Fear and Trembling

Kirkegaard wrote one of my favorite books, Fear and Trembling, an exposition on faith with father Abraham as its subject. His tenor and the strength of his passion are quite moving. Although there are copious and diverse quotes, here is a small sampling.

Kirkegaard speaks of the most consecrated faith belonging to those who believe in the promises made with God, even after the desire to have the promises fulfilled has expired. In this example, he was commenting that Abraham was justified, after his years of waiting, to have given up on bearing children with Sarah, and moved on toward fulfilling other commandments of the Lord as His chosen prophet. Kirkegaard cites Abraham's faith as the most excellent because he held on to the promise that he would be the Father of Nations despite his age, waiting, and patience.

"...It is great to give up one's desire, but greater to stick to it after having given it up; it is great to grasp hold of the eternal but greater to stick to the temporal after having given it up."