(Originally Written October 5, 2009 in the Journal)
Notes on The Nibelungelied
Here we go again, smooth classic literature to Medieval folklore. I hope it is not as rough a transition from Aeneid to the Mabinogion.
The Nibelungenlied is an ancient German tale. Maybe I'll read Faust next to stay German...
I think I may be finding the most enjoyment in epic poetry
"If you are ever to know heartfelt happiness it can only come from a man's love. If God should assign to you a truly worthy knight you will grow to be a beautiful woman"
The Nibelungenlied was interesting. I enjoyed Siegrfried's character immensely but I wasn't a big fan of Hagen and the Fiddler. The plot was interesting, but slow at times. The ending was a bit unsatisfying. The fight between Dietrich and Gunther and Hagen was good, but Krienhild being chopped apart by Hildebrand I didn't like. I felt Brunhild was more to blame and she really didn't get much in the end.
Showing posts with label German History. Show all posts
Showing posts with label German History. Show all posts
Monday, October 5, 2009
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Class notes on Faust
(Originally Written September 13, 2006 in World Lit)
Goethe notes
Neoclassicism: 1650-1789
Romanticism: 1789-1840?, 1910?
Neoclassic vs. Romantic
Authority lies with social institutions in neoclassicism. Authority lies with the individual in romanticism.
Neoclassicism values reason, moderation, order, limitation and the cultivated. Romanticism values imagination, emotion, self-expression, transcendence, the natural, the primitive, the uneducated and the unspoilt.
Neoclassicism's version of Faust is Marlowe's Dr. Faustus. The Romanticism Faust is Goethe's. Marlowe's Faustus knows beyond human limits and ends in damnation. In Goethe, Faust is dissatisfied and desires what is beyond usual limits and ends in salvation.
The Poet (High Brow) Values: art, education, inspiration, posterity
The Clown (Low Brow) Values: entertainment, instant gratification
The Director (Middle Brow) Values: money, spectacle, variety
Goethe notes
Neoclassicism: 1650-1789
Romanticism: 1789-1840?, 1910?
Neoclassic vs. Romantic
Authority lies with social institutions in neoclassicism. Authority lies with the individual in romanticism.
Neoclassicism values reason, moderation, order, limitation and the cultivated. Romanticism values imagination, emotion, self-expression, transcendence, the natural, the primitive, the uneducated and the unspoilt.
Neoclassicism's version of Faust is Marlowe's Dr. Faustus. The Romanticism Faust is Goethe's. Marlowe's Faustus knows beyond human limits and ends in damnation. In Goethe, Faust is dissatisfied and desires what is beyond usual limits and ends in salvation.
The Poet (High Brow) Values: art, education, inspiration, posterity
The Clown (Low Brow) Values: entertainment, instant gratification
The Director (Middle Brow) Values: money, spectacle, variety
Monday, April 24, 2006
Luther timeline
(Originally written April 24, 2006 in 3 Subject)
European Religious History
Luther is teaching at Wittenburg University. He begins to tackle the theological implications of the New Testament. At the time of Luther scholasticism and humanism are opposite points in the intellectual and religious world. Catholic disagreements among theologians were commonplace at the time he posted the 95 Theses. Luther expects that each of his thesis will be debated against by Papal legates, not be ignored or lead to his expulsion. Pope Leo X sees Luther's 95 theses as the ramblings of a drunken German. The Church has a stronghold on all heresies, making them nearly non-existent.
95 Theses
-Luther fears that indulgences are replacing the repentant lifestyles that Jesus requires. Luther does not reject the sacrament of penance entirely, he is upset because it is being misunderstood by the laity.
-Luther states that Pope cannot pardon all sins. The Pope can only forgive the sins committed against the sin. Only God can forgive sins committed against God.
-Luther challenges the concept of purgatory.
-Indulgences cause people to believe their sins are forgiven so they won't be contrite and thus, be lost.
-Wrote to inform the Pope how the theology in his name is being corrupted.
The Archbishop of Mainz, who bought the office asks the theologians of the University of Mainz what they thought about the 95 theses. Pope Leo X doesn't see the 95 theses as being any particularly big deal. He orders the Augustinians to get ahold of and control Luther, an Augustinian himself. Frederick the Wise (the elector and ruler over the territory Luther is living in) protects Luther because he is enjoying the attention that his region is getting on account of Luther. Luther is declared a heretic by a Dominican in 1518 and ordered to be extradited to Rome. The Pope states he has this power because the Papacy has jurisdiction over all clerics. Frederick the Wise disagrees and claims authority over Luther because of his professorship in his district, thus giving Frederick jurisdiction. He orders that the trial of Luther must be done in Germany and he can appeal to the Holy Roman Emperor.
Luther then asks for a trial among German theologians. Frederick approves of this. The Pope is forced to back down because the Holy Roman Emperor will die soon and wishes to influence Frederick and the other German electors to elect an emperor favorable to Pope Leo X. The Pope sends Papal legates to the trial but orders them not to engage in the debate and only say "submit to the Pope". The Papal legate however condemns Luther without him even speaking, but he is not formally excommunicated. After this Luther realizes that he is getting Frederick into a dangerous situation and offers to leave the territory. Frederick decides however to protect Luther until the matter is settled.
The Holy Roman Emperor dies in 1519. The Leipzig Disputation (Leipzig University was a very staunchly Catholic place) refuses to debate the theses and only continues to demand that Luther submit to the Pope. Luther then challenges the Papal authority. He declares that the Papacy does not have the authority it claims to have. Luther declares himself more orthodox than the Leipzig University and the Catholics there. Leipzig then declares Luther to be a Hussite (Jan Hus).
Luther however knew neither Hus nor Wycliffe but agreed with some of their points. Luther placed the Bible over the traditions of the Church and above the Church fathers. He taught that justification came solely by grace through faith.
Luther begins to realize that he may have to denounce the Pope's authority outright. Meanwhile Charles V, the king of Spain, is elected the Holy Roman Emperor (being the grandson of the former Holy Roman Emperor). This gives Charles dominion over Spain, Burgundy, Germany and the Netherlands. The lands of Charles completely surround France, leaving King Francis I to feel threatened by Charles V. In 1520 Luther releases documents writing to the German princes (electors) to take responsibility in Church reform, further angering the Pope.
European Religious History
Luther is teaching at Wittenburg University. He begins to tackle the theological implications of the New Testament. At the time of Luther scholasticism and humanism are opposite points in the intellectual and religious world. Catholic disagreements among theologians were commonplace at the time he posted the 95 Theses. Luther expects that each of his thesis will be debated against by Papal legates, not be ignored or lead to his expulsion. Pope Leo X sees Luther's 95 theses as the ramblings of a drunken German. The Church has a stronghold on all heresies, making them nearly non-existent.
95 Theses
-Luther fears that indulgences are replacing the repentant lifestyles that Jesus requires. Luther does not reject the sacrament of penance entirely, he is upset because it is being misunderstood by the laity.
-Luther states that Pope cannot pardon all sins. The Pope can only forgive the sins committed against the sin. Only God can forgive sins committed against God.
-Luther challenges the concept of purgatory.
-Indulgences cause people to believe their sins are forgiven so they won't be contrite and thus, be lost.
-Wrote to inform the Pope how the theology in his name is being corrupted.
The Archbishop of Mainz, who bought the office asks the theologians of the University of Mainz what they thought about the 95 theses. Pope Leo X doesn't see the 95 theses as being any particularly big deal. He orders the Augustinians to get ahold of and control Luther, an Augustinian himself. Frederick the Wise (the elector and ruler over the territory Luther is living in) protects Luther because he is enjoying the attention that his region is getting on account of Luther. Luther is declared a heretic by a Dominican in 1518 and ordered to be extradited to Rome. The Pope states he has this power because the Papacy has jurisdiction over all clerics. Frederick the Wise disagrees and claims authority over Luther because of his professorship in his district, thus giving Frederick jurisdiction. He orders that the trial of Luther must be done in Germany and he can appeal to the Holy Roman Emperor.
Luther then asks for a trial among German theologians. Frederick approves of this. The Pope is forced to back down because the Holy Roman Emperor will die soon and wishes to influence Frederick and the other German electors to elect an emperor favorable to Pope Leo X. The Pope sends Papal legates to the trial but orders them not to engage in the debate and only say "submit to the Pope". The Papal legate however condemns Luther without him even speaking, but he is not formally excommunicated. After this Luther realizes that he is getting Frederick into a dangerous situation and offers to leave the territory. Frederick decides however to protect Luther until the matter is settled.
The Holy Roman Emperor dies in 1519. The Leipzig Disputation (Leipzig University was a very staunchly Catholic place) refuses to debate the theses and only continues to demand that Luther submit to the Pope. Luther then challenges the Papal authority. He declares that the Papacy does not have the authority it claims to have. Luther declares himself more orthodox than the Leipzig University and the Catholics there. Leipzig then declares Luther to be a Hussite (Jan Hus).
Luther however knew neither Hus nor Wycliffe but agreed with some of their points. Luther placed the Bible over the traditions of the Church and above the Church fathers. He taught that justification came solely by grace through faith.
Luther begins to realize that he may have to denounce the Pope's authority outright. Meanwhile Charles V, the king of Spain, is elected the Holy Roman Emperor (being the grandson of the former Holy Roman Emperor). This gives Charles dominion over Spain, Burgundy, Germany and the Netherlands. The lands of Charles completely surround France, leaving King Francis I to feel threatened by Charles V. In 1520 Luther releases documents writing to the German princes (electors) to take responsibility in Church reform, further angering the Pope.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Renaissance Popes & Martin Luther
(Originally Written April 19, 2006 in 3 Subject)
European Religious History
Problems in the Renaissance Church:
1. Simony
2. Clerical Marriage
-Priests with wives or concubines
-upper Church officials with concubines and children
-Popes known to have illegitimate children
3. Nepotism
-Nepotism leads to the building of Clerical Dynasties
4. Pluralism (having two positions simultaneously)
-An unfortunate, but sometime necessary evil in some cases on account of the black death
-Non-residency of bishops in their bishoprics
Renaissance Popes
-Council of Constance (1411-1414)
-Reformation
-Most Renaissance Popes are looked cross-eyed at by the people for various religious issues
Systux IV - Nepotism, but begins the building of the Sistine Chapel and commissions Michaelangelo
Innocent VIII - (worst example of the Renaissance Popes) - 16 illegitimate children, which is widely known. Continues the Papal trend of centralizing Papal authority by creating 52 new administration jobs
Alexander VI (1492-1503)
-Buys the Papacy
-Borgia, son of Alexander VI, is sent in military action to divide the Papal States into his own familial lands
Julius II (1503-1513) - Leads the Papal army against his own enemies, dubbed "The Warrior Pope"
-Erasmus of Roderdam wrote "Julius Exclusivis" as a satire of Julius II
-Julius II did however commission the building of St. Peter's Basilica
Leo X (1513-1521)
-1st Medici Family Pope
-Pope during Martin Luther's 95 thesis posting
-Leo X was made Archbishop at age 8 and a Cardinal at age 13 by the Medici family
Problems in the Holy Roman Empire
- Holy Roman Empire elects its emperor with the 7 princes (7 noble families)
-Because of elections, Germany cannot consolidate power like France and England. Emperors are also unable to ensure dynastic succession.
-This sets the tables for Martin Luther to shake up the world.
1)All of Europe has a looming presence in the east. The ottoman Empire is the most powerful empire in the region (Turkey & Greece). The Pope and the Holy Roman Empire have the most to worry about because the Holy Roman Empire is not consolidated and the Pope already has problems with the Ottomans, the Holy Roman Empire, The French King, the French Catholic Church and various others in Europe.
2)The Printing Press: Luther's crew is better with this new invention than the Pope's Catholic Brigade.
3)Literacy is on the rise because of the Renaissance ideal of education and emphasis on public schools.
4) Luther appeals to the German princes to overthrow the Catholic Church, who are politically estranged from the Papacy.
European Religious History
Problems in the Renaissance Church:
1. Simony
2. Clerical Marriage
-Priests with wives or concubines
-upper Church officials with concubines and children
-Popes known to have illegitimate children
3. Nepotism
-Nepotism leads to the building of Clerical Dynasties
4. Pluralism (having two positions simultaneously)
-An unfortunate, but sometime necessary evil in some cases on account of the black death
-Non-residency of bishops in their bishoprics
Renaissance Popes
-Council of Constance (1411-1414)
-Reformation
-Most Renaissance Popes are looked cross-eyed at by the people for various religious issues
Systux IV - Nepotism, but begins the building of the Sistine Chapel and commissions Michaelangelo
Innocent VIII - (worst example of the Renaissance Popes) - 16 illegitimate children, which is widely known. Continues the Papal trend of centralizing Papal authority by creating 52 new administration jobs
Alexander VI (1492-1503)
-Buys the Papacy
-Borgia, son of Alexander VI, is sent in military action to divide the Papal States into his own familial lands
Julius II (1503-1513) - Leads the Papal army against his own enemies, dubbed "The Warrior Pope"
-Erasmus of Roderdam wrote "Julius Exclusivis" as a satire of Julius II
-Julius II did however commission the building of St. Peter's Basilica
Leo X (1513-1521)
-1st Medici Family Pope
-Pope during Martin Luther's 95 thesis posting
-Leo X was made Archbishop at age 8 and a Cardinal at age 13 by the Medici family
Problems in the Holy Roman Empire
- Holy Roman Empire elects its emperor with the 7 princes (7 noble families)
-Because of elections, Germany cannot consolidate power like France and England. Emperors are also unable to ensure dynastic succession.
-This sets the tables for Martin Luther to shake up the world.
1)All of Europe has a looming presence in the east. The ottoman Empire is the most powerful empire in the region (Turkey & Greece). The Pope and the Holy Roman Empire have the most to worry about because the Holy Roman Empire is not consolidated and the Pope already has problems with the Ottomans, the Holy Roman Empire, The French King, the French Catholic Church and various others in Europe.
2)The Printing Press: Luther's crew is better with this new invention than the Pope's Catholic Brigade.
3)Literacy is on the rise because of the Renaissance ideal of education and emphasis on public schools.
4) Luther appeals to the German princes to overthrow the Catholic Church, who are politically estranged from the Papacy.
Friday, March 17, 2006
The Avignon Papacy & Investiture Crises
(Originally written March 17, 2006 in 3 Subject Book)
European Religious History
Struggles between kings and popes
Investiture Contest/Controversies
-Henry IV of German vs. Pope Gregory VII
Kings vs. Popes
1) Over Investiture
John of England (1199-1216)
-lost Normandy to the French King, Philip Augustus (1204)
-excommunicated by Pope Innocent III over investiture controversy involving the Archbishop of Canterbury
2) Over Taxation of the Clergy
-Edward I of England (1290's)
-Philip IV (Philip the fair) of France (1285-1314) vs. Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303)
- Papal Bull, 1296: the laity cannot tax the clergy
- Philip IV ignores the bull
- Pope Boniface VIII backed down, kings now have to ask permission to tax the clergy
3) Over Courts
- Battle between Philip IV & Pope Boniface VIII
- Boniface VIII issued bull, Unam Sanctum
-Philip IV's response:
-Used lawyers trained in Roman Law
-Roman Law: king is sovereign in all matters in his territory
-Philip IV planned to kidnap Boniface VIII and bring him to trial in France
-Caused the Crisis of the 14th Century (The Avignon Papacy)
The Crisis of the 14th Century
The Avignon Papacy (1305-1378)
-"The Babylonian Captivity of the Church"
-Pope Clement V (1305-1314) through Pope Gregory XI (1370-1378)
-Pope Gregory died in Rome in 1378 bringing an end to the Avignon Papacy
-Led to the Great Schism (1378-1417)
European Religious History
Struggles between kings and popes
Investiture Contest/Controversies
-Henry IV of German vs. Pope Gregory VII
Kings vs. Popes
1) Over Investiture
John of England (1199-1216)
-lost Normandy to the French King, Philip Augustus (1204)
-excommunicated by Pope Innocent III over investiture controversy involving the Archbishop of Canterbury
2) Over Taxation of the Clergy
-Edward I of England (1290's)
-Philip IV (Philip the fair) of France (1285-1314) vs. Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303)
- Papal Bull, 1296: the laity cannot tax the clergy
- Philip IV ignores the bull
- Pope Boniface VIII backed down, kings now have to ask permission to tax the clergy
3) Over Courts
- Battle between Philip IV & Pope Boniface VIII
- Boniface VIII issued bull, Unam Sanctum
-Philip IV's response:
-Used lawyers trained in Roman Law
-Roman Law: king is sovereign in all matters in his territory
-Philip IV planned to kidnap Boniface VIII and bring him to trial in France
-Caused the Crisis of the 14th Century (The Avignon Papacy)
The Crisis of the 14th Century
The Avignon Papacy (1305-1378)
-"The Babylonian Captivity of the Church"
-Pope Clement V (1305-1314) through Pope Gregory XI (1370-1378)
-Pope Gregory died in Rome in 1378 bringing an end to the Avignon Papacy
-Led to the Great Schism (1378-1417)
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Brief notes on Pope Gregory VII
(Originally written March 15, 2006 in 3 Subject)
European Religious History
Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085)
-Radical reformer
-Investiture controversy
-Lay investiture
-Argued with King Henry IV of Germany
-Excommunication of Henry IV, implications in feudal society
-Investiture controversy continued through the 11th to 14th centuries
European Religious History
Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085)
-Radical reformer
-Investiture controversy
-Lay investiture
-Argued with King Henry IV of Germany
-Excommunication of Henry IV, implications in feudal society
-Investiture controversy continued through the 11th to 14th centuries
Friday, February 24, 2006
Recovery in England & Germany
(Originally written February 24, 2006 in Book 24)
Class Notes
Recovery and Revival
Western Europe AD 1000 - 1200
Early Middle Ages (AD 500 - 1000)
-Decentralized Government
-Spain: Visigoths
-Gaul: Franks: The highpoint of Frankish kings is Charlemagne; A.D. 800
-Feudalistic government
-Feudalism is threatened by the Scandinavian tribes at the end of the reign of Charlemagne
-Scandinavian tribes convert similarly to the Germanic tribes
-Germanic kings worked hard to consolidate large "kingdoms" through feudalism. After generations of consolidating the Scandinavian invasion causes everyone to break ties to their lords and defend their lords and defend their own land. This causes further political instability and more decentralized of government.
-The Danes (Scandinavian) caused serious problems in Anglo-Saxon Britain. The Norsemen set up a strong kingdom in Normandy (Northern France). Britain suffers constant invasion from the Danes and Normans.
-The Scandinavians completely destroy the stability that Charlemagne created.
Political Recovery of England
End to invasion
-Norse/Viking
Alfred the Great of Wessex
- consolidating rule and fighting vikings 879-896
- brings scholars from the Carolingians
Edgar (959-975)
-Unified Anglo-Saxon monarchy
- Centralization of government, reestablishes stability by conquering the Vikings
Harold Bluetooth
Swein Forkbeard conquered England in 1014, son Cnut followed him in 1016
Last Anglo-Saxon king: Edward the Confessor
-William the Conquerer, a Norman conquered Britain in 1066
Political Recovery of Germany
Political recovery stems from an economic revival (which coincides with the miniature ice age lifting and important technological advancement)
End of Invasions
-Magnus (Hungarian)
Otto I
- Battle of Zechfeld, 955
- Supported missions to Scandinavia and Slavs
- Anskar, bishop of Bremen and Hamburg
- Strong alliance with bishops and abbots
- New bishoprics (diocese) along eastern border: gave bishops authority to collect revenues and call men to arms.
- Bishops in this area answered to the German king.
In 962 the Pope crowns Otto I as the first Holy Roman Emperor since Charlemagne.
Charlemagne's Empire Post-Death
Divided between Charles (France), Lothar, and Louis (Germany)
France expands westward, Germany eastward and squeeze out the Lothar Kingdom.
Class Notes
Recovery and Revival
Western Europe AD 1000 - 1200
Early Middle Ages (AD 500 - 1000)
-Decentralized Government
-Spain: Visigoths
-Gaul: Franks: The highpoint of Frankish kings is Charlemagne; A.D. 800
-Feudalistic government
-Feudalism is threatened by the Scandinavian tribes at the end of the reign of Charlemagne
-Scandinavian tribes convert similarly to the Germanic tribes
-Germanic kings worked hard to consolidate large "kingdoms" through feudalism. After generations of consolidating the Scandinavian invasion causes everyone to break ties to their lords and defend their lords and defend their own land. This causes further political instability and more decentralized of government.
-The Danes (Scandinavian) caused serious problems in Anglo-Saxon Britain. The Norsemen set up a strong kingdom in Normandy (Northern France). Britain suffers constant invasion from the Danes and Normans.
-The Scandinavians completely destroy the stability that Charlemagne created.
Political Recovery of England
End to invasion
-Norse/Viking
Alfred the Great of Wessex
- consolidating rule and fighting vikings 879-896
- brings scholars from the Carolingians
Edgar (959-975)
-Unified Anglo-Saxon monarchy
- Centralization of government, reestablishes stability by conquering the Vikings
Harold Bluetooth
Swein Forkbeard conquered England in 1014, son Cnut followed him in 1016
Last Anglo-Saxon king: Edward the Confessor
-William the Conquerer, a Norman conquered Britain in 1066
Political Recovery of Germany
Political recovery stems from an economic revival (which coincides with the miniature ice age lifting and important technological advancement)
End of Invasions
-Magnus (Hungarian)
Otto I
- Battle of Zechfeld, 955
- Supported missions to Scandinavia and Slavs
- Anskar, bishop of Bremen and Hamburg
- Strong alliance with bishops and abbots
- New bishoprics (diocese) along eastern border: gave bishops authority to collect revenues and call men to arms.
- Bishops in this area answered to the German king.
In 962 the Pope crowns Otto I as the first Holy Roman Emperor since Charlemagne.
Charlemagne's Empire Post-Death
Divided between Charles (France), Lothar, and Louis (Germany)
France expands westward, Germany eastward and squeeze out the Lothar Kingdom.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Can Man live without God - Chapter 3
(Originally written September 14, 2005 in Book 1)
Can Man Live Without God?
Ravi Zacharias
1994
Chapter 3 - The Mad Man Arrives
Auschwitz survivor Victor Frank: "If we present man with a concept of man which is not true, we may well corrupt him. When we present him as an automation of reflexes, as a mind machine, as a bundle of instincts, as a pawn of drive and reactions, as a mere product of heredity and environment, we feed the nihilism to which modern man is, in any case, prone. I became acquainted, with the the last stage of corruption in my second concentration camp, Auschwitz. The gas chambers of Auschwitz were the ultimate consequence of the theory that man is nothing but the product of heredity and environment - or, as the Nazis liked to say, 'of blood and soil'. I am absolutely convinced that the gas chambers of Auschwitz, Treblinka and Majdanek were ultimately prepared not in some ministry or other in Berlin, but rather at the desks and lecture halls of nihilistic scientists and philosophers" (Zacharias, 25).
As America removes the 10 Commandments from the constitution, we are setting the tables fore the rise of "sophisticated and elite" ideologies that will pave the way for another Hitler. This is the child of antitheism and materialism.
Aldous Huxley:
"I had motives for not wanting the world to have a meaning; consequently, I assumed that it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption. Most ignorance is vincible ignorance. We don't know because we don't want to know. It is our own will that decides how and upon what subjects we shall use our intelligence. Those who detect no meaning in the world generally do so because, for one reason to another, it suits their books that the world should be meaningless".
Can Man Live Without God?
Ravi Zacharias
1994
Chapter 3 - The Mad Man Arrives
Auschwitz survivor Victor Frank: "If we present man with a concept of man which is not true, we may well corrupt him. When we present him as an automation of reflexes, as a mind machine, as a bundle of instincts, as a pawn of drive and reactions, as a mere product of heredity and environment, we feed the nihilism to which modern man is, in any case, prone. I became acquainted, with the the last stage of corruption in my second concentration camp, Auschwitz. The gas chambers of Auschwitz were the ultimate consequence of the theory that man is nothing but the product of heredity and environment - or, as the Nazis liked to say, 'of blood and soil'. I am absolutely convinced that the gas chambers of Auschwitz, Treblinka and Majdanek were ultimately prepared not in some ministry or other in Berlin, but rather at the desks and lecture halls of nihilistic scientists and philosophers" (Zacharias, 25).
As America removes the 10 Commandments from the constitution, we are setting the tables fore the rise of "sophisticated and elite" ideologies that will pave the way for another Hitler. This is the child of antitheism and materialism.
Aldous Huxley:
"I had motives for not wanting the world to have a meaning; consequently, I assumed that it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption. Most ignorance is vincible ignorance. We don't know because we don't want to know. It is our own will that decides how and upon what subjects we shall use our intelligence. Those who detect no meaning in the world generally do so because, for one reason to another, it suits their books that the world should be meaningless".
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Can Man live without God - Chapter 2
(Originally Written September 13, 2005 in Book 1)
Can Man Live without God?
Ravi Zacharias
1994
Chapter Two: Straying through an infinite nothing
Atheism is the deliberate denial of the existence of God. Atheism bows actions on materialism. Materialism states that nothing exists but natural phenomena. There are no supernatural forces.
"Atheism is not merely a passive unbelief in God, but an assertive denial of the major claims of all varieties of theism. Atheism contradicts belief in God with a positive affirmation of matter as the ultimate reality" (Zacharias, 17).
One of Nietzsche's contentions was that Christianity had paralyzed human potential. Hitler claimed, "I freed Germany from the stupid and degrading fallacies of conscience and morality. We will train young people whom the world will tremble at. I want young people capable of violence, imperious, relenting and cruel".
Atheism destroyed morality and conscience and without those two things, man is free to become as evil as he can be. Hitler was begotten of enlightened and freed Germany.
Can Man Live without God?
Ravi Zacharias
1994
Chapter Two: Straying through an infinite nothing
Atheism is the deliberate denial of the existence of God. Atheism bows actions on materialism. Materialism states that nothing exists but natural phenomena. There are no supernatural forces.
"Atheism is not merely a passive unbelief in God, but an assertive denial of the major claims of all varieties of theism. Atheism contradicts belief in God with a positive affirmation of matter as the ultimate reality" (Zacharias, 17).
One of Nietzsche's contentions was that Christianity had paralyzed human potential. Hitler claimed, "I freed Germany from the stupid and degrading fallacies of conscience and morality. We will train young people whom the world will tremble at. I want young people capable of violence, imperious, relenting and cruel".
Atheism destroyed morality and conscience and without those two things, man is free to become as evil as he can be. Hitler was begotten of enlightened and freed Germany.
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