Paragraph two speaks of how faith is commonly regarded by our contemporaries.
Faith would thus be the illusion of light, an illusion which blocks the path of a liberated humanity to its future.
Faith is thought to be naive. It is thought to be a crutch for week minds. And naturally, with a crutch we limp. We don't progress into our unguessed future. Or at least we progress more slowly.
"this is where humanity’s paths part: if you want peace of soul and happiness, then believe, but if you want to be a follower of truth, then seek".
Nietzsche wants us to think that believers are not courageous He wants us to think that we are too weak to face the world. He is trying to provoke us.
Paragraph three shows how the response of well meaning people to the above point of view often falls short.
Such room would open up wherever the light of reason could not penetrate, wherever certainty was no longer possible.
Faith is seen as having it's own sphere that is separate from the world of reason. It is seen to pertain only to the subjective.
Faith was thus understood either as a leap in the dark, to be taken in the absence of light, driven by blind emotion,
How many people dismiss faith in this way? Do we know a faith that is more than a mere leep in the dark?
or as a subjective light, capable perhaps of warming the heart and bringing personal consolation, but not something which could be proposed to others as an objective and shared light which points the way
If we only know faith as a subjective light we won't be able to share it with others.
But this brave new world apart from faith that Nietzsche desires proves flawed. It can't answer the ultimate questions, provide direction, or shed light on our paths.
Slowly but surely, however, it would become evident that the light of autonomous reason is not enough to illumine the future; ultimately the future remains shadowy and fraught with fear of the unknown.
The true light that illumines these things is faith, but not as it is so frequently misunderstood.
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