Fear and Trembling by Søren Kierkegaard

Fear and Trembling is a philosophical work by Søren Kierkegaard, published in 1843. The title is a reference to a line from Philippians 2:12, "...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling." Kierkegaard wanted to understand the anxiety that must have been present in Abraham when "God tested and said to him, take Isaac, your only son, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering on the mountain that I shall show you." Abraham had a choice to complete the task or to refuse to comply with God's orders. He resigned himself to the three-and-a-half-day journey and to the loss of his son. "He said nothing to Sarah, nothing to Eliezer. Who, after all, could understand him, for did not the nature of temptation extract from him a pledge of silence? He split the firewood, he bound Isaac, he lit the fire, he drew the knife." Because he kept everything to himself and chose not to reveal his feelings he "isolated himself as higher than the universal." Several authorities consider the work autobiographical. It can be explained as Kierkegaard's way of working himself through the loss of his fiancee, Regine Olsen. Abraham becomes Kierkegaard and Isaac becomes Regine in this interpretation. A True Classic for all Lovers of Philosophical Works!