Analysing Nietzsches Attack On Christianity Religion Essay

In this essay I will measure Nietzsche ‘s rule grounds for assailing Christianity, although what has been mentioned above is the chief factor why he attacks. The grounds Nietzsche onslaughts is due to the fact that Christianity does non let a individual to be person in life, he says to an extent that Christianity holds a individual back. He besides states that Christianity is a instruction of the hapless and ill, a instruction based on bitterness. What Nietzsche is besides proposing is that christianty is nihilist and explains that godlessness does non take to nihilism but instead Christianity leads to nihilism.

Nietzsche claimed that he might populate at the clip of the last Christian, and in clip Christianity would come to an terminal. This was more likely that the cognition required to populate in the twentieth century would be unable to acquire along with Christian belief.

Nietzsche has been one of the most influential critics of Christianity. Like Feuerbach ( a German philosopher ) and other philosophers of the Hegelian Left, he was non content with simply rejecting Christianity. Alternatively, he developed a sort of “ familial unfavorable judgment ” . In other words, he claimed that his review of faith demonstrated the grounds why human existences become spiritual and the mechanisms by which they realize the spiritual country ( Magus, 1996, p.90 ) .

Arthur Schopenhauer a German philosopher known for his unbelieving pessimism and philosophical lucidity observed that there have been faiths at all times and that they were, and are, of great importance for human existences. From this, he derived a cardinal anthropological thrust, which he called the metaphysical demand. Religion and doctrine attempt to carry through this thrust or demand, but they do so in rather different ways. While doctrine argues and focal points on grounds, faith relies on authorization. Therefore, Schopenhauer ‘s attitude to the metaphysics of ordinary people, as he called faith, was ambivalent. He accepted and even praised faith because it preserved the consciousness that the universe of every twenty-four hours life experience, and besides that of scientific experience, was non the true universe. In Schopenhauer ‘s sentiment, the huge bulk of people were and would ever be incapable of proper philosophizing, and, hence, faith could non be dispensed with. But, of class, he would hold preferred that more in fact people could hold abandoned spiritual thought and turned to doctrine. For faith was non immune to self-misunderstandings ( Magus, 1996, p.95 ) .

Nietzsche knew that faith is of import to worlds and every true religion is besides perfect as it does carry through what the several faithful individual hopes to derive from it. But it does non fix a mention point whatsoever which could vouch its nonsubjective truth ( Magus, 1996, p.99 ) . This can be seen as the promise Christianity makes that there is a better life after decease.

But every human needs something to believe in, therefore faith, Nietzsche was cognizant of this so why can a individual non believe in Christianity? Nietzsche is reasoning that the Christian religion itself is a error, within it you have no hereafter, you can non hold pride, you can non acquire angry and all of the seven lifelessly wickednesss. Christianity so becomes a slavish faith and the single becomes trapped, ( which I go on and discourse during the essay ) . In the terminal Nietzsche puts it clear, “ here the waies of human existences portion. If you prefer peace of head and felicity, so better believe! But if you would wish to be a adherent of truth, turn to research! ( Magus, 1996, p.99 ) .

When Nietzsche read Schopenhauer for the first clip, he had already abandoned Christianity, but he had non yet started to assail it. The book ‘World as Will and Representation ‘ helped him to clear up his attitude towards the faith of his young person. In his early Hagiographas he recapitulated much of Schopenhauer ‘s doctrine of faith. Although he subsequently rejected some parts of it, to a certain extent he ne’er ceased to construe Christianity along Schopenhaurian lines ( Magus, 1996, p.98 ) . Nietzsche would asseverate of his early relation to Christianity that he basically been at odds with it from the beginning, and that his godlessness had non been evoked by statements, but arose “ from inherent aptitude. ” He besides would deny any personal animus against Christians. On the contrary, he had experienced nil but good will towards sincere Christians. Furthermore, he called Christianity “ the best piece of ideal life ” he had of all time come to cognize ( Magus, 1996, p.93 ) . Nietzsche first statement against faith in general, and against Christianity in peculiar, relied on history. He argued that historical methods and historical unfavorable judgment of texts had rendered invalid the fabulous presuppositions without which faiths can non last. This statement appeared foremost in the notes, letters, and documents while he was still a Schulpforta student ; and the mature philosopher defended this signifier of unfavorable judgment through his really last Hagiographas and notes ( Magus, 1996, p.99 ) .

In history it has its ain manner in life and Torahs within that period of clip are different. As clip changes the Christianity Torahs and beliefs stay the same, which when it gets passed into future coevals it becomes unequal.

Another point why Nietzsche attacks Christianity was the Fall of the Roman Empire, an Empire which was all destroyed. Nietzsche believed the ground the Roman Empire fell was because of Christianity, which resulted in weakening the Empire.

why

He looked at Christianity on the base of World history. His plants began at an early age, he ne’er ceased to look up scriptural citations and stages, and at least one time he seems to hold reread big parts of Scripture to fix his onslaughts on Christianity in his late plants ( Magus, 1996, p.94 ) .

This can be seen in Thus Spoke Zarathustra. During the class of the 1880s, Nietzsche progressively was non content with “ passing by ” mutely, as he one time had urged. Alternatively he wrote progressively rough and scathing onslaughts on Christianity, eventually showing himself as the “ Antichrist ” who pronounces the decisive “ expletive on Christianity, ” purpose on rooting out this faith one time and for all ( P102 ) . Zarathustra is seen by Nietzsche as holding invented the antonyms of good and evil and so as holding come back to seek to unify them. Zarathustra returns to better on his former innovation ; in peculiar, to decide the struggle between good and evil because Christianity can non make it ( Huskinson, 2004, p.28 ) .

There are three great religions which had their beginning in the Middle East: Hebraism, Christianity and Islam ( English, et all, 1992, p.130 ) . Nietzsche considered Judaism and Islam about every bit bad, particularly because of their thoughts of creative activity ex nihilist as good and their promise of a better life ( Magus, 1996, p.97 ) .

So why does Nietzsche assail Christianity? As Christianity is one of the biggest faiths in the universe and has been for a long clip. Peoples have ever asked the same basic inquiries. What is the significance of the universe and our lives in it? Christians claim that the religion in the Bible gives true and fulfilling replies to this inquiry and the many that flow from it. Christianity is non merely true in what it teaches about God and redemption. It is besides true to the manner things are ( English, et all, 1992, p.28 ) . This believe is of the Christian religion, and the replies are found in the bible. Nietzsche ‘s review of Christianity is that it is basically nihilistic, life without nonsubjective significance, intent, or intrinsic value and to an extent, inanity of being. Nietzsche suggests that we need to acquire out of nihilism, but we do n’t hold the ‘will to power ‘ . It was non merely Nietzsche who critiqued Christianity, Frederick Engel ‘s taught that Christianity began in the 2nd century in Egypt and that the thought of Christ the Saviour was a merchandise of desirous thought by the lower categories of people who yearned for release ( English, et all, 1992, p.72 ) . Nietzsche regarded Christianity as a pessimistic faith, one which tends towards asceticism and, accordingly, towards nihilism. Although holding with Schopenhauer that caritas, Christian love, is a signifier of compassion, Nietzsche reinterpreted it as a signifier of commiseration, which Nietzsche considered harmful to both the pittier and the pitted ( Magus, 1996, p.98 ) .

The Will to Power is the basic thrust to make human existences. Every human being has and to an extent is a will to power. The Christian religion besides is a will to power, but the Christian will to power seeks power over others, by stating others they must follow God.

Nietzsche ‘s late onslaughts on Christianity may be understood as his despairing battle against the most successful signifier of the morality of bitterness, which he regarded every bit hostile to human life ( Magus, 1996, p.91 ) . When he spoke of a morality of the weak, he characterized the weak diversely as “ slaves, ” mean human existences, weak people in general ( Magus, 1996, 103 ) .

Nietzsche tended to reason that the “ strong ” should contemn Christianity. Since Christianity is based on “ slave morality, ” it must be a point of honor for the “ strong ” to get the better of it ( Magus, 1996, p.104 ) .

the Christian religion embraces the rules of what Nietzsche calls a slave or heard morality. What he means by this is the fact that the Christian religion and followings must believe as a group, they must hold a heard outlook or morality. For Nietzsche, slave or heard morality is Christianity and the set of moral values it promotes.

Nietzsche ‘s family trees do more than claim that faith was dependent on morality, nevertheless. They argue critically that Christianity was the spiritual look of a morality of bitterness, a reactive morality that is hostile to life as such. To measure this charge it is advisable to separate between Nietzsche ‘s description of bitterness as a psychological attitude, on the one manus, and his suggestion that Judaeo-Christian faiths are merely looks of bitterness. Nietzsche is surely right when he stresses that reactive responses such as enviousness, hatred, and bitterness threaten to poison all countries of human dealingss, including spiritual interactions ( Magus, 1996, p.109 ) . Resentment is basically reactive, and it is this reactive character of any morality based on bitterness ( peculiarly of Christianity ) that Nietzsche rejected ( Magus, 1996, p.104 ) .

For Nietzsche, the creative activity of Christian moral values by their creative will to power is driven by the status of ressentiment against life and others. So the Christian will to power seeks power over others, by stating others they must follow God instead than how the single feels.

Nietzsche believes that the Christianity is slavish because it must function and give itself to god, which traps a human and their single thought.

Although Nietzsche consciously avoided systems, it was non his purpose to talk in paradoxes or to belie himself. Some basic subjects occur now and once more in his later plants and set up, in consequence, the model of his genealogical unfavorable judgment ( his onslaught on Christianity ‘s beginnings ) . Among these subjects one finds that, foremost, historical unfavorable judgment is a presupposition. Christianity must be analyzed genealogically, it is argued, because, although it has been outdated by historical unfavorable judgment, it is still alive and booming in the signifier of a peculiar morality and absolutist moralistic urge. Nietzsche argued that bitterness is cardinal to Christian morality. As an counterpoison and in contrast, genealogical analysis attempts to demo that Christianity is merely one signifier of the morality of “ bitterness, ” if it is historically the most of import and deadly 1. By the term bitterness Nietzsche designated a psychological temperament ( although, harmonizing to his subsequently, this temperament is physiologically conditioned ) . It is motivated by failing and the frequently self-deceptive lecherousness for retaliation. A repeating subject in the model of his genealogical unfavorable judgment is the insisting that the genealogical method should be applied to Christianity. At first glimpse it is non obvious to everyone that Christian and post-Christian morality and values are based on bitterness ( Magus, 1996, p.104 ) .

However, posterities of the lower category began to resent being so powerless ; they began to resent being bad. Their hatred toward the superior category resulted in a “ extremist transvaluation of their values. ” That is, ‘good ‘ and ‘bad ‘ began to change by reversal in intending such that ‘good ‘ now applied to the common, low, hapless and powerless, while ‘bad ‘ now applied to the superior, privileged, rich, and powerful. In this manner, the deprived, hapless, ill, and incapacitated become pious, whereas as the powerful, baronial, and rich became impious. This transvaluation of values is possible when the bitterness of the lower categories for the superior becomes so great that they find compensation merely in conceive ofing or making a different moral codification. It is this creative activity of an opposing moral system that Nietzsche calls the slave morality. So in order for the powerless to experience better about the state of affairs that they are in, they create for themselves a morality – a slave morality, where they, the powerless, are ‘good, ‘ while their higher-ups, the powerful, are ‘bad ‘ ( Sedgwick, 2009, p.98 ) .

Nietzsche is stating that all those who are weak, powerless or oppressed, construct up a deep and disenabling resentment against their status, which transformed psychologically into a desire for retaliation against those who are stronger, healthier or more fortunate.

Christianity instructions to its trusters are the greatest. One of the chief ruins of Christianity is that it has the seven deathly wickednesss and pride being at the top of the list. Pride is a ‘will to power ‘ , a signifier of a mental energy, the individual feels good, happy, to travel farther, without pride you are nil. This is one of the chief unconstructive issues in Christianity, you can non hold pride. Another concern is forgiveness, forgive your enemies, but consciously you can non forgive your enemies, at face value you can but so the individual becomes dishonest, which so the commandments have been broken. When Christians do bad, commit wickedness they blame the Satan, the Satan, because God is god of love, he will forgive everyone in the terminal. This was the instruction of Jesus and that God loves us all ( English, et all, 1992, p.167 ) .

Decision

Nietzsche thoughts were radical for his clip, non merely his theories but his daring and his neglect for others reactions.

I have to proclaim that Nietzsche had a batch of bravery to ‘attack Christianity ‘ , as Christianity was the biggest faith in the universe and still is. From his plants Nietzsche does hold valid points which have been addressed in this essay.

Christian religion promises that there is a life beyond decease and the life is a better life. But it does non fix a mention point whatsoever which could vouch its nonsubjective truth.

Nietzsche seemed to asseverate with regularity that faith is necessary chiefly or entirely for the weak. In order to contend the influence of Christianity, hence, Nietzsche would hold it be replaced by another faith, one which besides appealed to the weak but was free of bitterness.

Nietzsche thinks that the job is non merely that Christianity ‘s attractive values can non last but instead one time one understands the implicit in character of Christianity itself and the manner that it works, it will be found flooring. Although he thinks this he besides states that Christianity will non last for really long and at that place would be a diminution of Christians.

To a certain extent, he accepted faith as a fabricated “ suprahistorical power, ” at the same clip anticipating that faith in general, and Christianity in peculiar, would automatically disappear with transition of clip ( Richardson & A ; Leiter, 2001, p.90 ) .