“Hence the Ways of Men Part…”

“When it says ‘God looks at the heart,’ it says No to both the lowest and the highest desires of life, and posits God as the enemy of life. The saint in whom God delights is the ideal eunuch. Life has come to an end where the ‘kingdom of God’ begins.”

Harsh words, right? Nietzsche wrote them in his work Twilight of the Idols. They are somewhat stereotypical words of an atheist searing Christianity, coming off as bitter and angry with said establishment. Nevertheless, how did Nietzsche come to this conclusion? Our first instinct may be to question Nietzsche’s family life—usually staunch atheists have had a negative experience with some sort of religious establishment that turns them away, often times their very own father. At first, the theory holds water. Nietzsche’s father was a Lutheran minister, which seems to set up a monumental father-son falling out. However, Nietzsche’s father died when he was only four years old…well before young Friedrich was considering matters of life, death, and God. What about the rest of his family then? Perhaps his mother was the Christian that rubbed him the wrong way!

That does not seem to be the case. There is little that I could find about the relationship between Nietzsche and his mother, but there is an important fact that sheds light on her “innocence”: in 1864, Nietzsche commenced studying Theology with hopes of becoming a minister. Based on this aspiration (albeit a very temporary one), I think it is safe to assume that nothing in Nietzsche’s family turned him into the atheistic philosopher he became.

All right, so what did? In a matter of a single academic semester, Nietzsche went from pursuing ministry to writing this in a letter to his religious sister: “Hence the ways of men part: if you wish to strive for peace of soul and pleasure, then believe; if you wish to be a devotee of truth, then inquire….”

All in all, it seems that Nietzsche lost his faith simply by attempting to learn more about it. He read history and philosophy regarding Christianity and eventually came to the conclusion that historical facts and analysis discredited the religion. Instead of God creating people…people created God. It seems that Nietzsche came to his conclusions by learning and seeking out knowledge on his own…a “victim” of the Enlightenment.

He is a perfect example of the problem some Christians have with the Enlightenment’s ideas of thinking. The Enlightenment preaches that we should think critically and independently about religion and related things. It encourages forming our own opinions rather than accepting what we hear from a priest or teacher. You could argue that this is important in growing in our faith…but you could also postulate that taking it too far is all too easy, and you may end up losing faith like Nietzsche.

He certainly adds a unique facet to our previous readings, especially Kant. Are these Enlightenment ideas good…or are they dangerous for our salvation?

As we know, not a question easily answered.