” – on the journey to Mount Moriah, Abraham had to continue to believe continually while performing the physical actions of preparing for the sacrifice, without ever doubting. However, if Abraham had had infinite resignation, and not trust, he would have simply steeled his own mind toward Isaac's doom, and ultimately the act would have simply been outward. On the 3rd day, the adventure to Mount Moriah, there was plenty of time to leave properly, thus producing a mental barrier against the torment of misfortune. Starting from faith and “action”. The central goal of Fear and Trembling is to move the reader to action. The goal is not to seek intellectual or emotional faith, but faith expressed through actions. “only he who was in anguish finds rest, only he who descends into the lower world saves the beloved, only he who draws the knife obtains Isaac.” If someone is not willing to work, they will not see any results or improvement. We must work for a will and an action of faith, with full respect for God. Regarding Abraham, he succeeded because he acted. “He split the firewood, he tied Isaac, he lit the fire, he drew the knife…”. This moment was a critical moment where he could doubt involuntarily and lose everything. And if he did, the world would not be the same today. Someone with faith receives everything for his action because his action was not only for himself, but for God and his inner self. “Each was great in full proportion to the magnitude of what he struggled with.” This refers to “faith”, of which the movement of faith necessarily involves struggles. Kierkegaard says that everyone has a choice in life because, ultimately, it is their own life. God gave us free will when Adam and Eve sinned by eating fruit from the “forbidden tree.” Free will means freedom. Freedom is using one's own thoughts, beliefs to make a choice. Freedom and free will are one. We each have the right to speak or not to speak and the right to act or not to act. In the Bible, faith is an important subject mentioned several times. Anyone who follows God only needs faith the size of a “mustard seed” – that which is achievable and with which he can perform all the miracles he needs for his specific task. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith as big as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you. Growing mustard seeds is how faith works in our lives. This is how God takes us all the way. What Jesus was trying to show individuals in his day, just as it is today, is that faith can be found in the simplest things. Faith is not something inaccessible to the ordinary man or woman. We do not need to “appeal directly to God” for Him to cherish and favor us. Indeed, it is when we find ourselves in trials and suffering that we must turn our eyes to God. And if we truly trust Christ, all we need is a little faith. “But then it takes a humble and paradoxical courage to grasp… the virtue of the absurd…”. Kierkegaard explains that having faith like a mustard seed is on another level, a level that some cannot understand...