Today’s Scripture Reading (July 16,
2016): 2 Samuel 22
The German
Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote in 1882 that –
“God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How
shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest
and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our
knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean
ourselves (The Gay Science or The Science of Joy)?
For Nietzsche,
the pronouncement of the death of God was a springboard for him to develop a
deeper and more natural moralism. Christian moralism was a disaster (and by the
way it still is). Not even Christians would live up to it most basic tenets
(and we still don’t). And by refusing to live up to our own description of
morality, we were the ones who had killed God. His blood is on our hands. So Nietzsche
argued that we needed to develop something that actually works. Nietzsche ended
up arguing for nihilism as the “something that works.” Nietzsche believed that nihilism
was the ultimate end in Christianity anyway. Nihilism essentially argues that
morality does not exist and that there is no ultimate purpose to life. And
since there is no purpose, whatever we feel is right must be right. What is
right for me might not be what is right for you, but because morality does not
exist there is no problem with that.
A week ago,
as a Christian, I was shocked by the bomb blast in Medina. How could anyone,
let alone a Muslim, set off a bomb that close to the tomb of Muhammad the Prophet?
It doesn’t make any sense to me. It would be like a Christian bombing
Bethlehem. Yet nihilism offers the idea that anything can be right if it is
right to the one doing the action because
ultimately morality does not exist.
Of course, I
believe that Nietzsche is very wrong. At the most basic level, anything that
hurts someone else is wrong. There is no
excuse for bombing period, let alone the bombing of a historical and religious
site such as the one bombed in Medina. But while I believe that Nietzsche is wrong,
he is also right. If God is dead, then we are the ones who killed him. When
Muslims bomb Medina, can Mecca be far behind?
And if the holy sites are no longer sacred, can we truly believe that Allah
lives.
Christians really
don’t have holy sites. But we do believe that people are important and the
dwelling place of God. And when we disregard or ignore people, when we criticize
and cut people “down to size,” can we really believe that there is a God still
reigning on the throne. All people are holy, and of great worth to God. So if
God is alive, would not those same people be of great worth to us.
David, with
one phrase, restores life to God. “I know that my God lives. He is my rock and
my salvation.” And therefore I will live my life knowing that truth. My life
will conform to that morality. As Christians, this is the confession that
should be continually on our lips. “I know my God and my Redeemer lives. And
because of that knowledge, I declare that my life will bear testimony to the
God who is not dead, but rather, very much alive.” We may have killed God (okay,
not really, but functionally within our lives) with our unbelief, but we also
have the power to raise him back to life.
Will you
make the declaration with me?
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2
Samuel 23
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