[deccan]

Originally posted by General Woundwort:
Possibly, but this is also the fellow who said "If there is a God, how could I bear not to be one?" Also, his whole argument was similar to what is seen here - religion was a human construct which allowed the 'slave' caste to gain the upper hand over the 'masters'. Even the very existence of God would undermine his whole project.

Few people would probably try to argue that Nietzsche doesn't contradict himself on various points at different times in his life. Nietzsche even kept diaries of private writings that differ markedly from his published writings and have academics scratching their heads ever since over which Version represented the true Nietzsche, if there ever was one.

I would also agree that anybody who reads Nietzsche for the purpose of formulating a rational argument against organized religion is looking in the wrong place. In fact, much of Nietzsche's work appears to disparage the rational, or Apollonian, approach to life in favor of the emotional, or Dionysian approach, though I would say that after his relationship with Wagner soured, Nietzsche started to shift in the opposite direction.

Nietzsche's strength was never in appealing to the intellect but in appealing to intuitions and emotions. This is emphasized by his approach in "Thus Spake Zarathustra" which imitated the style and lyrical prose of the Bible for Nietzsche's anti-Christian agenda. Of course, the fact is that for many people, Christian parables and lessons appeal to the emotions and the intuitions as well, and being very aware of that, Nietzsche probably did it consciously.

So to sum up, I agree that Nietzsche would be an atrocious example of a detached starting point, but only the unintiated would even expect Nietzsche to be one.