The Antichrist

Article written by Israel Njoku

Degree in M.C.M with focus on Literature from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

The Apostles however disregarded this message and created a religion through which they express their resentment at the upper class of society and then subsequently try to exact revenge against this group. Friedrich Nietzsche reveals the dishonest, sinister, and vengeful motivations behind seemingly noble Christian ethics and then notes their influence on contemporary Western philosophy and morality. Nietzsche believes that Christian morality targets the strong and so delegitimizes the values associated with them by designating them as sin. The natural inclinations to pleasure, to vital energetic exertions, to spirited control of one’s environment for one’s good, is vilified as demonic, sinful, and bad. Because the instinct toward self-preservation and physical and mental advancement is frowned upon by Christian morality, Nietzsche predicts a corruption of the human race. It is this decadence that he associates with and criticizes in Christianity.

Key Facts about The Antichrist

• Title: The Antichrist
• Author: Friedrich Nietzsche
• Published: 1895, Originally written in 1888
• Genre: Philosophy
• Original Language: German

Friedrich Nietzsche and The Antichrist

Although Nietzsche grew up in a pious protestant home, the content of “The Antichrist” is noted for its strong condemnation of Christianity. Nietzsche’s break with Christianity was a consequence of his University education in philology and theology.

His studies in philology allowed him to observe the development of cultures across different societies at different periods. His fascination with early Greek civilization and cultural outlook led him to see the more restrictive moral system of Western Europe in a different, less exciting light.

He was also exposed to the philosophical works of religious skeptics like Arthur Schopenhauer as well as secular reconstruction of religious books by scholars too.

The realization that the miracles and fantastic events of the Bible were most likely false or exaggerated and the fact that much of what was written was written many generations after the fact led Nietzsche into a path of skepticism which when mixed with his disdain for Christian-influenced Western morality, led to full-on rebellion.

Nietzsche’s loss of faith was a traumatic event in his life and he believed a lot of atheists, skeptics, and philosophers who claimed independence from religion in their thoughts were not so independent. He believed that Christian morality seeped into Western philosophy and led to the creation of dominant moral systems that were only a continuation of decadent Christian values in disguised forms.

These beliefs led him to embark on a journey of exposing the ugliness behind Christian morality. Armed with his knowledge of anthropology, he sourced both Jewish and Christian morals and history to the propaganda of self-serving religious leaders who were either trying to acquire and retain power, or exact vengeance on select groups and classes in the society. He also shows how Christian values benefit neither the individual nor humanity as a whole in the long term.

Books Related to The Antichrist

“The Antichrist” is an anthropological survey of both Jewish and Christian history, a psychoanalytical diagnosis of certain important figures within this history, and finally a prescriptive moral philosophy that tries to nudge readers toward a revolutionary moral system.

In this respect, Nietzsche’s work is related to the anthropological, sociological, religious, critical, and moral philosophical works of history.

A few works that are related are:

• Maps of Meaning – Jordan Peterson
• The Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right – Karl Marx
• Totem and Taboo – Sigmund Freud
• The Idiot – Fyodor Dostoevsky
• The Essence of Christianity – Ludwig Feuerbach
• Plato – The Republic

The Lasting Impact of The Antichrist