A hyper-intellectualized study of Abraham. ( )

Trippy mental acrobatics. Even though it was exceptionally difficult to understand i still enjoyed it. To find meaning in the absurd, to base faith on the absurd, to go beyond reason - that is rather clever! I have lots of questions to Soren but i don't think it's important to answer them. Learning to think like him is value enough. ( )

I had a feeling reading this like the one I had reading Simone Weil’s Gravity and Grace. A lot of words are thrown around in this book like faith, hero, aesthetics, ethics; words that we may feel like we understand but besides having their own subjective definition for different people, have undergone seismic redefinition throughout history. Kierkegaard uses these words in a way that surely had real resonance for himself and all the readers who have found something worthwhile in his thought. I, however, don’t think I am as sensitive to the emotional echo these words and the concepts built around them, and I actually wonder how anyone reading this book in the 21st century and beyond could feel the feelings that Kierkegaard is describing so intensely. I’m reminded of going to a museum and seeing a tool taken from an ancient civilization. Maybe I can make out what seems to be a handle, or a cutting edge, or a design reminiscent of a person or an animal. It’s clear that it was made by a human being, and something about imagining it in my hands feels intuitive, like a dim memory thru a fog of amnesia. But in reality, I am totally ignorant of the way the tool is used - and in fact, I have absolutely no use for it. A lot of these feelings are certainly due to my ignorance - I intend to read a little more about Kierkegaard and his thought to try and understand him better. But I also feel like the issues that this book is concerned with are a kind of missing link, a primordial step towards a wrangling with the modern condition that for me, I’ve found more relatable versions of in later authors.

ahh!! aagggG!!!! ahahhh!!!!!! ( )

I cannot say I understand Abraham.

And unlike Johannes I cannot admire him. I believe Abraham, the father of faith, is truly done for.

An absolutely wonderful work. It came as a surprise that a book dealing with such a seemingly archaic subject matter gives such prescient commentary on spiritual life today.

I can add nothing more. The book demands a re-read as soon as I put it down, but I can no longer bear to attempt to grapple with these paradoxes, the poles between them pull me too taut.

( )