Jesus, Nietzsche and the Promised Land

Jesus says things that are obviously not true in his time. 'Blessed are the poor.' 'Blessed are the meek.' Nietzsche sees this elevation of feebleness as sick, sick, sick, but part of being oppressed, which is part of becoming a self-conscious, interesting set of people. Hideously psychologically damaged, but interesting.

Nietzsche seems to wish for a self-aware liberty, for people that accept the expressions of will-to-power in themselves, who have no resentment because they are fierce living creaturs asking no quarter and expecting none. Noble, exalted creatures who don't take a step back. But he doesn't have much to say about the problem of the social world. It is all very well to approach life in a lordly fashion, but you're going to be in conflict and have to fear and show respect. There's no going back to that unreflective instinctive life, but (per the dudes on the Partially Examined Life podcast) Nietzsche doesn't have advice, or not very coherent advice, on how to be.

Jesus' solution is the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of Heaven. He posits a deep background in which the meek inherit the earth, those who sorrow are comforted, the poor are blessed. He invites hearers to step aside, out of plane and occupy a new position. Nietzsche says the place he invites people to is merely imaginary. I'm not sure yet whether to respond that it has made for a pretty real, successful civilisation; or that 'imaginary' is the proper description for this sort of 'spiritual' shaping of intentional content.

Either way, Jesus actually passes Nietzsche's tests for life. He lives assuming he has the backing of almighty God, but more - that he is that same God. He treats his friends as if they are at his level: his first response to the 5000 hungry folk is a casual / preremptory 'you give them something to eat!' This is both casually aggressive, as from a noble nature, and generously ennobling by expecting no less of them than that they should be his equals. He does all this with a will-to-power aimed at claiming the whole world, saying before his crucifixion 'now is the time for the ruler of this world to be driven out.' His suffering and death are too small to stop his purpose.

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