“God is Dead” says Freidrich Nietzche, the father of modern atheism.

In the previous post I pointed out that if atheistic naturalism is true, ethics must therefore be personal and relative, that men and women, families and nations must simply choose for themselves what they will consider ‘right for them’ and ‘wrong for them’.

This thought seems harmless at first, but as you read through “The Godless Delusion” this harmless thought becomes very problematic.

Freidrich Nietzche, the son of a Lutheran minister, has been spoken of as the father of modern atheism. He came to reject Christianity and saw that atheism implied not only moral relativism but also the death of morality.

According to Nietzche, man is an animal evolving from beast to what he reffered to as the “Superman” A race of supermen unchained from the shackles of religion, belief in God and morality, who would use their intelligence and will to create their own world.

In the meantime, whatever stands in the way of this evolution must be obliterated. More than anything else, Christianity stands in the way, especially with its teachings about humility and compassion, ideals that Nietzsche detested. He asked the question, how can man erect a civilization of power on pathetic ideals about love, peace, and kindness? Christianity must be ruthlessly destroyed in order to make way for the race of supermen who would rise above Christian superstition about the God who isn’t there.

Once Nietzche’s ideas began seeping into European intellectual circles, things started heading downhill rapidly. These ideas coupled with Darwinism and other naturalist sources were instrumental in propelling Europe towards the worst era of violence it had ever experienced.

From “The Godless Delusion” by Patrick Madrid and Kenneth Hensley.