- (Repost from 6/28) Faithful Hero
Many would say that Abraham’s unwavering obedience to God’s horrifying command was brave; that it was a demonstration of faith at its purest. “For the one who struggled with the world became great by conquering the world, and the one who struggled with himself became greater by conquering himself, but the one who struggled with God became greater than everybody. Thus there was conflict in the world, man against man, one against a thousand, but the one who struggled with God was greater than everybody” (pg. 13). In this passage, Abraham is exalted as a hero because he chose his faith. He chose his faith above reason, above ethics, above even his own desire. In his struggle with God he won. In acting in complete compliance with God’s request, but more than that, by believing beyond reason, Abraham demonstrated the spirit of a hero. In choosing God, Abraham performed the truest form of faith.
Is faith just that, obedience? How far shall one go to act in pure faith? Is it reasonable to do what Abraham did; to follow with whole-hearted belief even when it conflicts with one’s ethics? It does appear so in Kierkegaard’s recounting of Abraham’s story. To choose faith even when it meant sacrificing the single most important thing in his life, the treasure he had waited so long to behold, the promise of a future filled with all the things he had worked for; giving this up in accordance with God’s command is what made Abraham great. God does not have to reasonable but his truest follower will act accordingly, regardless.
By giving over to God what was most precious to him, Abraham gained a closeness with God unlike anyone else. Acting in any other way would have made him less great. Abraham stands out in his struggle not only because he willed to do what God asked but because he held back all forms of doubt and question. He went steadfastly ahead as God asked, without flinching.
It brings to light the conflict of being faithful over ethical reasoning. The struggle with God is the purest form of good. To be close to God is to be good, and to be close to God, you must act in accordance with his will, without questioning or wavering. Kierkegaard’s recounting of Abraham’s story is incredibly powerful in how he describes the beauty and commitment of Abraham to grant God his request.
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I see the angle your coming from, that faith entails some form of obedience to the absolute, or God. You're also suggesting that faith is "good", but if it defies the ethical is it still good, in the moral sense of the word? It's true that Abraham is revered for having faith in God (beyond everything), but what he did (or was about to do) was still immoral. It's unfortunate that faith is problematic this way...
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement “the struggle with God is the purest form of good”. One might think that to struggle with God indicates lack of faith because of disobedience but I think that it is a pure form of faith. Man’s relationship with God is so real that man engages god with struggle. Mosses’ commitment to God was to the extent that he struggled with God for the sake of God and His children and mosses is therefore called the faithful shepherd.
ReplyDeleteFaith within this context is not immoral. In the world we live in today, Abraham’s actions would be labeled psychotic. In our modern world, there is no room for the extreme faith demonstrated by Abraham. It would be disruptive to our society, as we’ve seen with terrorist activity in our own time. Biblical times, however, have room for such demonstrative faith. I also think that the story of Abraham goes beyond any sort of literal interpretation, though I realize I may be in the minority with this. As an extension, I’m inclined to think that God to Abraham was his reason and his heart. He followed God’s command perhaps because if one does not follow one’s reason and heart, what have we anyway? Used as an extreme example, the story of Abraham’s obedience can be seen also as an unwillingness to compromise values or principles chosen to govern our lives; principles that feel true and natural. This is a far stretch, I know, but having grown up a cultural Jew but not religious, I’ve often sought alternative meanings in order relate with my culture’s historical stories.
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