A Defense for Christians to Read Friedrich Nietzsche

The title of this article may come as a surprise to those who know me personally and have heard my thoughts about the destructive implications of Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophies, or to those who read my most recent article, in which I lauded Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s worldview as a needed alternative to Nietzsche. 

Don’t get me wrong, I still think the inevitable end to Nietzsche’s worldview is incredibly dangerous and will ultimately lead to chaos, specifically, a chaos that can never be tamed – and therein lies the problem. 

Chaos, in and of itself, isn’t something people should avoid. God created mankind to subdue a chaotic world and to have dominion over it. In the Creation account, we see God Himself hovering over chaotic waters, but He manipulates the chaos into something orderly and good. 

As beings created in His image, men and women are to follow their Creator’s actions and bring order to the chaos we see in the world. 

However, the biggest issue with Nietzsche’s so-called solution to helping mankind overcome problems and progress as a species is, in my opinion, related to his denial of the transcendent and objective truth. Individuals guided by their own personal morality must clash, and while this clashing does not have to manifest through destructive violence, given human nature and history, it’s foolish to think such destruction will not occur. 

One could say such confrontation is not bad (whatever that word means in a purely subjective world), as it would force mankind to rid itself of hindrances to progression. However, when human lives are at stake, speaking of altercations as a mere overcoming of hindrances is troublesome (Though, if everything is subjective, and the end truly does justify the means, there wouldn’t be a problem here.). 

Truthfully, though, this article is meant to do the opposite of what it may seem I’ve done so far: I want to encourage Christians to read the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche. 

Like I mentioned my last article, I no longer believe Nietzsche was a nihilist. 

Not only did he have an impressive mustache, which is totally irrelevant to the discussion at hand yet had to be stated, but much more importantly, he was an intellectual powerhouse, one who observed rampant issues in the world and postulated ways to overcome them, so mankind could thrive in perpetuity. 

I’d especially commend his critiques on religion, and more specifically, Christianity, for which he seemed to have a unique disdain. 

The main reason I’m recommending his writing to you, brother and sister in Christ, is, he is able to provide a (needed, perhaps) perspective on the state of the Church, her indifference to the suffering around her, and how current (I chose this word intentionally, even though Nietzsche lived over 100 years ago) postmodernists see the teaching of Scripture and the Church. 

No, I’m becoming a postmodernist myself. 

I fully believe in the reality and need of objective truth; I believe all truth and wisdom find their source in Christ Himself (c.f., 1 Corinthians 1:24; Colossians 2:3; John 14:6); and, I believe Christ alone is Lord, and every knee will bow to Him and every person will confess Him as Lord (c.f., Philippians 2:9-11). 

However, I fear Christians aren’t well versed in opposing worldviews, and as a result, we are ill-equipped to engage in meaningful conversations about them and to serve those who hold such perspectives. While St. Paul instructs us to be infants in that which is evil, he and St. Peter admonish us to be mature in our thinking (c.f., 1 Corinthians 14:20) and to always be ready to give an account for the hope that is in us (c.f., 1 Peter 3:15). 

How can we possibly be obedient to the Apostles’ teaching if we are ignorant of what those who do not submit to Christ as Lord believe? 

And in trying to better understand the postmodernist mind, the mind that claims to believe everything is subjective, I can think of no one better to consider than Nietzsche. 

In one sense, the man was a genius, and there’s no doubt he was a brilliant rhetorician. 

Christian, much of what he wrote will shock you, and at times, it will likely anger you. However, don’t let this deter you. Stick with him, and try to get into his mind. At least, to the extent that you understand his line of thinking. I am, by no means, suggesting that you should adopt his philosophies outright. I say outright, because there is some of what Nietzsche taught with which I agree. 

For example, as I also mentioned in my last article, Nietzsche suggested that, in order for man to reach his highest potential (i.e., to become the Ubermensch) and be most effective in bettering mankind, the man must undergo a metamorphosis, in which he eventually becomes a babe, having thrown off his presuppositions and arrived at the point that he can approach the world (in all of its facets) afresh. 

In one sense, I agree with Nietzsche’s sentiment here. We should strive to become this best version of ourselves for the benefit of the world and those around us. 

For the Christian, however, the true Ubermensch is Christ Himself, as Pilate prophetically announced when he said, “Behold, the Man” (c.f., John 19:5), and our participating in Christ (or, our becoming a type of Ubermensch, if you will) only comes from shedding off our past selves and submitting to Christ. 

(As an aside, we take this metamorphosis a step further than Nietzsche, in his materialistic worldview, could. We believe we must die to ourselves in order to become an Ubermensch. Further, as is likely obvious, in Christ, through His Word, and by the power of the Holy Spirit (all of which are transcendent in nature), we have a standard outside of ourselves and our subjective thoughts by which we are to grow into this Ubermensch.)

Also, to an extent, I agree with Nietzsche’s critique that the Church, as a whole, does not challenge her members to ask challenging questions about the faith and the world. There are many unfortunate reasons for this: ignorance, apathy, and insecurity among the clergy and laypeople, to name a few. As a former teacher at a Christian school, too often, I heard my students bemoan instances in which they had questions about their faith, the world, other belief systems, and in response to their inquiries, they were met with ignorance and apathy (and may God have mercy on me, and may my former students forgive me, for the times that I fell into this same camp). 

The answer to this problem Nietzsche saw, though, is not a nihilistic groan that the Church can never improve, and therefore, should be discarded; it is, however, to be obedient to the aforementioned commands from St. Paul and St. Peter, to grow in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord (c.f., 2 Peter 3:18), and as Dostoyevsky, a Christian, expressed in The Brothers Karamazov (Yes, I’m still encouraging you to read that novel), to actively love one’s neighbors. 

If you do choose to consider some of Nietzsche’s writing, I want to reiterate something: stick with him. In his pages, you will not find a casual read. His work is not that which can be mindlessly consumed as you’re lying in bed before retiring for the night. It’s that which must be (and should be) studied. 

As we do study Nietzsche, and as we should do with everything we approach, submit what you find within his words to the objective truth of Scripture and to the Holy Spirit, remembering that all wisdom does find its source in Christ, the One to Whom all things are moving and within Whom all things are summed up (c.f., Romans 11:36; Ephesians 1:10), and ironically, may he lead you to actively love those around you – which is not possible apart from the true Ubermensch, Christ Himself.