Writing under the pseudonym of Johannes de slientio, Kierkegaard uses the form of a dialectical lyric to present his conception of faith. Abraham is portrayed as a great man, who chose to sacrifice his son, Isaac, in the face of conflicting expectations and in defiance of any conceivable ethical standard. The infamous and controversial 'theological suspension of the ethical' challenged the contemporary views of Hegel's universal moral system, and the suffering individual must alone make a choice 'on the strength of the absurd'.

Kierkegaard's writings have inspired both modern Protestant theology and existentialism, and this edition of Fear and Trembling contains a full introduction and notes which complement a key work in the psychology of religious belief.