Wielding "Fear and Trembling" Against Religious Violence and Bigotry
It can be unnerving to read and teach Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling in a world plagued by religious violence. The book's praise of Abraham as the "father of faith" precisely for his willingness to kill his son Isaac, combined with its suggestion that through faith one could &q...
| Published in: | Kierkegaard studies / Yearbook |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
De Gruyter
2022
|
| In: |
Kierkegaard studies / Yearbook
Year: 2022, Volume: 27, Issue: 1, Pages: 35-48 |
| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy HB Old Testament KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | It can be unnerving to read and teach Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling in a world plagued by religious violence. The book's praise of Abraham as the "father of faith" precisely for his willingness to kill his son Isaac, combined with its suggestion that through faith one could "suspend" ethics, seems to provide a defense and even an endorsement of religiously motivated violence. In order to see why this is a misreading of the text, we will need to go beyond arguments based on the book’s pseudonymous or symbolic nature. Only by considering in detail what Fear and Trembling says about Abraham's faith can we see that, far from endorsing religious violence, the book provides an insightful contrast between true Abrahamic faith and the orientation of hatred, bigotry, ideological blindness behind today’s religious violence. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1612-9792 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Kierkegaard studies / Yearbook
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1515/kierke-2022-0003 |