Abraham the Ethical Monster

Abraham is both an ethical monster and a knight of faith. The story of Abraham and Isaac is that God came to Abraham and told him to sacrifice his son, Isaac, in his name. God told him that if Abraham sacrificed his son, he'd become the patriarch of the chosen people. There are three ways in which you can live your life; you can live a life of aestheticism in which you lead a life concerned with worldly possessions, you can live an ethical life in which you abide by the rules of man and moral code, or, you can live a life of faith in which you follow the rules of God by making a criteria-less decision. It is quite clear that Abraham decided to abandon moral code and chose the latter.

According to the bible, Abraham, the father of organized religion, saw God one day. God came to him and told him to sacrifice his only son, his beloved Isaac atop Mount Sinai. Just as he was about to kill Isaac, God stepped in and commanded him to sacrifice a ram in his place. After that, we never see Isaac and Abraham speaking again.

As far as being an ethical monster, the case is not too difficult to make. One may say, "Aren't you being too hard on Abraham? Is he really an ethical MONSTER?!" The answer to this question would have to be that Abraham really is an ethical monster. He never told his son anything about his vision of God, he just led him to the top of Mount Sinai under false premises. When Isaac asked him why they were going to the top of the mountain, Abraham told him that they were to sacrifice a ram. This alone is highly unethical. Lying to your own son to get him to do what you want is highly unethical, especially when you plan to murder him. Why would Abraham lie to his son? The answer is obvious. Abraham lied to Isaac because he knew that if he told him the truth, he would never go to Sinai with him. I feel that the magnitude of this incident is overshadowed by the fact that Abraham was going to kill Isaac. It's so appalling that we don't even think about this lie, but it is an important one. It is a major reason why Isaac may never speak to Abraham again. Abraham led Isaac to Sinai under false pretenses by lying to Isaac. Abraham wittingly led Isaac to his would-be death! He can no longer trust Abraham because the bond of trust between them was shattered that fateful day. Not only is the lying unethical, but the attempted murder goes directly against the laws of man and moral code. Murdering your own son is one of the most heinous single crimes a man can commit. In most depictions, Abraham's arm was traveling in a downward motion before the angel caught it. Anybody who tries to kill his own son for ANY reason is an ethical monster. Murder, even if for a good cause, is one of the biggest breaches of the law of man. This makes Abraham an ethical monster, even if he had good intentions.

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