God is dead. We killed Him in our hearts, minds, souls, and strength. It was Nietzche who taught us this. In his notorious (and albeit often misquoted) passage from The Gay Science, Nietzche explains that not only is the Christian God dead, but that He remains dead – and that modernity killed Him.
Now, nearly every self-respecting American conservative would be quick to protest this. Obviously, they didn’t kill God. They believe in God––perhaps not the God of the Bible, but at least in God. They’ll don their MAGA hats and wear crosses, proudly declaring, “God’s not dead.” Yet while we’ll say this, how often do we actually apply it to our politics?
There are great worldview repercussions if God truly isn’t dead. Conservatives, therefore, must operate from a theological paradigm.
When Nietzche spoke of God, he wasn’t serious. He was a staunch atheist. To him, the Christian God was simply a figment created by philosophers to fill in the gaps. What then is meant by the phrase, “God is dead?” How could a being of fiction die? He died, Nietzche explains, when man no longer needed Him. We substituted God with man’s intelligence and science.
An increasing amount of modern conservatives often operate in Nietzche’s godless world – utilizing godless logic leading us to godless places. Yes, it’s provocative. But consider Darwin’s theory of evolution. Upon inspection, Darwin’s reasoning becomes very antihuman, very fast. To ensure our survival, we may purge the imperfections of mankind. After all, why should I breed with a lesser stock and thus endanger my bloodline? There’s an undisputed link between Darwin’s theory of evolution and the rise in popularity of eugenics. Look no further than Francis Galton, heralded by many as the father of eugenics, also known as Darwin’s cousin.
Many conservatives would protest this. You can believe that macroevolution is possible but also reject eugenics, they say. Two entirely different issues. Even Christians now defend close variations of Darwin’s theory. Popular apologist Sean McDowell holds this view. As does polemic conservative Dinesh D’Souza, expressed in his book What’s So Great About Christianity? What I’ve suggested, they say, is just a fallacious, incongruent, slippery slope. It is incongruent, they say, to argue that science influences politics to that great degree. But is it?
In his masterpiece, Moby-Dick, author Herman Melville likens the pulpit to the bow of a ship. He wrote, “The pulpit is ever the earth’s foremost part; all the rest comes in its rear; the pulpit leads the world.” In the following lines, in Melville’s winsome prose, he explains that the Church receives the brunt of chaos and cultural issues before even the culture does. Should the Church grow conservative, the culture will follow. Should the Church give in to the waves of liberalism, the culture will reflect this. Churches have begun validating homosexuality, transgenderism, and transhumanism. Our trusted Republican lawmakers are next.
Many American conservatives rightly intuit that at least transgenderism is wrong. Why? Because they give deference to nature, their conscience, and the culturally Christian ethos of the United States. That’s why we’re called, “conservatives!” We seek to protect Christian morality, which rests in the center of the American founding. But we simply cannot maintain a Christian morality when our habits and arguments denounce the Christian God. You’ll find yourself flailing when you throw away the lifevest.
Conservatives have already begun to falter. Certain spearheads have grown quite blunt on matters like homosexuality (President Donald Trump hosted a gay pride event at Mar-A-Largo).
They have yet to touch the ever-illusive transhumanism debate. A distinct connection exists between these socially liberal outliers in the conservative movement and the socially liberal church. The connection is the very murder weapon, soaked by the blood of God.
Whenever conservatives seek to justify Darwinism, homosexuality, or transhumanism, we simply endeavor that which is impossible: to shoehorn God’s morality into a godless theory. We cannot merge Nietzsche’s godlessness with a Christian morality. The most fundamental tenet of Christianity is that God is alive. Anything else is heresy. Why then do we argue as though God is dead? Again, consider the macroevolution argument.
For centuries, the Church has debated whether the creation account in Genesis occurred over six literal days or thousands of years. Yet only recently have we introduced the idea of theistic evolution, which argues that Darwin’s theory fits snugly in Genesis chapters one through three. When did this theory become popular? Really, not until after evolution “science” took shape.
The Church caved on this subject. They rejected tradition and the integrity of Scripture in light of novel discoveries. Hence, we call it the ”‘enlightenment.”
Science is now considered more real than Scripture. Science trumps theology in a heated debate. This is exactly what Nietzche means when he describes the death of God.
Now, America faces a rampant Nietzschean, godless conservatism. According to a 2023 poll, over half of Americans would say they believe in God as described in the Holy Scriptures. Yet just under half of Republicans support same-sex marriage, an act denounced by God. The Church was quite defensive on this matter.
But then science enlightened us (which, really it didn’t). They’re born this way, so it must be natural. It’s better for them. Now, churches split left and right over this topic. Conservatives reflect this fracture.
Soon, perhaps even while we have the facial majority, conservatives will stand toe-to-toe with transhumanism. Digital technology and artificial intelligence are progressing at a rate humans have never experienced before. In a matter of years, we’ll likely have to fight tooth and nail in defense of what it means to be human. When such a day emerges, the only defense for conservatives will be to fall back on theology. At that point, “theology,” and its subservience to science, will have all but drowned out its true meaning in the greater dialogue.Theology helps us understand the source of all truth – including science. If God is alive, it doesn’t matter how well the technology works. Certain acts are immoral because they steal us and our attention from God – no matter their technical utility.
Homosexuality, transgenderism, and transhumanism are but the consequence of a multigenerational endeavor to erode God’s presence from our science and politics. We’re living in a moment dominated by Nietzchean conservatism.
Conservatives must reorient our votes, legislation, and habits if we are to maintain the morality we claim to love so dearly. Stop playing defense in the transgenderism debate. Stop acting as though God is absent. Stop killing Him.
If we are to save the United States, we must stop checking God’s pulse when we read a frightening headline. If He truly is not dead, we have no need to fear antihuman propaganda.
That’s the conservative effort. So act like it. For we have the political high ground and, more importantly, our God is alive.
