No philosophers have I feared more than Nietzsche and Schopenhauer. They have pressed my theistic worldview to its limits and beyond. This (slightly massaged version of a) Schopenhauer quote below is as good an example as any:
If [a] God made this world, then I would not want to be [that] God. It is so full of misery and distress that it breaks my heart.
- Arthur Schopenhauer
Oddly, few things have ultimately brought me more peace than relinquishing the need to see this world as created by a God that I am supposed to ‘believe in.’
Such cognitive contraband would be easier left alone by those tied to creedal formulas. But my curious mind makes a simple faith rather impossible. If I am to have any faith, it must be robust enough to face my fears and stand. To reference Nietzsche, I needed to look into the abyss, knowing it would look back, and be okay with that. Doing so was freeing.
What fears stop you from being honest with yourself (or God, if you ‘believe in’ God?) Which of your theological beliefs, if any, might be better off dead?
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