Book Review: God is Dead, God Remains Dead and We Have Killed Him
Good grief, Neitsche really doesn't like religion. And I mean REALLY doesn’t like it - especially when he says things like ‘the origin of religion lies in the exaggerated sense of power’. You know he is about to do some bible bashing and not in a ‘fire and brimstone’ at the pulpit kind of way.
Honestly, this book was exactly what I expected, having read some of neitsche’s works before, I knew what I was getting into. But there was almost something giddy in me when I read his continuous eviscerations of religion. Yet, he doesn't seem to offer any alternative to religion except solid, hard reality, which is fair. He considers Christianity a lie, and while modern science now dominates worldwide instead of religion, it has not eradicated it. Not because the sense of faith is strong, but because of what religions symbolically represent to the point of being sublime.
As with all of Neitsche’s books, all his arguments are bound within reality, as they do not aspire to something metaphysical, lofty or cannot be seen. I think one of his most successful arguments is to point out our ideas on ‘Sin’. In the context of organised religion, ‘Sin’ is crimes committed against the almighty and not against our fellow mankind. Murder, for example, is a sin against God because only God should have the right to give and take life, not us mere mortals. There is no consideration at all for the sins against Man and the effect of that ‘Sin’ against them. Murder is a Sin against man and not against God; it is a crime committed on a fellow human, therefore it is within the jurisdiction of Mankind. God has no business here.
The thing I like about these books is the debate that ensues. I wouldn't particularly say I'm religious, nor would I say I’m an atheist. I would personally consider myself somewhere in the middle. If you consider that blasphemous, whatever side of the argument you cite, then so be it. But the philosophy of religion and the arguments thrown to and fro have always fascinated me. Religion will always continue to evolve as humanity does. I do, however, disagree with the title of the book “god is dead - and we have killed him” because I have noticed that the idea of god or many Gods will always resound as long as there are those who have faith. Faith in the almighty doesn't really seem to care for any and all rational scientific arguments thrown its way; faith holds fast.
Whatever you think or believe, this makes for an interesting read.