To christians

[FilmSnob]

Was Nietzsche evil?

[V-OutOfTheWilderness]

Was Nietzsche evil?

What did he do?

[FilmSnob]

Was Nietzsche evil?

What did he do?

He wrote some stuff.

[statiktech]

He also took walks. Regularly.

...some spine chilling shit.

[FilmSnob]

I am asking honestly though, is Nietzsche evil?

I won't even follow up with questions, I just want to know christians' opinions on this.

[felix dakat]

Hi Pezer--

Welcome to the Religion Forum. Do you have an argument to make, a thesis to state, a hypothesis, a hunch or some such? If not, this thread will be sent to the Hall of Questions.

[V-OutOfTheWilderness]

I am asking honestly though, is Nietzsche evil?

I won't even follow up with questions, I just want to know christians' opinions on this.

I think it's safe to say that most fundamentalist and evangelical Christians believe Nietzsche is presently in a very hot climate.

[Calrid]

Was Nietzsche evil?

Yes. Any more questions?

[FilmSnob]

Was Nietzsche evil?

Yes. Any more questions?

Sure, but I promised not to. Plus, I want to know what other christians think.

[Duality]

No one is purely good or evil. Nietzsche was morally and ethically bankrupt in certain ways though.

[Stoic Guardian]

Haven't you heard? He's "Beyond Good and Evil".

[Calrid]

He was also kind to horses.

[Stoic Guardian]

Yeah that was nice of him to try and defend a horse before his mental breakdown.

[FilmSnob]

You guys are scaring all the proper christians away.

No half ways! Was Nietzsche evil?

[Stoic Guardian]

Comparitive to what I consider evil? No.



...Then again i'm not a christian.

[Smears]

I am asking honestly though, is Nietzsche evil?

I won't even follow up with questions, I just want to know christians' opinions on this.

I'm gonna say that the kind of Christians who would say Nietzsche was evil, probably still wouldn't actually say it, because they wouldn't know who the fuck he even is.

I know on philosophy boards and in the first year of a philosophy degree, Nietzsche is big shit, but aside from that, no one really gives a shit about him who does know who he is, and everyone else in the world has never even heard of him.

[statiktech]

Can I inquire as to why you're asking? I can only assume it's due to his vehement denial of Christian morality and anthropomorphic conception of 'God.' But why would that make him "evil?"

I think we can agree his sister was a certifiable piece of shit, though.

Nietzsche was morally and ethically bankrupt in certain ways though.

How so?

I know on philosophy boards and in the first year of a philosophy degree, Nietzsche is big shit, but aside from that, no one really gives a shit about him who does know who he is, and everyone else in the world has never even heard of him.

I disagree. He's even bigger when you actually understand what he's saying, which most people seem to mistakenly assume at first glance. It took me a couple years of reading/researching other philosophers before I went back to discover a profound depth in Nietzsche I had never realized before. I thought I had, but not like this. I'm not sure I've ever read another philosopher with a comparable literary style. People often assume a certain simplicity in Nietzsche's writing due to his eloquence, but tend to miss the profundity of what he doesn't say or spell out in detail. Some seem to consider Nietzsche and Heidegger very similar, for example. I don't see it. To me, they are opposites in the sense that Nietzsche said less, but had far more meaning.

[FilmSnob]

I am asking because I know how Nietzsche viewed christianity, but I don't know how christians see Nietzsche.

Well, that's not entirely true, I know how the Opus Dei see him. In fact, all of Nietzsche's books are in a special "do not read these books because they corrupt the soul" list that they have. I have had conversations with one member and he basically claimed that he was a nihilist. Funny because Nietzsche says that christians are the nihilists.

But mostly, having been brutally expelled from the good and evil paradigm by Nietzsche, I now have little grasp over what actually constitutes "evil," so I really want to know. The fact that I obviously admire Nietzsche so much I think turns real christians off of talking to me or taking my questions as honest, and I don't blame them. Nietzsche himself I am sure was able to hold long and respectful conversations with christians, but philosophy forum "nietzscheans" rarely are.

[James L Walker]

Jesus loves everybody. Repent right now.

[Smears]

I disagree. He's even bigger when you actually understand what he's saying, which most people seem to mistakenly assume at first glance. It took me a couple years of reading/researching other philosophers before I went back to discover a profound depth in Nietzsche I had never realized before. I thought I had, but not like this. I'm not sure I've ever read another philosopher with a comparable literary style. People often assume a certain simplicity in Nietzsche's writing due to his eloquence, but tend to miss the profundity of what he doesn't say or spell out in detail. Some seem to consider Nietzsche and Heidegger very similar, for example. I don't see it. To me, they are opposites in the sense that Nietzsche said less, but had far more meaning.

If you say so buddy.

[statiktech]

I am asking because I know how Nietzsche viewed christianity, but I don't know how christians see Nietzsche.

Well, that's not entirely true, I know how the Opus Dei see him. In fact, all of Nietzsche's books are in a special "do not read these books because they corrupt the soul" list that they have. I have had conversations with one member and he basically claimed that he was a nihilist. Funny because Nietzsche says that christians are the nihilists.

But mostly, having been brutally expelled from the good and evil paradigm by Nietzsche, I now have little grasp over what actually constitutes "evil," so I really want to know. The fact that I obviously admire Nietzsche so much I think turns real christians off of talking to me or taking my questions as honest, and I don't blame them. Nietzsche himself I am sure was able to hold long and respectful conversations with christians, but philosophy forum "nietzscheans" rarely are.

Interesting [not sarcasm]. I've never actually met a member of Opus Dei, let alone engaged one in philosophic conversation. Was he actually open to discussion or more just stating his beliefs? I'm not surprised they think of him as a nihilist -- that seems a popular conception amongst those who fancy demonizing him without having to do all that pesky reading. My experience is that Christians generally either don't know who he is, as Smears suggested, or write him off as a lunatic.

I'm interested in what you'll conclude. I figure Nietzsche saw "good" and "evil" as fundamentally religious concepts, and without any actual constituents. They are essentially just labels that command an appeal to authority and promote complacency.

[iambiguous]

Was Nietzsche evil?

As though this were the same as asking, "was Nietzsche a man"?

[FilmSnob]

Was Nietzsche evil?

As though this were the same as asking, "was Nietzsche a man"?

Confusing...

Most confusing...

[FilmSnob]

I am asking because I know how Nietzsche viewed christianity, but I don't know how christians see Nietzsche.

Well, that's not entirely true, I know how the Opus Dei see him. In fact, all of Nietzsche's books are in a special "do not read these books because they corrupt the soul" list that they have. I have had conversations with one member and he basically claimed that he was a nihilist. Funny because Nietzsche says that christians are the nihilists.

But mostly, having been brutally expelled from the good and evil paradigm by Nietzsche, I now have little grasp over what actually constitutes "evil," so I really want to know. The fact that I obviously admire Nietzsche so much I think turns real christians off of talking to me or taking my questions as honest, and I don't blame them. Nietzsche himself I am sure was able to hold long and respectful conversations with christians, but philosophy forum "nietzscheans" rarely are.

Interesting [not sarcasm]. I've never actually met a member of Opus Dei, let alone engaged one in philosophic conversation. Was he actually open to discussion or more just stating his beliefs? I'm not surprised they think of him as a nihilist -- that seems a popular conception amongst those who fancy demonizing him without having to do all that pesky reading. My experience is that Christians generally either don't know who he is, as Smears suggested, or write him off as a lunatic.

I'm interested in what you'll conclude. I figure Nietzsche saw "good" and "evil" as fundamentally religious concepts, and without any actual constituents. They are essentially just labels that command an appeal to authority and promote complacency.

Opus Dei members are much more open to discussion than you would think. Certainly a lot more than a regular christian, and this is because they are mostly rich or close-enough-to-rich and therefore well educated always. If you belong to the OD, chances are you dedicate honest and rational thought to christianity (always assuming that God and Jesus are real as described by the Catholic Church of course). I would say that, in my experience, Opus Dei is the order to go to for honest and advance discussion with a christian (they are, of course, agnosticism-proof and cannot be talked out of christianity, but they are usually able to hear contrasting points without a negative emotional response).

From my only contact with christians about Nietzsche (which was with this Opus Dei character), I conlcude that they see him as a decadent, a nihilist enemy of the church that wants to set people on the path of atheism. As such he is not seen as evil, like a satanist would be, but as a simptom of the deep atheist nihilism that is taking hold of society. They see him as a kind of nausea created by a virus that the church is always trying to cure.

Perhaps the line is this: I doubt that any christian whatsoever (except maybe an amish or something like that, but how would they ever hear of Nietzsche?) would pray for Nietzsche's soul.

[Duality]

Nietzsche was morally and ethically bankrupt in certain ways though.

How so?

The fact that his whole philosophy was basically centered around how to gain power at all costs.

Thats a pretty obvious red flag right there. I have some respect for some of his psychological contributions i.e birth of tragedy, etc. but again, certain flawed conclusions due to ethical shortcomings. The true Dionysian is not a chaotic-chaotic as he insists, but a structured-chaotic according to natural tenets.