My Attitude to the God is Dead Phrase of Friedrich Nietzsche - Essay Example

Reaction paper: God is dead Nietzsche Friedrich developed the opinion that ‘God is dead’. The idea was based on a scientific approach in an effort tounderstand theology. The story explains Nietzsche’s religious background in which both his father and grandfather were church ministers. He however did not follow the traditional biblical understanding and questioned existence of God and His powers that people believe in. Nietzsche for example argues that God does not have super natural powers and he says that all human should be treated in the same way.

He also argues that behaviors, actions, and experiences among humans are equivalent. As a result, he argues that God can only do things that other humans can do. He also argues that God can die. He specifically argues that ‘there was only one Christian, and he died on the cross’ (p. 109). This further shows Nietzsche’s opinion that the founder of Christianity, who was crucified, never resurrected. According to Nietzsche’s history, he was a learned person, a professor, and the people whom he associated with were also respected.

Wagner, whom he saw as a father, for example influenced him. Their relationship however ended because he revolted against him. Nietzsche then tried to establish a love relationship with Lou Salome but the relationship did not succeed. This negatively affected him and he resigned from his work at a university. He then wrote a number of books before suffering from mental illness in the year 1889 and meeting his death in the year 1900. A majority of his writings discredited Christian religious beliefs.

I do not agree with Nietzsche’s opinion because of many reasons. While Nietzsche argues that all humans, including God, should be treated equally, he does not appreciate the possibility that God may be the creator of the universe. He also does not explain an alternative origin of nature to oppose the possibility that God created the universe. This therefore means that he believes that God has supernatural powers that created the universe. If God created the universe then he has higher powers that any other creature.

Therefore, Nietzsche’s opinion that God and other beings are equal is not true. Similarly, his opinion that there existed only one Christian is not true. This is because a Christian is person who follows the doctrines that Jesus Christ taught. History identifies a number of people who devoted their lives to following the doctrines. Many people also follow the doctrines in this generation. This means that there have been, and there are still Christians, apart from the one who died on the cross.

Nietzsche’s life history also brings many questions that can challenge his opinions. He lost his father when he was young and this could have resulted in a psychological complication. This is supported by his rebellious reactions against Wagner and his reaction after failing to win Salome to be his lover. The mental illness that he finally suffered from supports the idea that he could have been mentally unstable when he presented these opinions against Christianity. I therefore believe that Nietzsche’s opinions against the church are not true.

They could have been a result of mental problems that became worse in his later stage of life.