Nietzsche is right!

It is not infrequent that a red faced preacher quotes Nietzsche’s famous proclamation “God is dead” to shock his audience with an undiluted taste of our secularized culture. And unfortunately before his gasping spectators, he verbally stabs his invented antagonist, saying, “Nietzsche is dead”.
I have often cringed when I hear this quote in a sermon. Cynically I assume the proclaimer had never actually read Nietzsche but either got the quote from google or worse, lifted it from another red faced preacher.
Though I don’t wear a beret, I thoroughly enjoy Nietzsche’s writing. I don’t agree with his conclusions, but I strongly believe his criticism and observations are worthy with which to be wrestled.
In fact the ‘parable of the madman’ from which the above quote is ripped actually could provide a pastor with some fodder to attack not so much atheism, but what I call the emperor’s new clothes morality. A morality that denies talk of God, yet commits acts as if there is a final judge or divine overseer.
The goal of Nietzsche’s parable is not to support atheism, but to wake up people living in a Christianity or a general moral world of their own invention. What Nietzsche says through the madman is ‘God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.”
The Christianity surrounding Nietzsche had become one removed of revelation, miracles, and specifics. Jefferson had removed the miracles from his bible. Kant had invented an inner divinity. Hegel spoke about the evolutionary revealing of the divine. Nietzsche suggests that they had killed God while continuing to maintain a world where He existed!
In the parable the madman shouts at his amazed audience, “We have killed him – you and i. All of us are his murderers…what were we doing when we unchained this earth from its sun? whither is it oving now? Whither are we moving? Away from all suns? Are we not plunging continually? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there still any up or down? Are we not straying, as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space?”
And later, “how shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?”
But the madman’s audience was silent and astonished. The madman discovers that his announcement is too early. He concludes, “this deed is still distant from them than most distant stars.. and yet they have done it themselves.”
Of course Nietzsche’s belief was that humanity must truly throw off the bonds to a now dead God. the bonds of morality, right and wrong, abstract purposes, etc. Yet still his message is awakening to those who have casually and quietly defanged the Lion, yet still live in fear of Him. As Paul himself argues in II Corinthians, “if there is no resurrection, than we should be pitied above all men!” Nietzsche would agree.