Nietzsche, the 19th Century German philosopher, lived in the twilight of Christendom. He too, though, looked back to the pagan past as his source of hope. In the world of the Greeks and Romans, he believed, men were free. Christianity had infected European culture with a morality of self-denial that kept strong men shackled. The West needed to be purged of its Christian conscience in order for men to be free again. Insane for the final years of his life, Nietzsche died believing he was Jesus Christ.

This year the sophomores at BCS have studied these two men, pagan bookends of Western Christendom, and the fifteen hundred years of Christian culture that lies between them. On one level, distinguishing the victories from defeats in the long war between the church and paganism is difficult. Julian lost his fight to save the old world of Rome, but the Christian emperors and kings who followed him could be as brutal as their pagan predecessors. Nietzsche died an invalid, but his writings live on and have powerfully influenced our culture. The Gospel, though, gives us a different way of interpreting victory and defeat.

The Corinthians saw Paul's sufferings as evidence against his claims of apostleship; if the favor of God rested on him, his life would look more victorious. In response, he explained to them the nature of weakness and power. It is in Paul's weaknesses and seeming defeats that God's power is revealed. In 2 Corinthians 13:4 he tells them, "For [Christ] was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God." The weakness of Christ for our sake on the cross and the power of his resurrection are the lenses through which we interpret victory and defeat in history and in the present. In our weaknesses or in apparent setbacks to the cause of Christ, may we not fear defeat but instead with eagerness await the grace our Lord is about to give and the power he is preparing to display.   

 
Josh Maloney
Instructor of Composition and Christian Worldview

Bethlehem College and Seminary