The Problem with Saying Nietzsche part2

Hello world. I hope everything is going well. You may notice the part 2 and ask, "where is part 1?" Well, it got deleted, because computers are really stupid. A half hour down the tube. But anyways, I'm going to make a second attempt, albeit, slightly abbreviated.

I find it funny that we Christians can get caught up in arms whenever some mentions a certain name (such as Nietzsche) or philosophy (such as existentialism). These names are instantly barraged by insults and why they are bad, without giving a full look to the person or idea.

I'm learning about existentialism in my philosophy class, and although I don't agree with everything it says, it definately has some worthwhile ideas, to say the least. I could talk about why I disagree with this philosophy, but that is really long and time consuming, so I'll present the good ideas. One that jumped out at me was existentialism's emphasis on responsibility. That's a message that our world could hear more of. We so often want to dodge the consequences of our actions, and it only brings about further frustration and problems. Last year I helped out with a church event at San Marcos First Baptist, and during the weekend I broke a student's laptop. I initially offered to help pay for it, but when I realized I couldn't afford it, I payed less than I said I would and made an excuse that through the blame more on the junior high student. This angered the mother (as it should have), and caused a lot of unnessecary grief and problems. In the end, I took responsibility for my actions, but from that point on, it made attending the church difficult and conversations with the youth minister became akward. My friend Ben Stuart said one of the great tragedies of the fall of man described in Genesis was when Adam blamed both Eve and God instead of taking responsibilty for eating the forbidden fruit.

All this to say, we need to be discerning when learning of other philosophies, but we should not be close minded, and we should not unreaonably discredit those who think differently than we do. When I declare that I'm a philosophy major, Christians often give me a look of concern, warning me that I may be pulled away from the faith. I love them for it -- that they are concerned about my spiritual well being and that they desire to gaurd their hearts against the things of this world, but I don't want to have dogmatic beliefs -- claiming things are true only because other people tell me to. C.S. Lewis, one of the most brilliant Christians of the 20th century refrenced philosophers and ancient writers as much as he did the Bible. I have a friend become a Christian in the same semester he was taking a philosophy class, and what he learned in philosophy actually reinforced his beliefs. I know that by beliefs will be challenged over the next couple of years, and I will struggle with doubt, but if the Bible is the living truth (which I believe it is), then this is also true: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand." (John 10:27-29 emphasis mine).

Till next time,
Dan Reiter