Nietzsche’s Challenge to Christianity Series (Final)
January 4th 2008 02:03
In the discourse Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche is emphasizing his belief in man’s ability to achieve excellence apart from God and subsequently, the falsity of Christianity. ‘From the start, the Christian faith is a sacrifice: a sacrifice of all freedom, all pride, and all self-confidence of the spirit, at the same time, enslavement and self-mockery, self-mutilation.’ This sentence from paragraph 46 leaves little room for argument. In short: to be a Christian is to be a weak-spirited slave.
Yet, one does not have to search far into the history books to find Christians who are anything but weak of spirit, the Knights Templar a case in point. Charlemagne another. The many Saints? Christians, who would have and did in many cases, give their life for Christianity. There are many more including contemporary examples. Nietzsche’s view then would seem to be a very narrow one indeed, biased, even belligerent. The question as to why: resentment of his father, the believe system he upheld? Such a determined and structured attack on Christianity appears to stem more from the heart than from the opposing philosophies of existentialism and transcendentalism?
The great Christian church father Saint Augustine (354-430) was of course before Nietzsche’s time. With particular relevance to this article and the question of Christian morality, Augustine devoted his life to the elemental question of good vs evil. His major work, City of God, a 22 book theological philosophy presents a stark counterargument to Nietzsche’s existential creed. Using Plato’s work, whom Nietzsche himself was an advocate, Augustine establishes God as the creator, arguing that God reveals himself through his creation, all that is tangible. The intangible being ‘divinity’ or ‘eternal power’, is perceived through/via the mind’s eye. He poses the question: why would man continually seek transcendence, if there were no God?
As to the question of morality, the Summum Bonum, or all-that-is-good, Augustine defines morality as something sought after for its own sake, not for ulterior ends. Again, in reference to Plato and his contemporary Aristotle, who ‘defined the ‘Sovereign Good’ as a life in accordance with virtue’. However, this could only eventuate if one had a ‘knowledge of God’ (Knowles 1972: 310). Saint Augustine underpins the argument by an assertion that Plato himself advocates this ‘Sovereign Good’ as God.
Having examined the reasoning Nietzsche’s uses to formulate his challenge to Christian morality, in essence that there is no God, Christian dogma a mere invention of man, hence, no transcending judge, no basis for a moral creed. The effectiveness of this challenge would appear to be defined by the beliefs of the examiners themselves. If one has a belief in God and subsequently believes in the validity of His commands, there is absolutism, only one true and correct morality, and that is God’s. However, if the examiner were an atheist, believing as Nietzsche in Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, then the German philosopher’s argument could be most effective indeed.
Obviously, modern men/women have no tangible proof of the existence of God. Those that believe, do so by faith. Neither can man/woman be relied upon on an individual level to be his/her own moral judge, as history has shown. The question of why we live in such a regulated society is answered.
Aristotle; Solomon, Robert; Greene, Jennifer (1999), "Extract" in Morality and the Good Life: An Introduction to Ethics Through Classical Sources, Solomon, Robert; Greene, Jennifer, pp.82-95, Boston, McGraw-Hill College, USA.
Augustine, St., Bishop of Hippo (1972), "Extract" in Concerning the City of God Against the Pagans, Augustine; Knowles, David, pp.308-311, Penguin.
Microsoft Corporation, (1993-97), Encarta Encyclopedia, CD Version, Redmond, USA.
Nietzsche, Friedrich; Williams, Bernard (2001), "Extracts" in The Gay Science: With a Prelude in German Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs, Nietzsche, Friedrich; Williams, Bernard, pp.109, 119,120,127,128,199-203, Cambridge, UK.
Nietzsche, Friedrich (1968), "G. Eliot" Twilight of the Idols and the Anti-Christ, pp.69-70, Penguin, Baltimore, USA.
Yet, one does not have to search far into the history books to find Christians who are anything but weak of spirit, the Knights Templar a case in point. Charlemagne another. The many Saints? Christians, who would have and did in many cases, give their life for Christianity. There are many more including contemporary examples. Nietzsche’s view then would seem to be a very narrow one indeed, biased, even belligerent. The question as to why: resentment of his father, the believe system he upheld? Such a determined and structured attack on Christianity appears to stem more from the heart than from the opposing philosophies of existentialism and transcendentalism?
Having examined the reasoning Nietzsche’s uses to formulate his challenge to Christian morality, in essence that there is no God, Christian dogma a mere invention of man, hence, no transcending judge, no basis for a moral creed. The effectiveness of this challenge would appear to be defined by the beliefs of the examiners themselves. If one has a belief in God and subsequently believes in the validity of His commands, there is absolutism, only one true and correct morality, and that is God’s. However, if the examiner were an atheist, believing as Nietzsche in Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, then the German philosopher’s argument could be most effective indeed.
Obviously, modern men/women have no tangible proof of the existence of God. Those that believe, do so by faith. Neither can man/woman be relied upon on an individual level to be his/her own moral judge, as history has shown. The question of why we live in such a regulated society is answered.
Aristotle; Solomon, Robert; Greene, Jennifer (1999), "Extract" in Morality and the Good Life: An Introduction to Ethics Through Classical Sources, Solomon, Robert; Greene, Jennifer, pp.82-95, Boston, McGraw-Hill College, USA.
Augustine, St., Bishop of Hippo (1972), "Extract" in Concerning the City of God Against the Pagans, Augustine; Knowles, David, pp.308-311, Penguin.
Microsoft Corporation, (1993-97), Encarta Encyclopedia, CD Version, Redmond, USA.
Nietzsche, Friedrich; Williams, Bernard (2001), "Extracts" in The Gay Science: With a Prelude in German Rhymes and an Appendix of Songs, Nietzsche, Friedrich; Williams, Bernard, pp.109, 119,120,127,128,199-203, Cambridge, UK.
Nietzsche, Friedrich (1968), "G. Eliot" Twilight of the Idols and the Anti-Christ, pp.69-70, Penguin, Baltimore, USA.
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