[microgood]

Having studied Nietzsche extensively, he is one of the most misunderstood of all philosophers. He was a rugged individualist, and believed anything like social demands, religious demands, or anything that limited human potential was evil. His idea of a Superman was the ultimate artist. He admired Wagner until he started writing songs for the state and then disowned him.

His main beef about Christianity was its embrace of socialism in Europe at the time. The notion that those that were previous thought as nobility because they were strong, brave, and rich were now evil outraged him, and the "Christian" notion that "the meek will inherit the earth" just drove him nuts. That is what Beyond Good and Evil was about.

He despised nationalism and socialism above all, because it limited human potential.

[savagesusie]

I think part of the extensive misunderstanding had a lot to do with his sister who he detested and was an anti-semite and had total control of his work in that last decade of his life when he was insane. She compiled a lot of his notes and had direct authority on all aspects of his writing.

[sasportas]

His main beef about Christianity was its embrace of socialism in Europe at the time.

I suppose by Europe Christianity embracing socialism you mean Roman Catholicism. I’m not that familiar with Protestantism in Europe at that time, possibly it too. But that was Europe, not so in American Protestantism, especially at that time.

[jmacusa]

If Nietzsche was as you describe how could he say something like: “Life is a meaningless struggle in an otherwise blessed state of non-existence’’? The guy sounded pretty negative . With that one at least.