Frederick Nietzsche..

[Jim]

Have any of u guys read Nietzsche?
I like his insight and the articulate manner in which he dispensed it.
His anti-christian writings are far from politically correct and tread on the toes of many,but theres no denying his genius & the truth & brilliant clarity of his writings.



Nietzsche on Socrates instead of Jesus.
"If all goes well, the time will come when one will take up the memorabilia of Socrates rather than the Bible as a guide to morals and reason... The pathways of the most various philosophical modes of life lead back to him... Socrates excels the founder of Christianity in being able to be serious cheerfully and in possessing that wisdom full of roguishness that constitutes the finest state of the human soul. And he also possessed the finer intellect".

from Nietzsche's The Wanderer and his Shadow

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Forbidden generosity.-- There is not enough love and goodness in the world for us to be permitted to give any of it away to imaginary things.

from Nietzsche's Human, all too Human


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As soon as a religion comes to dominate it has as its opponents all those who would have been its first disciples.

from Nietzsche's Human, all too Human


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I like the comparison to Socrates.Socrates was wise,witty and lacked the fanatical elememt of religous leaders.He didnt covertly crave adoration or power although he had the knowledge on how to gain both.
He was truly wise and no critic could prove otherwise.
Most spiritual teachers preach one thing and do another.
But Socrates once remarked that 'when a man truly discovers wisdom he will not act contrary to it as he knows this isn't in his own best interests'.
Its a simple yet profound thought and one that is much easier said than done given the situation.

I agree with Nietzsche & would rather have a drink and a yarn with Socrates in heaven and have him as a teacher of wisdom rather than Jesus.
For me Its not even a hard choice.

[amanamagus]

I have one of his book. Selected essays by neitzche. Tried to read it but gave up. I think he needs much more focus than I could give at that time. I'll make it a point to read it as soon as I get time.

[amanamagus]

What would you call the the fanatical elememt of religous leaders.? Socrates was very passionate about his ideas and gave his life for them. Where would you draw the line betweeen fanaticism and passion. I'd elaborate on my take on both these things in a some time.



Forbidden generosity.-- There is not enough love and goodness in the world for us to be permitted to give any of it away to imaginary things.

Here also, and I'm still thinking about it. A few years or decades before I make up my mind. Who knows. But what he is calling imaginary might not be comprehended by our intellect where it stands but can only be felt when our capable of reaching higher levels of conscious.

[Jim]

I have one of his book. Selected essays by neitzche. Tried to read it but gave up. I think he needs much more focus than I could give at that time. I'll make it a point to read it as soon as I get time.

Im not into reading thick books on such subjects either,its too much for the average mind to take in.
Just reading abstracts or quotes of his & other great philosophers works off of the net a bit at a time or when needed is enough for me.

[amanamagus]

Im not into reading thick books on such subjects either,its too much for the average mind to take in.
Just reading abstracts or quotes of his & other great philosophers works off of the net a bit at a time or when needed is enough for me.
But quotes have this tendency to be misinterpreted and quoted out of context. Hence the need to try to burden your brains with reading books.

[amanamagus]

These books are difficult read for me btw. I'd rather read them with full focus into it rather than just gloss over it like I did with harry potter books. You really have to think it over. I generally leave reading if I think I cannot do justice to a certain book.

[Jim]

But quotes have this tendency to be misinterpreted and quoted out of context. Hence the need to try to burden your brains with reading books.

Quotes r only taken out of context when used by those with an agenda.
Go to the source and read the original writings and make ur own interpretation.

[amanamagus]

Quotes r only taken out of context and used by those with an agenda.
Go to the source and read the original writings and make ur own interpretation.
Not necessarily Jimmybro. Sometimes people do genuinely misunderstand the message behind quotes. I cant give you an example but the quote of religion being opium for masses is quoted out of its original context if I recall correctly.

I agree with you on reading from the source of original writing to get the true taste of what writer wanted to say.

[Lord Krishna]

i think his best work was thus spake zarathushtra :)

[Jim]

Not necessarily Jimmybro. Sometimes people do genuinely misunderstand the message behind quotes. I cant give you an example but the quote of religion being opium for masses is quoted out of its original context if I recall correctly.

I agree with you on reading from the source of original writing to get the true taste of what writer wanted to say.

A quote cant be taken out of context inadvertadley if one knows the objectives/agendas of the author & the context in which it is written.
Of course certain people will misunderstand such works or draw strange conclusions...& more often than not to use in illustrating a preconcieved notion.
But if one earnestly seeks objective analysis he will find it.

[Lord Krishna]

Neitzche was a bit of a madman too... so dont buy into everyhting he says.......

[amanamagus]

A quote cant be taken out of context inadvertadley if one knows the objectives/agendas of the author & the context in which it is written.
Of course certain people will misunderstand such works or draw strange conclusions...& more often than not to use in illustrating a preconcieved notion.
But if one earnestly seeks objective analysis he will find it.
Truth. Well said. Good post. I totally agree.

[amanamagus]

Neitzche was a bit of a madman too... so dont buy into everyhting he says.......
Everything we misunderstand, above or below or level of consciousness, we deem to be mad. Is there any chance you speak punjabi my friend?

[Lord Krishna]

punjabi, no, hindi, yea :=)

[Jim]

Neitzche was a bit of a madman too... so dont buy into everyhting he says.......

Neitzche wasnt mad IMO,the fact that he wrote when in obvious pain,and right up untill his death may have had some effect on his thoughts,but it doesnt appear overly obvious.
He's not unlike other great thinkers inasmuch as I dont agree with every little thing he says but I do believe that the majority of his thoughts are uniquely insightful and correct analysis.
Of course many think otherwise,particularly the christians.

[Lord Krishna]

Everything we misunderstand, above or below or level of consciousness, we deem to be mad. Is there any chance you speak punjabi my friend?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neitzsche#Mental_breakdown_and_death_.281889.E2.80 .931900.29

im talking cuckoo mad

[amanamagus]

Oh I see. :).

[Jim]

Theres a fine line between genius & mad.
Intellectually gifted genius types nearly always seem more susceptable to breakdowns & pschotic type episodes.
I guess when theres a lot more chemical activity going on in the brain that naturally theres a greater chance of an overload or breakdown.

Personally I think Jesus was mad...but that hasnt stopped millions from believing him and it doesnt retract from the idea that some of what he taught is the truth.

[amanamagus]

I ahvent read bible so I cannot comment on that. But I have always wanted to ask this one thing that used to come into my mind when I used to read this stuff on the net. I havent read that much btw.

They say that bible is the word of god and the word of god is revolved to the prophet who is chosen by the god to take his message to the world. Not trying to validate my beliefs ot trying to negate or disrespect anyone else's belief system, but the thing is that Koran was REVEALED to Mohammad, Gita was revealed to Shri Krishna and the same goes for every organized religion.

But they say that Bible EVOLVED over 14 years(wrong estimate?). My question is that did Jesus Christ himself wrote the bible or was it their followers who wrote it. Then the question arises that if it took so much time and so much people who may certainly not be as enlightened as jesus, how can we believe that the bible in its present form is free from mistakes that were never meant to be there originally.

[kermitthefrayer]

I ahvent read bible so I cannot comment on that. But I have always wanted to ask this one thing that used to come into my mind when I used to read this stuff on the net. I havent read that much btw.

They say that bible is the word of god and the word of god is revolved to the prophet who is chosen by the god to take his message to the world. Not trying to validate my beliefs ot trying to negate or disrespect anyone else's belief system, but the thing is that Koran was REVEALED to Mohammad, Gita was revealed to Shri Krishna and the same goes for every organized religion.

But they say that Bible EVOLVED over 14 years(wrong estimate?). My question is that did Jesus Christ himself wrote the bible or was it their followers who wrote it. Then the question arises that if it took so much time and so much people who may certainly not be as enlightened as jesus, how can we believe that the bible in its present form is free from mistakes that were never meant to be there originally.

Because it's all faith based.

[Lord Krishna]

Theres a fine line between genius & mad.
Intellectually gifted genius types nearly always seem more susceptable to breakdowns & pschotic type episodes.
I guess when theres a lot more chemical activity going on in the brain that naturally theres a greater chance of an overload or breakdown.

Personally I think Jesus was mad...but that hasnt stopped millions from believing him and it doesnt retract from the idea that some of what he taught is the truth.


true, schizophrenia sometimes happens due to information overload of the brain... One my best freinds in college, was a genius he used to study all the time, sleep only for 4 hours, by 4th smester he went mad and was diagnosed with schizophrenia.....

[amanamagus]

Because it's all faith based.
I dont think that's the only reason. Even though I'm unable to comprehend what other reasons could there be.

[Lord Krishna]

I dont think that's the only reason. Even though I'm unable to comprehend what other reasons could there be.

power and control.....

[Jim]

I ahvent read bible so I cannot comment on that. But I have always wanted to ask this one thing that used to come into my mind when I used to read this stuff on the net. I havent read that much btw.

They say that bible is the word of god and the word of god is revolved to the prophet who is chosen by the god to take his message to the world. Not trying to validate my beliefs ot trying to negate or disrespect anyone else's belief system, but the thing is that Koran was REVEALED to Mohammad, Gita was revealed to Shri Krishna and the same goes for every organized religion.

But they say that Bible EVOLVED over 14 years(wrong estimate?). My question is that did Jesus Christ himself wrote the bible or was it their followers who wrote it. Then the question arises that if it took so much time and so much people who may certainly not be as enlightened as jesus, how can we believe that the bible in its present form is free from mistakes that were never meant to be there originally.


If the bible was didvinely inspired there would be no flaws and the original authour[God], being an omnipotent omnipresent being would ensure the Holy book remained preserved.

The bible[and all religion]is so fundamentally flawed & contradictory upon objective analysis that its a moot point even arguing the historical inconsistancies,minor innaccuracies and chronology.


The bible & other 'faiths' refers to its scriptures as the 'word of God' when it is in actuality the word of men.It adds a lot of weight to the validity & authority of the scriptures when followers believe the word comes thru a divinely inspired prophet from a higher power.

The words and teachings need to be bolstered by this divinely inspired concept because by themselves they dont carry much weight.I mean there's a few wise proverbs and some good morals to be learnt from the bible but all in all theres nothing overly profound that would constitute or justify its popularity in an intellectual or philosophical sense.

Religion simply wouldnt work if there wasnt the fear & rewards factor,the supernatural or unknown idea & the notion that source is an all loving,compassionate & altruistic being inspired by God himself who can be, by proxy, unquestionably trusted.
These r mechanisms that differentiate religion from other teachings & philosophys and are themselves the essence of religions validity.