Darth InSidious

33 - Actually he seems to dislike the apostles most, and the rest of organized Christianity. You might check out sections 31-32 for more on the "distortion" of Jesus ( ). I think he makes a good point in that people have to live like Jesus in order to be at peace, feel "oneself in heaven." Following in the footsteps of Jesus seems like a big theme to me.

44 - I think you'd need to read the whole thing in order to get an idea of what he is ranting at here. Supposedly there is more on this in the Genealogy of Morals, I'll have to read that. From what I understand he is working from a view of morality completely different than a Christian's (there's a little of that in the first few sections). The disagreement here stems from, I think, a universal application of the concept of "good" that comes from Christianity. I, for instance, do not think that the "good" is only X, but would have to look at the context in which it was said in order to find out what is meant by it. Clearly Nietzsche is using a different context and he is irritated at how Christians think of all positions as if they are to be interpreted in the same way.

53 - I think he is on to something here, actually. Martyrdom does not say anything about the truth of the cause that the person died for, but only shows how much the person believed in it. You can be a martyr for your country even if it is in the wrong; you can die for a false belief. So, far from justifying their beliefs, martyrdom can easily confuse the issue in regards to the truth of those beliefs. They, as he says, "harm truth" because they make people think: "if someone is willing to die for this, surely there is something true in it?"

So, "Is the cross an argument?" No, it's not - just because people die for a belief does not show that it was worth dying for.

Of course, my conception of religion is somewhat different than Nietzsche's, so many of his arguments are somewhat uninteresting to me-- but I think they are applicable to many people who do believe in the way he dislikes so much.