Quote by Friedrich Nietzsche

Was it not part of the secret black art of truly politics of revenge, of a farseeing, subterranean, slowly advancing, and premeditated revenge, that Israel must itself deny the real instrument of its revenge before all the world as a mortal enemy and nail it to the cross, so that 'all the world,' namely all the opponents of Israel, could unhesitatingly swallow just this bait? And could spiritual subtlety imagine any bait than this? Anything to equal the enticing, intoxicating, overwhelming, and undermining power of that symbol of the 'holy cross,' that ghastly paradox of a 'God on the cross,' that mystery of an unimaginable ultimate cruelty and self-crucifixion of God ?

Was it not part of the secret black art of truly politics of

Summary

This quote suggests that part of a crafty political revenge strategy for Israel was to deny its true instrument of revenge, portraying itself as a mortal enemy and sacrifice it publicly as symbolized by the crucifixion. The aim was to deceive its opponents into accepting this narrative, using the powerful and enticing symbol of the "holy cross" and its paradoxical message of a God self-crucifying as an agent of ultimate cruelty. The quote implies that this strategy involved a level of spiritual cunning and subtlety related to manipulating perceptions and beliefs.

Topics

Atheism Christianity Jesus Judaism

By Friedrich Nietzsche

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