Summary: Preface, Exordium, and Eulogy

In the preface, Johannes de Silentio who is Kierkegaard’s pseudonym starts a discussion about doubt and faith. He compares two sets of accounts regarding what it takes to achieve doubt. The first account is of modern world which subscribes to the notion that doubt is something that is easy to achieve and can be achieved by anyone. The other account is of the Greek skeptics who were of the opinion that doubt is something that easy difficult to develop and can take one an entire lifetime to achieve. Similarly, faith follows the exact argument as doubt both in the modern world as well as in traditional Greek. From his own perspective, Johannes considers the subject of faith and doubt as something incomprehensible which emboldened by the fact that he is not a philosopher. He is thus pessimistic about the impact of his writings as he regards his writing as a luxury.

To put the preface into perspective, Johannes de Silentio can be interpreted as John of Silence. The author chose this pseudonym in response to the underwhelming reception of his writings which can be compared to a silent treatment or just being ignored. In the text, Silentio regards his writing as a luxury which means that he does not expect it to overwhelmingly emote reactions. On the subject of faith and doubt, the author refutes the Hegelian point of view that regarded faith as something that has to be pushed aside if at all one is to fully understand the universe. It holds a similar view regarding doubt and this what the author refutes. In his view, the Hegelian point of view underestimates the effort it takes believers and doubters to attain their status.

Doubters hold the opinion that nothing can ever be certain in the world. As such, there cannot be a final judgment on anything. The art of aligning one’s mind in such way that one cannot judge anything takes time or lifetime so to speak. This is especially difficult to achieve as it is a normal occurrence for people to pass judgement on anything and everything. Managing to detach oneself from the vast majority to the minority that can suspend its judgement not only takes time but also dedication. On faith, as demonstrated by Abraham in the Bible, the author believes is no mean feat. Moreover, the author considers the understanding of faith and doubt as more of a reflection than passion which is what the Hegelians used to base their arguments.

Exordium is the section that follows the preface. In the Exordium, the author writes about his deep admiration for Abraham due to his faith. From the Bible, Abraham follows God’s request to sacrifice his son Isaac which was a test of his faith. This comes after Abraham had undergone other tests on his faith in God. The manner in which Abraham delivered the message to his son was meant to put blame on him rather on God. This would act to shield Isaac’s faith in God. There are four different scenarios that the author uses to break down the aspects of faith. According to the author, from the scenarios, Abraham’s faith in God made his son to lose faith in him while it took his joy away. As such, the author finds it challenging to understand Abraham.

To expound on the Exordium, the interpretations that can be drawn from the story of Abraham and his son Isaac are not as straight forward as one would think. Possible courses of action that Abraham could have taken included questioning God regarding his request to sacrifice his only son, grieving for losing his son, and not travelling to the mountain to sacrifice his son. The difficulty of understanding why Abraham did not choose any of the aforementioned courses of action while they may seem obvious underlines how faith is set up. By considering the said alternatives and the course of action that Abraham took, the author manages to bring out the sophistication of faith which he himself cannot explain.

Additionally, it is difficult to understand faith since it exists between an individual and God. As such, an individual acting in accordance with his faith may seem incomprehensible but that is how faith is. From Abraham’s story, one can deduce the following possible outcomes: he either lost faith in God after failing to understand the motive behind the request or Isaac lost his faith in him but was drawn closer to God as a result. These possible deductions only acted to submerge the author into more confusion as he could not comprehend the reasons behind Abraham’s reasons to act the way he acted. This is in agreement with the author’s earlier stand on faith as an inexplicable concept.

In the Eulogy on Abraham, the author brings forward the concept that life is meant to be meaningful and reiterates that a meaningless life is a despair. In this regard, the author provides examples of how men can become great and make their lives meaningful. These examples include one becoming great by virtue of loving themselves, by virtue of loving other men, and by virtue of them loving God (Kierkegaard et al, 1983). He, however, believes that he who loves God is the greatest of them all. Abraham, who loved God, is thus the greatest of all men according to the author. The tribulations that Abraham underwent while following God’s command yet he still kept his unwavering faith in him makes Abraham the greatest man as per the author.

The author brings afore the aspect of ethics in a bid to explain the incomprehensibility of faith. Considering the available courses of action that Abraham could have taken; all of which are ethically sound, he chose the least comprehensible. If Abraham considered ethics when God was testing his faith, he would not have acted the way he acted. It is from this point of view that the author remarks that faith cannot be explained on an ethical level. He thus manages to bring out the deeper aspects of faith that the Hegelian school of thought overlooked and as a result prematurely concluded on the simplicity of faith. The author thus holds Abraham with high regards.

To conclude, the author points out that in describing religion, it can only be described by what it is not rather than what it is. In the author’s view, there are no words that can describe religion. His admiration for Abraham is so strong that he compares it to the analogy of a hero and a poet. From his perspective, he is the poet while Abraham is the hero. Abraham’s heroism is, however, limited to the religious universe. It cannot traverse into the ethical universe. If Abraham could have chosen the ethical route, the author predicts that he would probably still be a hero but he would not be regarded as father Abraham.

Reference

Kierkegaard, Søren, Howard V. Hong, and Edna H. Hong. “Repetition, Fear and Trembling/Repetition.” Trans. Howard V. Hong, Edna H. Hong. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press (1983).