Nietzsche, Teilhard, and Jesuit Homilies

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So I read obsessively. Recently I read The Phenomenon of Man by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Thus spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche. I read them together. They are deeply related books. In many ways Teilhard responds to, disagrees with, or builds on what Nietzsche says.

I attend a Jesuit Parish. I think it’s great. In the last couple weeks we’ve read John 15, which is deeply relevant to both of these books. Sure enough one week I listened to a Teilhad/Phenomonon of man homily, and the next week I listened to a Nietzsche homily. Of course the priest didn’t agree with all that Nietzsche says…he didn’t say “God was dead”…he basically said random words can lose there meanings (or have died), but the essence of what god is never changes. The Teilhard Homily dealt with Jesus saying he is a true vine, and tying it into Teilhard’s ideas. It was very cool and very relevant.

What stuck me is the priest never mentioned Teilhard or Nietzsche, but is was incredibly obvious he was referring to both of these philosophers.

FYI: My main criticism of Nietzsche is that he is basically criticizing a distortion of Christianity rather than what Christianity was originally meant be. In my mind Christianity was never meant to be a religion of pity or a religion of upholding random morals that are based on the needs of a specific society. As Teilhard said Christianity is a religion about love and a personal god. After all, Jesus took a whip to the money changes (who were fully supported by the pharisees). Nietzsche says people don’t understand this. Perhaps Nietzsche is right, but I’m baffled at why a religion based on Jesus taking a whip and running the pharisees men out of a temple turns into a religion of upholding random morals.

So my questions…
  1. Anybody experienced anything similar. If so, what were your thoughts and reactions? Perhaps the Jesuits are just curators of strange and cool homilies?!
  2. How strongly has Nietzsche influenced the Jesuits?
  3. Do most Jesuits agree with Teilhard? If not why not?
  4. How strongly do you think Teilhard was influence by Nietzsche?
 
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I don’t think one can identify a Jesuit group think, so I think it is impossible to answer your questions 2 and 3. Jesuits are well read, but they are independent. Their spirituality fosters individuality, but they are also defenders of doctrine. It’s an interesting combination. It looks different for each priest (and some of them lose their way).

I’m simplifying, but I think you get what I mean.

I LOVE Jesuits. I love how skillfully they use other’s arguments against them. I think the phrase was something like ‘go in their door to guide them out of yours’.
 
I once heard the Gospel of Thomas quoted in a Jesuit parish which I thought was cool. It is not uncommon to quote nonCatholic sources in homilies, so whatever. I, can on the other hand, certainly see a valid argument against that. I am willing to accept your premise that some Jesuits are influenced by Nietzsche and Teilhard; I would not be surprised by that; I mean they are often influenced by Karl Marx too. I am influenced by Nietzsche and Teilhard, not Marx though. My excuse being I went from atheism to Catholicism, more and more toward orthodoxy, so it’s a different direction than I would say most Jesuits take. I don’t feel that I am on the same path. I am actually probably a lot closer to the Jansenists these days. 🙂
 
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