your-god-is-too-small May. 2016 | Page 79

“Man is the cruelest animal. [This is proven because man invented hell for himself.]” “Morality is herd instinct in the individual.” “You have your way. I have my way. As for the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.” “All things are subject to interpretation whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.” (The conclusion of George Orwell’s “1984” is very much an example of this.) - Friedrich Nietzsche - I hope that you have read some of Nietzsche’s works. If not, then I will give you a brief overview. Nietzsche lived from 1844 until 1900 in what became Germany in 1871 (he was Prussian). He remains a highly influential philosopher remembered primarily for his concept of the “Ubermensch,” sometimes translated as the superman. He is known for his rejection of social Christian morals and values, which he deemed to be the residue of the slave mentality that permeated Judaism and Christianity post-destruction of the temple in Jerusalem 70 CE, as they tried to survive under pagan Roman rule during their developmental stages. He contended that this slave mentality persists to this day, indoctrinated into the masses, laboring within Christian-dominated societies. Although he focused on Christian society, his analysis is also applicable to other nations dominated by major religions or even totalitarian systems that inculcate the society with their own similar subservient codes of conduct. He was a prolific author, but for this blog, I would recommend you consider reading “The Antichrist,” “Beyond Good and Evil,” “The Genealogy of Morals,” and “The Will to Power,” with the middle two being the most important. But once you read them, I expect that you will not see your world the same way you did before. Many people I know who read Nietzsche in college could only utterly reject him, as they feared a world dominated by P a g e | 79