Anything in Exchange for the World: Jean Baudrillard, Jacques Derrida, and the Aqedah

The Aqedah, the Old Testament story of the binding of Isaac, is foundational; its importance to Western religion, and thus to Western history, is incalculable. Counting Jews, Christians, and Muslims, who all have a stake in the Aqedah, the story of biblical patriarch Abraham and his beloved son Isaac in some way informs the lives of well over half of the world's population. As recounted in the 22nd chapter of Genesis, the story itself seems simple: Abraham, an elderly man, has been blessed by his God, YHWH, with a son late in life. When the boy, Isaac, is grown, YHWH demands, for no reason that he chooses to reveal, that Abraham take Isaac into the wilderness and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. However, when Abraham raises his knife over a bound and helpless Isaac on Mount Moriah, YHWH sends an angel to stay Abraham's hand, offering a ram caught in a thicket nearby as a substitute sacrifice. Abraham and Isaac descend the mountain, their task completed, and Isaac goes on to found the people of Israel. Abraham's seemingly blithe willingness to sacrifice his son to his God raises agonising questions about love, divine will, and obedience, questions which may simply be unanswerable. Does Abraham act ethically, responsibly? To whom does he act responsibly? Towards his family? Towards his people, whom God had promised would be founded by Isaac's seed? Towards YHWH? Why does YHWH demand that Abraham sacrifice the son that he himself had given Abraham and who had brought to his aged father such palpable joy? Adapted from the source document.