“God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers?” – Friedrich Nietszche
This quote has been echoed by many different cultures across the world since it was first penned in 1882. Although the first sentence is what is typically referenced to, the last sentence is what I deem most important. Nietzsche said Christianity is dead, and in the very next sentence he states how detrimental this “revelation” could be for the world. Nietzsche’s ideas, which were radicalized by his sister, play a large part in the genocidal acts of the 20th century. The plague of nihilism is woven so deeply in the American consciousness today that we see it manifested in every way we turn. One obvious symptom of this is modern art. For thousands of years, one of our forms of worshiping the beauty of the divine was creating objectively beautiful, objectively because of its imitation of God’s beauty in nature, paintings, architecture, and sculptures, oftentimes religious in nature. With this came an understanding that it was an attempt to appeal to the sacred beauty of creation, even God himself. Abstract art is an attempt to replace beauty with novelty. Without the goal of uplifting the human spirit towards the divine, there is no standard of beauty to meet which leads artists to reach outward, rather than up.
Nihilism is rooted in one central principle: there is no God; therefore, nothing matters, at least at the most fundamental level. These ideologies rob us of the beauty that a meaningful life, which is in pursuit of the divine, brings. All humans have a hierarchy of priorities. In the modern era, we see the pinnacle of this hierarchy filled with hollow ideals like sexual identities, the government, or celebrities who aren’t even aware of our existence. All of these philosophies fall short because of the imperfection that exists at the top of their hierarchy.
“What can become of him if he is in such bondage to the habit of satisfying the innumerable desires he has created for himself?” – Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov.
Richard Dawkins recently stated, “I call myself a cultural Christian.” A world-renowned atheist making such a bold statement raises a question about the degree of pragmatic benefits living in a Christian nation. He also stated that although he is glad western countries have turned more to atheistic thought, he also loves Christian traditions such as beautiful churches and hymns. Although these statements are not inherently contradictory, they show that there is an intrinsic love for beauty, tradition, and meaning. The problem with cultural Christianity is that a lack of authenticity makes it unsustainable over time. True Christianity provides meaning by giving us an ultimate ideal, Jesus Christ, and fighting against our fallen human nature to inch closer to the ultimate ideal. Although there are temporary, practical benefits from Christianity, it is no longer practical when it is followed in the name of that practicality.
Within the past couple years, we have seen a push back against these dreadful ideas, especially from young men. Meaning, beyond ourselves and even this world, is what is providing a desperate fresh breath from a drowning in a sea of existential despair.
