Existentialism and Nature

I stumbled upon the section in Phenomenology of Prayer entitled The Prayers and Tears of Friedrich Nietzsche. Bruce Ellis Benson, author of this section, believes that Nietzsche's Ecce homo can justly be called a “book of tears.” He wonders if Nietzsche ever reaches the coveted Dionysian… or does he merely long for it? Benson sees Nietzsche’s “confessions” in Ecce home as an inverse of Augustine’s. It’s not a tortured move towards faith, but rather a tortured move away from faith. Benson believes that Nietzsche moves from one faith to another. Nietzsche’s mature believe is seemingly “all too Christian” rather than “purely Dionysian.” This development, Benson argues, came partly from the role of prayer in shaping his thought (74). Even though he does not believe in a faith in God, he does believe in a faith in “Life.” This man arrives at the Ecce homo form Aus meinem Leben. In this process his perspective of God develops. He began with a German pietism where we can see in his scripted prayers that he believes God will provide, and he can not step out of God’s will. He will joyfully accept whatever comes his way. However very soon after we read in his poem “Fled are the Lovely Dreams” that these elements are put into question. This, too, is an outpouring of his heart, seemingly a sort of prayer. He’s awoken from this old pious dream, but he is still praying to something. Interesting for a man who we now know as encouraging people to find identity in life without relying on anything transcendental (i.e. God or a soul). However, ironically it comes to a point where Nietzsche starts celebrating the  Unbekannter (Unknown One) and even comes to a point where he scripts his desire to known and serve this being.