How (Not) To Be An Atheist
It took Friedrich Nietzsche almost 40 years to lose his faith in God.
In 1844, he was born into a long line of Lutheran clergymen on both sides of his family. His father was a local pastor known for his religious strictness.
He hardly sold any books and lived in poverty. His brilliance was recognized posthumously and he became the most admired and influential moral philosopher of the last two centuries (i.e. since Immanuel Kant).
In 1882, he famously concluded that
“God is dead”.
Today, we misunderstand the attitude that Nietzsche was expressing with this statement. This misinterpretation reflects the mistaken ideas New Atheists have about religion.
As an atheist, I want to set the record straight.
“Overwhelmed by compassion”
Nietzsche’s life was not a pleasant one. His health problems gave him frequent, prolonged and intense pain.
He was also a highly sensitive soul, in a way that he feared would disable him:
“My greatest dangers lie in pity. I imagine the suffering of others as far greater than they really are. I only need to expose myself to the sight of some genuine distress, and I am lost.”
