by Bill Nugent
Article #62
Ideas have consequences. Atheistic, materialistic, Darwinian evolution is the taproot of unbelief and rejection of God. The rejection of God has led to the rejection of morals in western civilization. Nowhere is this more clearly seen than in the life and teachings of Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900).
Nietzsche was born in Rocken, Saxony in Germany. His father was a village pastor who died when Nietzsche was just four years old. Darwinian evolution was widely promulgated in Germany and had a greater influence there than even in Darwin’s native England. Nietzsche quickly came under the influence of Darwinism and evolution would have a profound impact on his writings. A brilliant student, Nietzsche later became a college professor and writer. He began to apply evolution to philosophy and ethics.
Nietzsche saw the rapid decline of belief in God as Darwinism increased in influence. He wrote about how this decline in Judeo-Christian beliefs was causing the erosion of the distinction between man and animal. The Bible based moral consensus of western Europe was collapsing.
Though he was an atheist, Nietzsche viewed the decline in belief in God as something very dreadful and he predicted that in the future there would be great and terrible wars. Yet at the same time Nietzsche regarded this departure from Christian morals as the opportunity to infuse new values based on evolution and existentialism.
His philosophy was radically existentialist. (Existentialism is the philosophical idea that each person must take responsibility to throw off the shackles of social convention and shape his or her own life in accordance with his or her own will.) Nietzsche called the ideal existentialist “uebermensch” or “superman.”
Nietzsche utterly despised Christianity and Judaism which he saw as the defenders of the poor and infirm. Though he acknowledged that Christian charity had done some good he wrote that this had caused the deterioration of the European race. Nietzsche regarded Christianity as a slave rebellion. He believed that higher culture is based on the intensifying of cruelty. He is reputed to have said “God is dead” and “Nothing is true; everything is allowed.” Survival is for the fittest and therefore slaves (the masses of humanity) must be put back in their place.
Though Nietzsche’s writings were outrageously elitist and amoral he did not often appeal to racist sentiments. It was, however, a small step for those who came after him to use his writings to foster a particularly odious and pernicious racism.
Hitler was deeply influenced by Nietzsche and presented a copy of Nietzsche’s book “Man and Superman” to every member of his officer corps. Noted anthropologist, Sir Arthur Keith (1866-1955) said “To see evolutionary measures and tribal morality being applied rigorously to the affairs of a great modern nation we must turn again to Germany of 1942. We see Hitler devoutly convinced that evolution produces the only real basis for a national policy. . . . The German Fuehrer, as I have consistently maintained is an evolutionist” (“Evolution and Ethics” New York; G. P. Putnam’s Sons pp. 28 & 230 from “That Their Words May Be Used Against Them” Henry Morris; Master Books p. 427).
In his book, Mein Kampf, Hitler based his racial theories on Darwinian evolution. The evolution based genocidal brutality of the Nazi regime resulted in the murder of millions.
Evolution based racism continues to the present day. I have a book titled “Race, Evolution, and Behavior” published in 1995 by the Charles Darwin Research Institute of Port Huron Michigan. It is overtly racist.
In light of the tragic fruit of evolutionism it is gratifying to see the theory of evolution being undermined and overthrown by new scientific findings. Evolution’s damage to civilization is great indeed and has yet to be undone.