Editing Fear and Trembling (section)

== Reception ==

Just as [[Binding of Isaac|Genesis 22]] has inspired much commentary over the years, so, too, has ''Fear and Trembling'' inspired much analysis. One commentator argues that the text is an analogy for how Christian [[justification by faith]] shortcuts rational meditation or universal reasoning.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Whittacker |first=John H. |date=1988-06-08 |title=The Suspension of The Ethical in Fear and Trembling |url=https://tidsskrift.dk/kierkegaardiana/article/view/31321/28794 |journal=Kierkegaardiana |language=da |volume=14 |doi=10.7146/kga.v14i0.31321 |issn=2445-7124|doi-access=free }}</ref> Another commentator argues that the content of Abraham's faith is [[Eschatology|eschatological]] in the sense that Abraham consigns both the optimal aesthetic and ethical outcomes of the ordeal away from his own ability (infinite resignation) while nevertheless hoping in their absurd fulfillment through the help of God (faith).<ref>John J. Davenport, "Faith as Eschatological Trust in ''Fear and Trembling''," in ''Ethics, Love, and Faith in Kierkegaard: Philosophical Engagements'', ed. Edward F. Mooney, Indiana Series in the Philosophy of Religion, ed. Merold Westphal (Indiana University Press, 2008).</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Davenport |first=John J. |date=2008 |title=Kierkegaard's Postscript in Light of Fear and Trembling: Eschatological Faith |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40419592 |journal=Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia |volume=64 |issue=2/4 |pages=879–908 |jstor=40419592 |issn=0870-5283}}</ref>

Kierkegaard foresaw the immense posthumous popularity of ''Fear and Trembling'' and predicted that it would be translated into many different languages.<ref>"Oh, once I am dead, ''Fear and Trembling'' alone will be enough for an imperishable name as an author. Then it will read, translated into foreign languages as well. The reader will almost shrink from the frightful pathos in the book." Søren Kierkegaard, "Selected Entries from Kierkegaard's Journals and Papers Pertaining to ''Fear and Trembling''," in ''Fear and Trembling/Repetition'', 257.</ref>