Nietzsche's and Jesus's takes on war?

Question

In the bible it says Thou Shall Not Kill, but what about Northern Ireland or the Crusades, or any of the other countless wars fought for God? What was Jesus Christ's opinion on war? And what was Friedrich Nietzsche's? How else might the teachings of Jesus and the philosophies of Nietzsche compare?

Answer 1

Those wars are fought in the name of God, but it does not mean that the religion inherently condones war; it's followers are simply getting overzealous. Although Nietzsche didn't like Christianity, he had nothing against Jesus. He believed that Jesus was just a good guy trying to do the right thing. The teachings of Jesus and those of the Bible as a whole are quite different in certain respects.  

Answer 2

The writer of the part of the bible who wrote 'thou shalt not kill' is not the same author as other parts of the Bible, and just because something is in the bible doesn't mean it is Jesus's words. The bible is is a collection of different writings all brought together into one canon. I recommend reading the books of Bart D. Ehrman to gain a better understanding of this.

Jesus said love thy neighbor as thy self and to turn the other cheek if someone smacked you, so I don't think he would be an advocate of war. But that assumes that everything attributed to him in the bible was truly said by him, although we can never really know for sure. Some people believe that we can though.

Answer 3

Jesus was antiwar.  He said, "Those who live by the sword die by the sword."  You will have to distort his words to make them pro-war.  Unfortunately, when you talk about Northern Ireland, the Crusdaes, and the list goes on and on, you will have to conclude that they have nothing to do with the actual words of Jesus.  The words of Jesus are one thing; Christianity is another.  Sometimes they are far apart.  It brings to mind the famous line by Chesterton, "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried."

As for Nietzsche, he believed war was stupid, and personally saw enough of it to confirm that conclusion.  Barbaric and stupid, I would say are his main conclusions.  But Nietzcsche did not believe in God.  "God is dead," he said.  

When comparing the two, remember Jesus did not live in the midst of a major war.  That said, it does not make what he said or did any less true.