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Library's collection Library's IT development CancelThis thesis deals with Nietzsche?s criticism on European civilization in Christian
moral teaching as seen in some of Friedrich Nietzsche?s literary works. I will
utilize Sartre atheist existentialism particularly on its discussion about human
contingency, atheism, and nihilism. For Nietzsche, to criticize European
civilization simple means to criticize the basic foundation from which the
civilization developed which is morality. Nietzsche?s criticism on Christian moral
teaching can be sum up in one of his famous statement; God is dead. Nietzsche?s
"God is dead" thesis is objectified to revaluate Christian moral teachings. This
thesis starts from Nietzsche criticism on the belief in Savior and the concept of
human nature in Christianity. Nietzsche states that these two belief and concept
are false. Man, according to Nietzsche, is in his nature innocent, therefore he
needs no Savior to redeem his sins. More than psycological refutation, he
proposes historical refutation that is able to bring God to the final death (requiem
aeternam deo). Man is simply to be there. At that point, man is free, yet at the
same time man is nothing (nihilism). The problem is not how man should
understand his nothingness or nihilism but how man should live with it. To
overcome this nihilism, Nietzsche proposes two ways. First, he marks the death of
God in psychological and historical level. Second, he takes back all power to
decide what is truth and untruth that owned by the churches and priests as the
mouthpiece of God on earth. As a consequence, man is free to decide what is truth
and untruth, and to esteem values and moral. At this point, Nietzsche wants to
deconstruct Christian moral teachings. The slave morality, according to Nietzsche,
belongs to Christian moral teachings because it is based on love that is
commanded by God. On the contrary, Nietzsche proposes the master morality. For
Nietzsche, the individual who exercise master morality has to go beyond accepted
morality to create a new morality for himself. The master morality begins with
self affirmation to power. It is the will to power, and the man who is able to
exercis the will to power deserves to be called the overman.v