David: Oh Jacob, that class was so fascinating! I always love hearing old Bible stories that I learned about when I was kid!

Jacob: *Remains quiet and passive*

David: I especially loved learning about being faithful and the story of Abraham and Isaac. I remember my mother teaching me the importance of always being devoted and loyal to of God by following his every word, just like Abraham. What a great life lesson, don’t you think?

Jacob: *Under his breath* Humph.

David: Jacob, are you okay?

Jacob: *Sternly* Yes, everything is fine.

David: Are you sure? Because you seemed a little quiet in class today.

Jacob: David, look. I have been sitting in this kind of class ever since I was four. I have had to stomach these stories all my life, in Church and with my family. For God’s sake, my father wanted me to be a minister just like him! Let me tell you David, I truly dislike those clergymen and the whole structure of this… “Christian” Ministry. I think that it’s all fake! They all follow this inauthentic faith that relies entirely on a principle of obedience! It’s all fake and counterfeit! They are outside forces trying to control us on the inside!

David: Jacob! I don’t know what to say. I am in complete shock about what you’re saying! Disliking the clergy?! Calling them “fake?!” Why are you claiming that they are inauthentic?

Jacob: Because, David, clergymen, or anybody for that matter, simply cannot teach faith. Faith is not something you can teach because it is something that cannot be thought of in the first place. Compared to inauthentic faith, which is inactive and self-righteous, true faith is believing in something even if it feels impossible, inconceivable, and there is no reason behind it. Faith relies on the individual to find meaning in his or her own life. You can’t teach someone to give up on reason and believe in the impossible. That would be ridiculous!

David: Well, I don’t think that’s the case at all, Jacob! I think that you must belong to a world of both ethics and faith. Both should be combined together for the good of the individual. In doing so, we strive to be a moral hero like Abraham and worship a moral God.

Jacob: That is exactly the point!

David: What is?

Jacob: David, imagine life’s way in three stages, not connected to any sort of system. The first is the “Aesthetic” stage, which primarily deals with pleasurable moments and experiences. These kinds of experiences can range from animalistic instincts to appreciating songs like “Ode to Joy.” Also, in this stage, there are no promises made with no decision of self or values.

David: Jacob, I don’t see how this relates to…

Jacob: David, it would be best to listen because these stages are important. As I was saying, the next stage is the “Ethical” stage, where all actions are universal, meaning that they are done for the good of the common people. Some shortsighted and myopic people may call this the highest stage of life’s way, but I think that there is one more stage.

David: And what stage is that, “O wise one?”

Jacob: The “Religious” stage, of course! In this stage, the single individual has a private and singular relationship with God that exists above the universal and the ethical.

David: I fail to understand your main point, Jacob.

Jacob: David, the main point here is that in order to reach that high religious stage of life’s way, one must transcend beyond the realm of ethics. That way you go beyond the ethical values of the group, evidently becoming “intelligible” in order to be devout and a person of faith.

David: But certainly, you must have a choice in being one with faith, correct?

Jacob: Not necessarily. The choice of faith in not a one-time situation. Instead, one must make the movements of faith constantly and continue a teleological suspension of ethics and reason, thereby believing in the “absurd.” Abraham goes through this process and he achieves the religious stage when he connects with God on a personal level, with nothing in between, and suspends ethics and his emotions for his son by following faith. Of course, it is very difficult to be someone like Abraham. I think that it is also worth mentioning that faith, being the highest of all passions, is open to everyone, regardless of education, social class, or gender.

David: But would you say that Abraham is a moral hero?

Jacob: In my view, Abraham is the hero of faith. He embodies the very essence of faith. Abraham is, indeed, a moral person, but…

David: Finally, we have something that we can definitely agree on! Thank you!

Jacob: David, you didn’t let me finish. Yes, Abraham is a moral person, but when God asks him to kill his son Isaac, whom he loved so dearly, he does it because he is the hero of faith. You see, Abraham acknowledges that the individual is higher than the group. He freely chooses to suspend the principles of ethics and, in doing so, he becomes the first individual, capable of making his own decisions.

David: Wouldn’t that completely alter his character from what we learned in class?

Jacob: Yes, it does. Abraham looks selfish because he freely chooses to and wants to sacrifice Isaac, not just simply following God’s orders. If he wasn’t freely making his own decisions and thinking about himself, he would be nothing more than God’s Homicidal Enforcer.

David: *gasp*

Jacob: Have I startled you?

David: I am just trying to wrap my mind around what you are saying, but I am finding it increasingly difficult. Let’s backtrack a little.

Jacob: Of course! I want to be sure that you completely understand my point of view.

David: So, are there any steps that will take us to the religious from the ethical stage? And if it is very difficult to become someone like Abraham, as you have suggested, who would stand in as an example of the religious way of life?

Jacob: Well, first of all, to you question about someone who exemplifies faith, that would be the Knight of Faith, who demonstrates the religious way of life.

David: Jacob, where did you learn all of this new information?

Jacob: Let’s just say that a young and anxious Danish author has inspired me. Anyway, back to the point. Typically, the Knight of Faith is not notable in appearance because he exists as a single individual and remains strong in the face of internal opposition. Nevertheless, the Knight of Faith has undergone two kinds of movements: Infinite Resignation and the Leap of Faith.

David: *Squinting his eyes in near exhaustion* Oh, my friend. You give me a headache.

Jacob: Well, allow me to open your mind with the definitions of these terms. Infinite resignation refers to voluntarily sacrificing something that one treasures and experiencing the feeling of losing it. Many tragic heroes, like Agamemnon, experience this and exemplify it in literature. This same principle also applies to Abraham, who, like the Knight of Faith, experiences an infinite resignation. Abraham has to sacrifice Isaac and resign himself into never seeing him again. But, by virtue of the absurd, he expects and imagines Isaac to be returned to him and, ultimately, he is!

David: But Jacob, what about the reasonable steps that will take us to the “religious stage,” as you call it?

Jacob: Oh, David, there are no reasonable “steps” to accomplish this feat!

David: What do you mean?

Jacob: Because the concept of the religious cannot be fully comprehended, the stage of the religious cannot be approached with any “reasonable steps,” as you put it. It is impossible for us mortals to rationalize steps to become like Abraham and ascend into the religious way of life.

David: Alright, Jacob. What do you suggest we do instead?

Jacob: Instead, David, we must place our faith in God and leap beyond the domain of the intelligible into the realm of the group and their values. In other words, this all requires a “leap of faith” with no metaphorical netting to catch us below. Abraham makes the absurd leap of faith in planning to travel to Mount Moriah and murder his son. You see, faith in God is a matter of personal decision-making that each individual must accomplish or not accomplish.

David: Jacob, you keep referring to this term “absurd” over and over again. I feel somewhat offended! Do you mean that God and all of faith is absurd, as in ludicrous or ridiculous?

Jacob: No, the “absurd” does not refer to something to something merely goofy. The “absurd” is that which cannot be rationally described or justified and it goes beyond all human and intelligible possibilities. This is the movement of faith that Abraham makes in order to have Isaac returned to him, simply by virtue of the absurd. Without the context of faith or God, Abraham appears like a child murderer and his claim that God asked him to sacrifice his son is, unfortunately, not grounded in logic. I hope that answers your questions, David.

David: Jacob, we have known each other for a long time and as much as I would like to think that you haven’t lost sight of yourself and embraced the principles of an existentialist concerned with his own existence, I think that you have taken a lot of time to think about this. But, will you answer me one last question?

Jacob: Of course, David! If that will end your particular perplexing situation

David: Do you think God is a moral God?

Jacob: Well, Jacob I think that is an interesting question. I believe that God is unfathomable. It would be incredibly difficult to contain God in a single thought because He is so far beyond our reach. In fact, He lies far beyond the rules of nature and the law themselves. Therefore, we cannot explain Him to others in the same way that, as I have said before, Abraham can’t tell his fellow residents that God told him to travel to a mountain and kill his son. However, I believe that even with all of these basics of the Lord, I have faith that God is ultimately good, and I hope that you carry that same belief with you as well.

David: Jacob, I appreciate you explaining to me your opinion and while I will follow God to the very end, I wish you nothing but happiness on your “life’s way”. Good luck, my friend.

Jacob: And to you as well, David the “follower.” We may be polar opposites, but I hope we can still remain friends through our way of life.