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Klassic Katbert836
Posted by catbert836 in Religion/Theology
Sun Dec 24th 2006, 02:32 PM
Inspired by this passage of Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spake Zarathustra:

"...Altered is Zarathustra; a child hath Zarathustra become; an awakened one is Zarathustra: what wilt thou do in the land of the sleepers?

As in the sea hast thou lived in solitude, and it hath borne thee up. Alas, wilt thou now go ashore? Alas, wilt thou again drag thy body thyself?"

Zarathustra answered: "I love mankind."

"Why," said the saint, "did I go into the forest and the desert? Was it not because I loved mankind far too well?"

"Now I love God: men, I do not love. Man is a thing far too imperfect for me. Love to man would be fatal to me... Go not to men, but stay in the forest! Why not be like me- a bear among bears, a bird amongst birds?"

"And what doeth the saint in the forest?" asked Zarathustra.

The saint answered: "I make hymns and sing them; and in making hymns I laugh and weep and mumble: thus do I praise God.

With singing, weeping, laughing and mumbling do I praise God who is my God. But what dost thou bring us as a gift?"

When Zarathustra had heard these words, he bowed to the saint and said: "What should I have to give to thee! Let me rather hurry hence lest I take aught away from thee!"- And thus they parted from one another, the old man and Zarathustra, laughing like schoolboys.

When Zarathustra was alone, however, he said to his heart: "Could it be possible! The old saint in the forest hath not yet heard of it, that God is dead!"


As a caveat: When Nietzsche said that God is dead, he did not mean a physical death of God, nor that any God had existed in the first place. What he meant, rather, is that the concept of God was incapable of acting as a source of morality for mankind any longer. If you wish to read more on the topic, please read this post which I made on the subject some time ago.

Which to you agree with, Zarathustra or the saint? Do you love mankind or God? Or both? Or neither? What are your reasons for your answer?
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