Faith involves angst, German for anguish. But what anguish is Kierkegaard truly talking about? He hints later on that the true source of our anguish is our love and trust in God, and for God to love us as well. He goes on in explaining that God’s love is incommensurable, it cannot be …show more content…
Saying that Abraham is higher than the universal, may be observed as saying that Abraham is higher than the law, and in a sense he is. He is almost sacrificing his son in good will, making faith “ an absolute relation to the absolute”. Abraham has an absolute relation to God through faith, a relation that makes him utterly alone, a relation which he cannot speak to anyone about, one that no other would understand, for it is inexplicable. Real faith is terrifying, it cannot be mediated, it is not at all comforting. Kierkegaard emphasizes true faith’s reality by comparing the Knight of faith to the tragic hero. He describes a tragic hero as someone who has unauthentic faith, faith for comfort, who would do the unethical for the community, for the universal, maintaining him within the ethical. Unlike Abraham, who is the knight of faith, who does not need a reason or a threat in order to suspend his judgement, he is persuaded by his faith in