Frank_H_Smith
New Revert 2010
One of my favorite stories is about a Philosopher. He had the audacity of making a very controversial, infuriating, and false claim. The reason I found it so funny and love to share it is because of the way in which a much wiser person quoted "The Subject' of the Philosopher. Please, if you read this, read the whole thing:
When I returned from Vietnam,( having dropped out of High School (11th Grade)
to join the Military and volunteer for Vietnam at 17, going there shortly after my 18th birthday), I was exposed to all kinds of new academic subjects through a very intelligent and educated girl that I was dating. She knew about everything and I spent most of my spare time in the library trying to learn about the subjects she talked about from Art to Zoology. Through her, I also met the most intelligent Theologian I had ever had the honor of knowing and all through my college years at Penn State he was my mentor even though it was via mail from where he taught and counseled at Yale. The man was fluent in over a dozen languages (many of which were ancient)
and seemed to know everything about everything in a humble way.
I asked him once what he thought of a school of philosophy known as existentialism (I was bluffing, since all I knew was the name). He gave me a thirty minute synopsis of existentialism which was very encompassing and finished with the remark: "But, I really don't know enough to have an opinion.
One of the philosophers whom he mentioned in his thirty minute discourse was a German Philosopher named Nietzsche.
In 1882, Nietzsche made the absurd statement that '"God" was dead!"
In The United States it is very common to see Graffiti on walls in major cities and NY,NY is no exception. In a subway tunnel, and, here follows the ironic genius of, a probably unknown, Graffiti Artist who painted on the wall of the subway:
"God is dead," Nietzsche 1882
NIETZSCHE IS DEAD! GOD 1900
As Salamu 'Alaykum,
I hope I didn't offend anyone with this story. I personally thought that even though no person other than a prophet has the right to claim to speak for Allah that it was funny that a Subway Graffiti Artist had more sense than a famous Philosopher.
I hope that everyone understands that for me this was just a humorous way of saying what is credited to Paul in Romans
Rom 1:19 Because what is known of God is manifest among them, for God has manifested it to them,
Rom 1:20 --for from the world's creation the invisible things of him are perceived, being apprehended by the mind through the things that are made, both his eternal power and divinity, --so as to render them inexcusable.
Rom 1:21 Because, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but fell into folly in their thoughts, and their heart without understanding was darkened:
Rom 1:22 professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
And, Nietzsche who died in a mental hospital seems to fit into the category of which Paul wrote.
