The ironic pen name
This book is by Søren Kierkegaard, but it wasn't published under his name. Instead he wrote it under a pen name, "Johannes de Silentio," which is ironic in two ways. First, it raises an interesting question about why Kierkegaard would choose not to attach his own name to what has been called by some his most important book. Second, the pen name itself is ironic, because the name "Silent John" stands in contrast with all the words that he is writing. How silent is he really?
Abraham's ironic example
When Christians discuss faith in God, it is typically faith to do something inherently good or impressive. Kierkegaard writes about how ironic it might have been for Abraham to face his fate. His fate wasn't to accomplish everything he wanted, nor to fulfill the promises of God in his life, but rather, his fate was to sacrifice his son on a mountaintop. That is the exact opposite of the promise of God that through his son would come a great nation, and it is contrary to common sense and morality. In this case, following God meant betrayal of the most unforgivable sort.
The angelic rescue
To a first-time reader, and to Abraham himself, there is an ultimate dramatic irony in the story. Abraham is asked to kill his son, making himself into a kind of family traitor, but by fulfilling his intention, he is allowed to witness an angelic rescue. An angel intervenes to stay his hand from murdering his son, and the angel gives him a ram to sacrifice instead. This is dramatic irony, because Abraham was forced to obey God without any knowledge or assurance that God would save the day. Also there is an inherent irony about animal sacrifice in the first place. Why did so many ancient religions demand animal sacrifice?
Dramatic irony and "telos"
The term "telos" is a loanword from Greek. It simply means "end," as in "Does the end justify the means?" It doesn't mean the chronological end, but rather, it refers to the ultimate fulfillment of an intention. This is an important consideration in this book, because the "telos" is an important aspect of human fate. Abraham's "telos" was to become "The Father of Fate," but he could only succeed by abandoning all earthly desire and morality to do an act of absolute horror at God's command. This puts him in a position to be saved by God literally, but the whole narrative is twisty and confusing. God's will was for Abraham to try to kill his son and fail, so that Abraham would know what it was like to sacrifice his only son. To a Christian, the foreshadowing is quite obvious.
Silence and passion
Kierkegaard writes that although one typically associates passion with loud argument or extreme behavior, Abraham's passion was defined by his silence. His passion doesn't make him want to share with other people. He doesn't seek validation from anyone else. Instead, he gets quiet, almost disturbingly quiet, and resolute. He starts climbing up the mountain in a state of silent meditation, interrupted only by the son's ominous question, "Father, where is the sacrifice?" The silent passion of Abraham is like the silence of the Jesus in the Gospels who (according to Isaiah's prophecy) goes to his slaughter silent as a lamb. Kierkegaard has a beautiful way of bringing out the inherent horror in the Bible.
