Fear and Trembling: Speech in Praise of Abraham Summary & Analysis

Johannes writes that if humanity didn’t have an “eternal consciousness” or if everything beyond the temporal world were empty, then life would be nothing but despair. Without noticeable change and progress from one generation to the next, life would be meaningless. However, according to Johannes, this is why God created poets and heroes—heroes to do great deeds and poets to publicly praise them, keeping their heroic actions alive in humanity’s collective memory. Thanks to the poets, no truly great person is ever forgotten, and every person has the potential to be great in their own way and in proportion to what they devote their lives to. Some devote their lives to themselves and some people devote their lives to others, but the greatest are those who love and devote their lives to God, namely Abraham even though he seems full of contradictions (such as finding power in powerlessness).

Through faith, Abraham found the courage to leave his comfortable life behind to wander in the desert, even though he didn’t fully understand why God chose him to do it. Furthermore, Abraham left no “song of lament” about his confusion because his faith was greater. It was also through faith that Abraham found the patience to wait for decades for the son God promised him he’d have with Sarah. Johannes notes that if Abraham ever wavered in his faith, he would have given up on waiting for God’s promise. Nobody would have blamed Abraham for this, and he would still be great, but he wouldn’t be “the father of faith,” and Sarah might have died of grief. Fortunately, Abraham and Sarah remained faithful—which Johannes claims kept them young—and God’s promise was ultimately fulfilled.

However, as Johannes explains, God tested Abraham further by commanding him to take Isaac to Mount Moriah and offer him up as a burnt sacrifice. Johannes writes that it was ridiculous of God to ask Abraham to sacrifice Isaac after so much waiting and suspense, but Abraham himself didn’t laugh at this command—he would have to sacrifice Isaac, despite God’s promise that through Isaac his bloodline would spread throughout the world and be great, and despite Abraham and Sarah’s immense love for Isaac. However, Abraham had faith that no matter what God asked of him, in “this life,” he would still have Isaac through God’s ability to make all things possible. Johannes believes that if Abraham had wavered in his faith for a moment, he would have sacrificed himself rather than Isaac, but his faith remained strong and he prepared to do as God asked.

Johannes writes that when God asked Abraham where he was, Abraham was confident and ready to answer his call. Abraham woke up early and, without saying a word to Sarah or Eleazar, took Isaac to Mount Moriah and prepared to sacrifice him on an altar. Without hesitation, Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac because he knew God would never tell him to do something that would be too hard. Again, had Abraham doubted, the story might end differently—had he seen the ram before pulling out the knife, then returning home would have been more like running away rather than experiencing something profound that confirmed his faith. Johannes praises Abraham for this unwavering faith and promises that he’ll never forget that “in one hundred and thirty years [Abraham] got no further than faith.”