Philosophy and Religion - Are they Compatible? Essay -- Ethics Christi

Philosophy and Religion - Are they Compatible? The death of God. Just the sound of the phrase makes it seem like a scary event, one that would change the life of everyone involved. The idea of the "death" of something implies that it did, at one time, have life or vitality. Friedrich Nietzsche uses this phrase to make a point, to define an event, which signifies the last man's life as pathetic. Perhaps we realize that God is not dead; perhaps our belief in God is so sure, that even contemplating Nietzsche's ideas appalls us. The truth is, his ideas make us think. They make us contemplate our beliefs and our mentality. I suggest that Nietzsche has a point; we must discover the role of religion in our lives. Does it draw us to act as one of the herd? Does religion weaken us, as he suggests? Or is our salvation and strength through God? Rather than having to look the possibility of an overman for strength, religion and God offer strength rather than weakness. Nietzsche offers to us an opportunity to rethink our set opinions and question the strength of our belief. I suggest that his concept of the overman and our concept of a follower can be reconciled. I will attempt to reconcile his self-power with our belief in the power of God through looking at other philosophers as well as Nietzsche. Why should we care what Nietzsche thinks about Christianity, about life, or even about God? "We cannot afford to ignore the bracing, stimulating side of Nietzsche's view of life, his exposure of softness, of flimsy and sugary sentimentalism, of our slipshod temper, of the mental atmosphere of the slacker" (Foster 191-2). And why can't we afford to ignore his ideas? Because he presents a new idea of the human: the herd tendencies, the ... ...e and choose faith over sin. With the ideas of thinkers from Nietzsche to Kierkegaard intact, I feel the time has come to present my own ideas. In contrast to Nietzsche, I offer the thought that power can be found through humility. Perhaps it would be best for us to bring the questioning and self-power found in Nietzsche together with the faith and love of God found in Kierkegaard and Lewis. Works Cited Lewis, C.S. "Faith Proves the Existence of God to the Believer" Marx, Karl. The Marx-Engels Reader. Ed. Robert C. Tucker. New York: Norton, 1978. Weber, Max. The Protestant Ethic and The Spirit of Capitalism. Los Angeles: Roxbury, 1998. Foster, George Burman. Friedrich Nietzsche. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1931. Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Gay Science. New York: Vintage Books, 1974. Jung, C.G. "Seminar on Nietzsche's Zarathustra".