ABSTRACT
God promised Abraham that through Isaac he will become a great nation. How does Abraham regard this promise as he journeys to Mt. Moriah to sacrifice Isaac? Kierkegaard’s Abraham acts by virtue of the absurd-he believes he will murder Isaac because that is God’s will, and at the same time, he believes that he will not murder him because to murder his son is morally reprehensible. Stump has Abraham trusting Isaac to God in the certainty that God will not break His promise. I argue that Abraham passes the test because he chooses to obey God’s command despite his believing that Isaac will die. For this, God calls him a God-fearing man. Yet, Abraham does not dismiss God’s promises, nor is he plunged into contradiction. I invoke a theory of belief according to which, without any change in one’s judgment of one’s evidence, one’s beliefs may change because one’s attitude towards one’s evidence changes. This theory allows for Abraham’s beliefs to waver along with the motivational impact of his changing circumstances as he ascends the mountain. At times he believes in the promise. Ultimately, however, he resigns himself to losing Isaac.
