Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844-1900; Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm, 1844-1900 -- Criticism and interpretation; Philosophy
The psychology of Christ, as set forth in "The Antichrist," and the
use made of his doctrines by those who directly followed him, form an
important part of Nietzsche's argument against Christian morality.
Christ's doctrine, according to Nietzsche, was one of immediacy. It
was a mode of conduct and not, according to the present Christian
conception, a preparation for a future world. Christ was a simple
heretic in his rebellion against the existing political order. He
represented a reactionary mode of existence---a system of conduct which
said Nay to life, a code of inaction and non-interference. His death on
the cross was meant as a supreme example and proof of this doctrine.
It remained for his disciples to attach other meanings to it. Loving
Christ as they did, and consequently blinded by that love, they were
unable to forgive his execution at the hands of the State. At the same
time they were unprepared to follow his example and to give their
own lives to the cause of his teachings. A feeling of revenge sprang
up in them, and they endeavoured to find an excuse for his death. To
what was it attributable? And the answer they found, says Nietzsche,
was "dominant Judaism, its ruling class." For the moment they failed
to realise that the "Kingdom of God," as preached by Christ, was an
earthly thing, something contained within the individual; and after the
crucifixion it was necessary for them either to follow Christ's example
or to interpret his death, a voluntary one, as a promise of future
happiness, that is, to translate his _practical_ doctrine into symbolic
terms. They unhesitatingly chose the latter.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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