“God Is Dead”—Nietzsche and Christianity
Friedrich Nietzsche famously announced that “God is Dead.” This is by no means merely a thesis about religion and religious belief. It relates to the whole mind-set of the West, the insistence on Eternity, the obsession with unity and coherence, the demands for predictability and justice in a world that is neither predictable or just. Nietzsche argues it is possible, is to rid ourselves of the pathologies of guilt and sin.
1. Nietzsche disliked some things about Christianity, particularly what Kierkegaard calls “Christendom,” the Christian mob.
2. Nietzsche admired those exceptional Christians (including Jesus) who really lived what they claimed to believe in.
3. He objected to the hypocritical and self-righteous attitudes that some Christians take toward their religious beliefs.
Nietzsche rejected Christianity, but he also accepted it as a necessary step in human evolution. It served an important historical function:
1. Nietzsche praised the spirituality of Christianity.
2. He saw the original teaching of Jesus as having been perverted by the Church.
Nietzsche declared war on the concepts of guilt and sin. Like Freud, he finds guilt and sin psychologically debilitating.
Nietzsche did retain the notion of conscience:
1. Nietzsche did not give up spirituality but transformed it.
2. Nietzsche wants to return us to a state of innocence, as opposed to guilt.
3. He wants to return us to self-esteem, after science has shown us that we are not the center of the universe or the pinnacle of nature.
4. Nietzsche calls for a spirituality of this world.
Source credit: Professor Robert C. Solomon, University of Texas at Austin
Friedrich Nietzsche famously announced that “God is Dead.” This is by no means merely a thesis about religion and religious belief. It relates to the whole mind-set of the West, the insistence on Eternity, the obsession with unity and coherence, the demands for predictability and justice in a world that is neither predictable or just. Nietzsche argues it is possible, is to rid ourselves of the pathologies of guilt and sin.
1. Nietzsche disliked some things about Christianity, particularly what Kierkegaard calls “Christendom,” the Christian mob.
2. Nietzsche admired those exceptional Christians (including Jesus) who really lived what they claimed to believe in.
3. He objected to the hypocritical and self-righteous attitudes that some Christians take toward their religious beliefs.
Nietzsche rejected Christianity, but he also accepted it as a necessary step in human evolution. It served an important historical function:
1. Nietzsche praised the spirituality of Christianity.
2. He saw the original teaching of Jesus as having been perverted by the Church.
Nietzsche declared war on the concepts of guilt and sin. Like Freud, he finds guilt and sin psychologically debilitating.
Nietzsche did retain the notion of conscience:
1. Nietzsche did not give up spirituality but transformed it.
2. Nietzsche wants to return us to a state of innocence, as opposed to guilt.
3. He wants to return us to self-esteem, after science has shown us that we are not the center of the universe or the pinnacle of nature.
4. Nietzsche calls for a spirituality of this world.
Source credit: Professor Robert C. Solomon, University of Texas at Austin
