Skip to main content

Nietzsche, Saint Paul and the Will of Life

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Atheism Revisited
  • 222 Accesses

Abstract

According to Nietzsche, the deception of Christianity can be revealed through the subtle political framework, extending beyond any metaphysical or ethical grounding, to uncover the hidden realm of theological thought. The letters of Paul on the other hand, deliver us (avant la lettre) a reversed and hidden leverage to reevaluate the criticism of Nietzsche. Tymczyszyn insists that Saint Paul is not a metaphysical but a profoundly political thinker whose considerations about life transcending life, central to his doctrine, do not aim to depict any external, superior, metaphysical domain. In his endeavors, Paul aims to liberate and fully convert the political subject through the revelation of life. Paul insists that the power to surpass death, death considered as an ultimate measure of political control, transforms individual and helps one to discard the status of the political hostage.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

     The Italian philologist was a real genius: owing a reduced material, he was able to infer its full meaning. The literary work discovered subsequently and the impressive collection of archeological artifacts have successively provided a solid scientific grounding for Comparatti’s preliminary courageous assumptions (these findings include such items as: lamellae from Thesaly [fourth century B.C.], Hipponion and Derveni papyrus [fourth century B.C.]).

  2. 2.

    It is assumed that Freud applied his innovatory technique of cathartic treatment influenced by Breuer’s uncle-in-law Alfred Freiherrn von Berger, a great Aristotle lover (Greenspan 2008, 75).

  3. 3.

    However, I would like to avoid going too deeply into the debates with the restricted orthodox conventions of post-Hegelian hermeneutic.

  4. 4.

    It is worth to note that Jesus is often designated as Zou in gospels.

References

The Epistles of Paul have been quoted from the NRSV Bible

  • Agamben, Giorgio. 2005. The Time That Remains: A Commentary on the Letter to the Romans. Trans. Patricia Dailey. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arendt, Hannah. 2013. The Human Condition. Trans. Garrath, Williams. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Badiou, Alain. 2003. Saint Paul: The Foundation of Universalism. Trans. Ray Brassier. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biebuyck, Benjamin, Danny Praet, and Isabelle Van den Poel. 2004. Cults and Migrations: Nietzsche’s Meditations on Orphism, Pythagoreanism, and the Greek mysteries. In Nietzsche and Antiquity: His Reaction and Response to the Classical Tradition, ed. Paul Bishop, 151–169. Rochester: Camden House.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Jáuregui, Miguel Herrero. 2016. Orphism and Christianity in Late Antiquity. Berlin: De Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenspan, Daniel. 2008. The Passion of Infinity: Kierkegaard, Aristotle, and the Rebirth of Tragedy. Berlin: De Gruyter.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Guthrie, William Keith Chambers. 1993. Orpheus and Greek Religion: A Study of the Orphic Movement. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hengel, Martin. 1997. The Zealots: Investigations into the Jewish Freedom Movement in the Period from Herod I until 70 A.D. Trans. David Smith. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindsell, Harold, and Verlyn D. Verbrugge. 1991. NRSV Harper Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nietzsche, Friedrich. 2010. The Anti-Christ; Ecce homo; Twilight of the Idols: And Other Writings. Trans. Judith Norman. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pollman, Karla. 2017. Jesus Christ and Dionysus. Rewriting Euripides in the Byzantine Cento Christus Patiens. In: The Baptized Muse. Early Christian Poetry as Cultural Authority, 140–160. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rainach, Salomon. 1929. Orpheus—Historja Powszechna Religij. Warszawa: Księgarnia F. Hoesicka.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, Ed Parish. 2009. Paul Between Judaism and Hellenism. In St. Paul Among the Philosophers (Indiana Series in the Philosophy of Religion), ed. John D. Caputo and Linda Alcoff, 74–90. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon, Marcel. 1992. Cywilizacja wczesnego chrześcijaństwa I-IV w. Trans. Eligia Bąkowska. Warszawa: Państ. Instytut Wydawniczy.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stendahl, Krister. 1976. Paul Among Jews and Gentiles and Other Essays. Philadelphia: Fortress Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taubes, Jacob. 2008. The Political Theology of Paul. Trans. Dana Hollander. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Tymczyszyn, A. (2020). Nietzsche, Saint Paul and the Will of Life. In: Wróbel, S., Skonieczny, K. (eds) Atheism Revisited. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34368-2_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics