Tonight, I will wrap up a class I am teaching at IWU, "Philosophy and Christian Thought." In our discussion we will look at 19th century philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche--who to me (perhaps in a twisted way) is always a bit of a fun figure to discuss. We will cover the basics--his life, the ideas of herd vs. master morality, the Übermensch (overman/superman), will to power, his influence upon those who would come after him and all that. Nietzsche is always controversial and certainly never boring.

Nietzsche often wrote things that were shocking, not only in his day, but also in ours. Consider his oft-quoted statement,

I regard Christianity as the most fatal and seductive lie that has ever yet existed--as the greatest and most impious lie...
I decline to enter into any compromise or false position in reference to it--I urge people to declare open war with it.

Sometimes it's difficult to tell when Nietzsche literally meant what he said, and when he was merely being hyperbolic. He seemed to revel in making such shocking statements. But I imagine he may have been quite serious when he wrote the words quoted above.

I'll admit that I'm drawn to Nietzsche--not because I agree with him, but somehow because I feel for him. Of course, he would probably think I was weak for any such sentiment! But I often wish he and I were not separated by time. I want to engage Nietzsche. I want to think of him as that neighbor down the street who is difficult to get along with, but over time and with persistence, we can build a genuine relationship of trust and mutual respect. I want to sit down with Nietzsche and have conversation over coffee. I want to hear him and get to know him, even if it means in the end that I cannot change his mind. At the very least, I want to to try to break his mental image of what he considers to be the worst in Christianity.

In many ways, Nietzsche had great influence on the culture that would come after him. His influence can still be felt today. Maybe he often is the neighbor down the street after all.

What do you think about Nietzsche? Love him? Hate him? How do you deal with him?

[I found conflicting information regarding the original work for the quotation above. If someone knows for certain the source, please let me know and I'll edit this entry with the correction.]

Tags: Nietzche