Q&A: Nietzsche Against the Existence of God
Nietzsche Against the Existence of God
Question
Nietzsche offered a proof—I’d be glad to know whether I understood it correctly—that there is no God, on the grounds that defining Him as perfect contradicts defining Him as absolute good.
For if He is perfect, then a person will necessarily envy His perfection, and that necessarily condemns the person to live in sadness and great frustration because of his inability to attain divine perfection. And if so, that is not good.
1. Did I understand the argument correctly?
2. What is your response?
3. Must one therefore arrive at a panentheistic view, whose meaning is that there is not really such a separation between man and God, but rather that these are actually two sides of one coin? On the one hand, man is not God, and on the other hand, something of God exists within man. And if so, he should not envy a perfection to which he himself also belongs.
(This is, I think, how I heard Rabbi Cherki resolve it.)
Thank you, and have a good month.
Answer
I’m not familiar with this proof, and on its face it sounds to me like empty sophistry.
Its factual premise is absurd: I don’t see why it is necessary that a person envy Him. A desire for perfection does not lead to envy of one who is perfect. Certainly not if He is not a human being but God (a human being cannot be perfect).
Its essential claim is also absurd: even if we assume that in fact a person would envy Him, that does not mean He would not create him. Those are the constraints, and He creates man in that way because He has no possibility of creating a person who would not envy. Just as He has no possibility of perfecting Himself (for He is perfect), and therefore there is an inherent lack in Him by virtue of His being perfect.
Once there is no difficulty, there is no need for excuses. In any case, I’m glad I’m spared having to address pantheism, which is another nonsense not worth discussing.