@amist,
I posted this before and am not sure it was put in the right place so forgive the duplicate, please:
So many people do not understand Nietzsche or his Thus Spoke Zarathustra that it is an incredible phenomenon to behold the writing and the world's response to it. Nietzshce was NOT a godless man. On the contrary this work is that of an incredibly intelligent, witty, and god loving man who is indicting the world he lives in for their faithlessness and unfaithfulness to God. This is very well illustrated in the opening chapter of the first volume in which Zarathustra (who is the personification of Nietzsche) attempts to speak to the people of the world (to man) and finds that 'There they stand... there they laugh: they do not understand me; I am not the mouth for these ears.' The message proclaimed in the book that God is dead - is not understood correctly. In fact it is the people that interpret Nietzsche as a herald of godlessness that he incriminates for the wit of his writings illustrates the unspoken second clause of the proclamation: God is dead... and it is you fools who are killing him.
@GoshisDead,
Quote:I really don't think reading N can affect a person's faith any more than it was already affected before reading N.
Fred wasn't much of one for "faith." One of many of his comments on faith went something like this (paraphrasing): "Faith does not move mountains. On the contrary, it erects mountains where there were none."
Another: "Convictions are greater enemies of truth than lies."
Hi,
The question posed originally is a good one.
I've struggled with reconciling my fondness for Freddy with my faith - which approximates Judaism more closely than any one else, though I don't consider myself Jewish.
In the end, my conclusion for myself is that the Nietzcehan thing to do with any belief system is to question it, doubt it, wring it, devour it and spit it out. If, after all that, one finds it worthy of one's commitment, then one has reason with which to embrace it.
To quote from, "The Gay Science": I favor any skepsis to which I may reply, let us try it! But I no longer wish to hear anything of all those things and questions that do not permit any experiment.
I would encourage anyone who wants to discuss Nietzsche to doubt everyone's opinion, and especially those whose opinions are based on the opinions of others.
