What is Kierkegaard's "Knight of faith" and does he contrast with what is usually considered Christian?

Answer 1

The "Knight of Faith" in Kierkegaard's "Fear and Trembling" is the individual who is able to do the absurd--to take the "leap of faith" when there is no reason to believe that it will pay off. Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac, believing simultaneously (a) I am going to kill my son and (b) my son will not die. Kierkegaard believed that such faith always exists in a paradox, and unless we are at the point of paradox, such faith cannot be practiced.

What Kierkegaard was suggesting (in a way) was that this is the ideal of Christian faith that all Christians should strive to achieve. That does not mean that we go around looking for paradoxes so that we can exercise faith. But Kierkegaard did point out, in the introduction, that he was bothered by the fact that so many people assume that they have faith and seek to "go on" from there--when faith is the ultimate goal toward which we are striving. He felt that most Christians do not really understand what faith really is, and by portraying the "Knight of Faith" as he did, Kierkegaard was hoping to help them see what an act of faith really requires.

Of course, he published this work under a pseudonym (Johannes de Silencio), so it is all a bit tongue-in-cheek. And there are many scholars who think that the whole "Knight of Faith" thing was about his unrequited love for a woman he could not have. But that's beside the point (I think).

Answer 2

http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/personal/reading/kierkegaard-fear.html

He is referring to Abraham. He was a knight of faith because his faith went beyond human understanding or reasoning. He is a hero of the Christian faith because he served as an example of someone who believed God above his own understanding.

Answer 3

look up existentialism