A short response assignment for English 211, Major British Authors: Medieval to Neoclassical, a sophomore British literature survey course taught by Rita Jones-Hyde, written on 17 October 2006 at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Christian Nihilism in George Herbert's "Death"
by Matt Wallace
But since our Savior's death did put some blood|
Into thy face,
Thou art grown fair and full of grace,
Much in request, much sought for as a good.
— "Death," Lines 13-16
Herbert's "Death" reflects a Christian view of death as an illusion. For Christians, death is not a terminal experience, but rather a transformational one. The Crucifixion and Resurrection converted death from an ending to a beginning. In death, the body releases the soul; physical, mortal life becomes spiritual, eternal life. In the fourth stanza, Death is portrayed as a lively, beautiful, pleasant, charming guest whose company is actively sought and welcomed. The Grim Reaper carrying one off to the nothingness of death is redeemed as a glorious guide leading one to the bliss of eternal life. Accordingly, death is celebrated and "much sought for as a good."
Thus, in "Death" generally and the fourth stanza particularly, Herbert offers as pretty an example of Christian nihilism as one can find. On the surface, the concept of "Christian nihilism" seems perverse as nihilism is most commonly thought to be a source of the rejection of Christianity. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines nihilism as "a viewpoint that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless" (798). This definition seems to suggest that "Christian nihilism" is an oxymoron, but a deeper analysis shows otherwise.
While Christianity has become a tradition over the course of its history, it did not exist at all two thousand years ago. Christianity began as a rejection of the traditions of the ancient world. In its origins, Christianity viewed Roman and "pagan" beliefs and practices with utter contempt and abandoned many of the traditions and beliefs of its native Judaism. Thus, in its historical context, Christianity holds "that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded."
The concept of an immortal soul is a core Christian belief. The soul is an individual's "real" being, and the body is simply a mortal container for the soul while it is "in the world." For Christians, the ultimate goal is the release of the soul into an eternal life in the presence of God. Thus, through its denigration of "worldly" life, Christianity holds "that existence is senseless and useless."
Friedrich Nietzsche identifies the origin of Christianity's inherent nihilism in Aphorism 43 of The Anti-Christ, his most scathing and sustained critique of Christianity:
"If one shifts the center of gravity of life out of life into the 'Beyond' – into nothingness – one has deprived life as such of its center of gravity. The great lie of personal immortality destroys all rationality, all naturalness of instinct – all that is salutary, all that is life-furthering, all that holds a guarantee of the future in the instincts henceforth excites mistrust. So to live that there is no longer any meaning in living: that now becomes the 'meaning' of life."
By denying life its true status as real life and substituting some purported eternal life in its place, Christianity asserts that existence is meaningless in and of itself and that its sole purpose is to seek nonexistence. Christianity's complete embrace of the nothingness of death is the embodiment of the worst nihilism, and George Herbert's "Death" is an example of the highest expression of that Christian nihilism.