Fear And Trembling

Kierkegaard notes an old proverb that says “only the man that works gets the bread” (61). But that is not true in the real world, where some possess treasure without working. In the spiritual world, however, the proverb holds, as the person who does not work will only be deluded. The story of Abraham is glorious regardless of how it is read, but few ever put in the work necessary to understand it. They say that Abraham was “great” because he was willing to sacrifice the “best” without recognizing that the “best” is an ambiguous term and forgets the fact that Abraham did dread the action asked of him (63). Abraham did not act as a merchant giving up his wealth; instead, he felt dread over the obligations he had to both God and his son.

If a man were to hear a preacher praising the sacrifice Abraham made, the man might go home and plan to kill his son. He would be following the words of the preacher, but the preacher would have failed to articulate what made Abraham great. The reality of Abraham’s behavior is that he tried to murder his son. However, Abraham’s action also had a