The Gift of Faith

Abstract

Fear and Trembling explores an exceptional faith that goes beyond realm of human understanding, knowledge, and law. The story of Genesis serves as a narrative foundation through which S0ren Kierkegaard examines absurd ethics of a father's willingness to sacrifice his only child to an invisible God. Although scandalized and outraged by story, he is nevertheless still inspired by a father who chooses to sacrifice public morality for an intangible, private ethics. In The Gift of Death, Jacques Derrida too trembles at thought of Abraham's sacrifice and is also scandalized enough to contemplate unconventional ethics of his decision. Derrida's interpretation of story not only preserves spirit of Fear and Trembling but also takes it a step further in that invisible is not bound to religious belief or existence of God. Through making a comparative study of Fear and Trembling and The Gift of Death this essay will put into question ethics and subjectivity of an absolute faith and decision that is so wholly other that it escapes from earthly mediations of language, community, and law. The Genesis Story The story of Genesis is an unadorned parable of faith that tells of a father's willingness to sacrifice his only legitimate son because God asked: 'Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into land of Moriah: and offer him there for a burnt offering.1 The Almighty's words are teasing and vindictive in their repetition and focus on precious life of Isaac. Wordlessly showing obedience, rises early next morning, takes Isaac to mount of Moriah, prepares a woodpile, binds him and then raises his knife with intention to kill. At this crucial moment in story, an angel from Lord intervenes and stops him from going through with sacrifice. Through pseudonym of Johannes de silentio, a poetice et eleganter2 Kierkegaard breathes spirit and meaning into silences and secrets that structure and trouble this story of faith. He inhabits character of in order to preserve ethics of his decision. As Gillian Rose observes in The Broken Middle, Abraham is 'incommensurable,' which is why de silentio is so voluble.3 In The Gift of Death, Jacques Derrida too is keen to retain ethical dimension of Abraham's decision. Abraham's faith elevates him beyond sphere of ordinary human reason, morality, and law. Both Kierkegaard and Derrida assert that chooses to do what is most difficult and painful because in this particular case the temptation is ethical itself.4 It is understandable and morally reasonable that a loving father would want to save his only son but of course does not do this and what is more, he seeks neither justification nor external counsel in making such a decision. In both Fear and Trembling and The Gift of Death, privacy of his decision is central to preserving ethics of his sacrifice. The torment and pain of giving up what is most precious in world is intensified by isolation and secrecy of his sacrifice. At heart of each defense is a belief in Abraham's unfathomable interiority. In Fear and Trembling, Abraham's individual existence is integral to supporting supreme existence of God. Kierkegaard's motives are clear - he believes in Abraham's subjectivity because it upholds and parallels ultimate subjectivity of God. By contrast, Derrida's motives are not so obvious. Derrida is neither impassioned by religious crisis nor is he driven by need to affirm God's existence, and yet he still retains idea of ineffable in form of Abraham's incommensurable interiority. Kierkegaard's external creator is internalized as a wholly other who is so secret and inaccessible that he is even more intimate with me than myself''5 In The Gift of Death, contemplative dimension of Fear and Trembling is intensified in idea that it is neither limited by religious belief nor tied down by figure of God. …