Christianity's Origin

"Christianity as antiquity.-- When we hear the ancient bells growling on a Sunday morning we ask ourselves: Is it really possible! This, for a Jew, crucified two thousand years ago, who said he was God's son? The proof of such a claim is lacking. Certainly the Christian religion is an antiquity projected into our times from remote prehistory; and the fact that the claim is believed - whereas one is otherwise so strict in examining pretensions - is perhaps the most ancient piece of this heritage. A god who begets children with a mortal woman; a sage who bids men work no more, have no more courts, but look for the signs of the impending end of the world; a justice that accepts the innocent as a vicarious sacrifice; someone who orders his disciples to drink his blood; prayers for miraculous interventions; sins perpetrated against a god, atoned for by a god; fear of a beyond to which death is the portal; the form of the cross as a symbol in a time that no longer knows the function and ignominy of the cross -- how ghoulishly all this touches us, as if from the tomb of a primeval past! Can one believe that such things are still believed?"

from Nietzsche's Human, all too Human, s.405, R.J. Hollingdale transl.


The above quote questions the creation of Christianity and where it came from because of who started it and what it seems to represent. The author states how ironic it is that a Jew who claims to be God's son whom was crucified two thousand years ago has any supporting evidence to prove his bold claim of being the son of the almighty knowing and creator of the universe. Crucifixions were common in those times for criminals whom were murderers, traitors, thieves, etc., but the author is stating that Jesus isn't special because he died on a cross which many believe to be a sacrifice, but isn't necessarily one just because other people said it was. The question the author is really asking is why was Jesus treated so special that people just had to follow and listen? As he states, "The proof of such a claim is lacking," which pertains to Jesus' annunciation and identity as a fraud and a lie. The author also mentions how fear is what makes the religious followers so submissive and obedient to an all knowing God that is truly unknown to us. People pray for miracles and are scared to be punished by means of death, sickness, or an after life of infinite pain and sorrow which translates to the masses being controlled by the fear of death and the fear of the unknown after life if, in fact, there is some kind of life after. The author also states how "ghoulishly" it touches people when religion is supposed to be the opposite -- joyful, uplifting, and something positive which is harshly contradicting to the whole meaning of religion entirely.

The argument at hand is faith vs. reason. Today in our modern world, religions of all kinds are growing at extreme rates, especially Christianity. Scientists and realists alike persistently challenge faith because of the lack of evidence religion provides to the world of facts vs. beliefs through  means of experimentation and findings of proof whether it be tangible or intangible. They question holy scriptures like the Bible or the Quran, for example. These kinds of written works are said to be fabricated stories over many many years passed on by word of mouth that may have been misconstrued and/or misinterpreted over time if in fact any of the stories ever occurred in the first place. In today's world, it's becoming more common that people are now starting to really question faith and why it exists. Even the numbers in atheists are growing exponentially. The origin of Christianity is something none of us should overlook because everything even Jesus or God is worth questioning, whether you're a person of faith or not.