Quote Originally Posted by BlueCat
Thanks Breukelen.... Hey do you really read Nietzsche? He was really a bad ass wasn't he? I agreed with a lot of his writings "Untimely Meditations" and "All too Human" are my favorites. I disagree with the "Antichrist" essay though. I think religion is a necessity for the world. I agree it has caused a lot of heart ache but at the same time it gives people hope and is a coping mechanism for those that need it in really difficult times. Without it many people would have abandoned hope, like the Jewish people and all they endured. It was their religious convictions that helped them to cope. That is why I respect the religious beliefs of others even though I am agnostic. Also I see how some people behave in the name of God and shutter to think how they would behave if they believed there was no judgment day. At the same time it is rather amusing that there are more Christians in prison than atheist yet atheist are suppose to be the ungodly sinning heathen monsters.

As far as the founding fathers I agree with you. It amazes me how many people talk about our nation's founders and how religious they were when it is not true. How many times have you heard the One nation under God statement? The founding fathers had the wisdom to know the importance of the separation of church and state. Jefferson even had all references to Christ's miracles removed from his bible and Franklin said church was just plain boring.

Hi BlueCat,

Yes, I've read most of his stuff, and he's a great thinker and writer, but I have trouble with his theory of eternal recurrence. That's the thing to say when you want to impress philosophy majors, profs, etc., lol.

As far as his views on religion, he said in one of his writings that you have to really have been hurt by it to feel the way he did. I'd have to agree with that. As you probably know, his father was a minister, and he came from a long line of clergymen.