Against Nietzsche
From time to time, the articles in this column have referred to the philosophical works of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), and many of you rightly have questioned my interest in such a polarizing anti-Christian figure.
After all, the title of this column, “Is God Dead,” directly engages Nietzsche’s assertion that, indeed, God is dead. Nonetheless, Nietzsche represents an influential philosopher whose work has significantly impacted Western society for well over a hundred years. And it has been no small thing; in the fall of 1888, he told an admirer he had just completed “a ruthless attack on the crucified Christ.”
From German soldiers reading Nietzsche in the trenches of World War One to Adolf Hitler ordering each Nazi soldier to be issued a copy of Nietzsche’s book Sword of the Spirit to his philosophical foundation-laying for the postmodern movement that is now sweeping the twenty- first-century, Nietzsche’s influence both directly and indirectly antagonizes theistic belief and lays siege on foundational Christianity.
He even went so far as to proudly refer to himself as the anti-Christ and, at times, signed his name as such late in his career. Of this, I am convinced: because of his enduring influence upon Western civilization, Nietzsche’s works and worldview need to be examined and confronted by each generation to come. It is for these reasons I have chosen to engage Nietzsche, on certain occasions, through this column (once again this week and next in particular) in order to dig deeper into his audacious claim that “God is dead.”
Friedrich Nietzsche believed that modern society had outgrown Christianity and that it should be cast aside in favor of a belief grounded in the power of mankind to construct and rule his own world. The casting aside of religion in general, and Christianity in particular, was the first critical step in what Nietzsche saw as the evolution and maturation of society.
For this new way of being in the world to come about, however, the death of God was required. Nietzsche declared as much in his work titled The Madman, where he boldly proclaims, “God is dead, and we have killed him!” Although a bold statement, it was nonetheless a frightening prospect, even for Nietzsche himself.
Nietzsche believed, rightly, that the Christian foundation of life in the Western world was so intricately interwoven into the makeup and function of society that the death of God and the abandonment of Christian belief would be to lose the very foundation of life itself. He knew that most all things in society presupposed a higher authority that anchored truth, moral values, and aesthetic judgments.
In other words, without religion, society could very well collapse and cave into anarchy. Nietzsche saw that the only solution was to provide society with a viable alternative to religious belief, upon which a new truth and morality could be anchored. But it would not be easy, nor, more shockingly, would it even be logical. Nietzsche admitted as much saying, “It is our taste which now decides against Christianity, not our reason.”
There is much truth in his words because it is quite common in modern secular society for a person to claim no belief in God whatsoever and yet irrationally continue enjoying the same religion-based worldview with the same benefits of cohesion as before, sans belief in God. Mainly, irreligious people want to live in a world that does not believe in absolute truth or objective moral values— people desire the order and cohesive benefit of a living God and, at the same time, proudly announce the death of God.
That is precisely what Nietzsche predicts: that secular society applauds the death of God and, at the same time, desires to cling to Christian morality all the more. And that disgusts Nietzsche. Frankly, for different reasons, it should disgust all Christians as well because the secularist who proudly proclaims that God is dead must hijack Christian values in order for their worldview to function. That is what disgusted Nietzsche; he wanted nothing less than the total death of God and the complete abandonment of Christianity.
The solution was to put forward a new, religion-less philosophy of life that starts with the death of God, leading directly to the abandonment of absolute truth and Christian moral values. For Nietzsche, it is only after truth and morality are unhinged from Christian ethics that the irreligious can truly live life to the fullest, truly “free.” Nonetheless, there are problems here; significant problems. In his post-God worldview, Nietzsche argues that absolute truth does not exist and that truth is different for different people in different places at different times. It is as if my truth is my truth and your truth is yours, and they do not have to be the same.
Beyond that, you cannot criticize my truth, and I cannot criticize your truth. That is subjective truth in its simplest form—it is subject to my whim. Yet, Nietzsche writes volume after volume, presenting the elements of his post-God worldview as if his words were absolute truth. In fact, the statement, “there is no absolute truth,” is presented by Nietzsche as an absolutely true statement. In this, Nietzsche’s philosophy of rejecting objective truth contradicts his assertion that his own argument is objectively true! As it is, he stands where no philosopher dares to stand—in contradiction to himself. But wait, there is much more to unpacking Nietzsche’s Death of God philosophy—much more.
Join us again next week as we continue our investigation and critique, for now, of Nietzsche’s “God is dead” philosophy. Until then, what is your answer? Is God dead?
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Ty B. Kerley, DMin., is an ordained minister who teaches Christian apologetics and relief preaches in Southern Oklahoma. Dr. Kerley and his wife, Vicki, are members of the Waurika church of Christ, and live in Ardmore, OK. You can contact him at dr.kerley@isGoddead.com.