Does Christianity Make Us Weak? (Nietzsche) – 8-Bit Philosophy

Let's imagine, dear viewer, that in the world we live in, a basketball team beats its opponent by more than 100 points and the winning coach can be fired for bragging. Some children's leagues refuse to score points and participation prizes abound. Mediocrity is celebrated, applauded and encouraged, while the celebration of superiority is frowned upon, but where

does

this desire for mediocrity come from? For Friedrich Nietzsche, the answer is simple. Christian ethics. Christianity, the spirit of the people and its calls to piety, obedience, mutual benefit, sympathy, moderation and equality - the Christian representation of the shepherd and his flock - are symptoms of a

weak

form of morality.

These beliefs come from the inability to handle the power of others. Of the desire to submit. Power, cunning, brilliance, abundance and wealth. This is what society should value, but its value is devalued. In his book "On the Genealogy of Morals", Nietzsche uses the example of lambs and birds of prey: large birds regularly carry the lamb to death. It would be understandable if lambs called birds “bad,” but for Nietzsche the term “good and evil” is illogical. Because the desire for power complicates these concepts. The desire for power is the drive to have control, power and success in life.

Nietzsche famously said: "This world is a desire for power and nothing more, and you yourself represent this desire for power and nothing more." The world we live in is a world where people - all forms of life - compete to survive, and even to thrive. Each species has different instincts and powers: workers wear helmets to protect themselves, tigers and lions eat tourists, and the Ice Man uses his cold steel eyes to freeze his prey. The desire for power is not only biological. Every choice we

make

, every technology we use to be happy and enjoy life, is part of our desire for power, our desire to prosper in the world.

If a tiger eats a tourist, it is good for the tiger but not for the tourist. For Nietzsche, the desire for power is the part of us that annihilates moral considerations. Since the beginning of time, the lions of the world have eaten lambs. Although one could argue that the world shouldn't be like this, that is how the world works. By valuing a single law (a universal morality that dictates what is good and what is evil), Christian ethics keeps people on the path, turns them into an undifferentiated mass that forcibly stifles individual desire and gives them an acceptable excuse to be ordinary.

Most of the time people reject the tendency to remain neutral, they are afraid of being different, alone and more likely to be digested. But Nietzsche believes that people should aspire to be exceptional. People may feel smug when a coach is ejected for excessive scoring; they may feel it's okay to blame the deflated ball for their loss. Blame others for success. Lambs may have a justified aversion to predatory birds. The great birds of prey value their strength while the lambs of the world value their smallness,

weak

ness and negative nature. Honestly, lambs hate birds because birds are better than them.

So, dear viewer, how many participation awards did you get?