Beautiful Book
"Fear and Trembling" is Kierkegaard at his finest. The book examines the biblical story of Abraham and the binding of his son Isaac for sacrifice to God, focusing on the kind of faith that Abraham required in order to perform the task in the measure of his moral character. Kierkegaard's persona in "Fear and Trembling," Johannes de Silentio, examines two types of religiousness: A) the kind involving a belief in God and eternal salvation at the expense of all care for this life, and B) the kind involving a belief in God that somehow maintains a deep involvement in finite matters. Type B is true faith, and it involves the same sacrifice of "infinite resignation" (complete devotion to God's will) as type A but also needs a paradoxical love for the finite. "For the movements of faith must constantly be made by virtue of the absurd, yet in such a way, be it observed, that one does not lose the finite but gains it every inch." Abraham's faith is of the second type, and his faith allowed him to do exactly what he did, and still be able to reclaim Isaac. Kierkegaard makes veiled connections between the story of the binding of Isaac and the turmoil in his own life, concerning the love he has for his once-fiance Regina. The writing is witty, poetic, and often very poignant.
I have not read through "Repetition" yet, but "Fear and Trembling" is alone worth the purchase. For those who have never read Kierkegaard, this is a wonderful introduction to his writing, even if further reading is required to really flesh out his ideas.