Kierkegaard and Myth

Søren Kierkegaard is a model example of a philosopher who drew deep and intense meaning from myth. His work Fear and Trembling demonstrates this, as he draws on the ancient Biblical story of Abraham and Isaac to elucidate a new proto-existentialist philosophy which embraces deep-seated emotion, anxiety, and doubt in order to encounter a greater understanding of faith and hope. He even uses a sort of meta-myth to bring his philosophy to life. Kierkegaard, concerned that the Danish religious institutions of his day glossed over the doubt and anxiety of the existential condition and the Christian faith too quickly, shocked his readers into confronting those conditions by drawing out a parallel narrative to that of Abraham and Isaac. What if you were a pastor, he says, in charge of a congregation, and you taught on the story of Abraham's (near) sacrifice of Isaac, concluding with the time-worn platitude that we must surrender everything to God as He requires it and everything will turn out okay in the end. Well, what if then one of your parishioners goes home and says, "you know what, God is telling me to sacrifice my firstborn. Seems crazy, but I'd better do it." If you got wind of this, would you not sprint to the parishioner's house, fearful, indignant, and disturbed? Your parishioner insists, "God is commanding it," and you insist, "No He's not, he doesn't give such commands..." until you suddenly are faced with the full realization of the original story, the horrors and absurdities, and, subsequently, the wild radicality of Abraham's faith, and by extension the Christian faith. In this Kierkegaard expertly draw meaning from the reality housed in the story of Abraham and Isaac, and utilizes secondary myth to draw the reader into that meaning as well.

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