Nihilism¶
Derived from the Latin "nihil" meaning "nothing," nihilism represents a profound rejection of objective truth, meaning, and beauty. While traces appear in ancient philosophies like those of the Sophists or Buddhist concepts of emptiness, its modern form crystallized in 19th-century Russia. Ivan Turgenev popularized the term in his 1862 novel Fathers and Sons, portraying nihilists as radicals dismissing traditional institutions and morality.
Friedrich Nietzsche deepened the concept, warning of nihilism's rise as traditional values collapsed, leading to a void where humanity must create new meanings or face despair. This rejection of truth -- denying inherent purpose or moral order -- spread through existentialism and postmodernism, infiltrating Western thought as a response to industrialization, wars, and secularism.
Ecclesiastes 1:2
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
Meaning Crisis¶
In our modern era, nihilism fuels a pervasive meaning crisis, where individuals grapple with life's apparent purposelessness amid worldly abundance and hedonistic distraction. As traditional religions erode, nihilism whispers that existence lacks inherent value, triggering widespread despair and psychological turmoil. This "death of meaning" manifests in rising existential crises, where questions of purpose overwhelm, often leading to indifference, apathy, and suicide (both cultural and individual).
Modern society's secular drift exacerbates this, as material comforts fail to satisfy the soul's hunger for the transcendent and existential significance.
Contemporary "Art"
Nihilism's influence is best seen in contemporary art -- or what's left of it -- manifesting in works that embrace meaninglessness, irony, and despair. Nowadays it's become cynicism about cynicism, self-referential nonsense that hides behind vapid platitudes that read more like AI slop than art. It's become rather cliche and hackneyed, attempting to be edgy and shocking while accomplishing neither.
Comparing modern art to renaissance or Byzantine art seem almost unfair, but without these comparisons the modern "artists" wouldn't have anything to be so edgy about, nothing to rebel against. It is all vain attempts to make ugly what is objectively beautiful -- a rebellion against God. And once you see that that's their one gimmick, you cannot unsee it.
Moral Confusion¶
Nihilism breeds moral confusion by denying absolute ethical truths, reducing right and wrong to subjective whims or cultural constructs. Nihilism necessitates that no actions are intrinsically good or evil, leading to error theory where all moral claims are false. This is no different than relativism, fostering a world where values are nebulous and amorality reigns.
Without objective truth (objective moral truth), society drifts into chaos, where personal desires trump seemingly antiquated notions of good and evil, echoing Nietzsche's warnings of value collapse.
Suffering¶
One would think that without universal moral truth, cultures would drift randomly into various pleasure-seeking hedonisms, and yet the reality is quite different -- and interestingly, narrow and predictable. Such a culture collapses into suicidal decadence, whether Roman or Aztec, all follow a predictable path of destruction.
The ultimate fruit of nihilism is suffering and death -- an existential despair that engulfs the soul in meaninglessness and eventually death. Confronting life's absurdities without purpose triggers depression, anxiety, and crises, as suffering's existence clashes with nihilistic indifference. This "existential crisis" amplifies personal and societal anguish, turning inward to despair or outward to apathy, and ultimately to death (be it suicide or murder).
In rejecting truth, we invite a foretaste of hell -- isolation from meaning, utter darkness, and gnashing of teeth.
Nihilism's rejection of truth yields a harvest of emptiness: distorted art, shattered meaning, moral fog, and profound suffering. Yet, this void points to the necessity of Christ, the eternal Truth who infuses life with purpose, morality with foundation, and suffering with hope.
The real fruits of nihilism are, in fact, a Christ-shaped hole in every heart.
John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Only in Him can we transcend nihilism's shallow emptiness, and embrace Truth, including moral truth, and purpose in life sufficient to overcome suffering (and even death itself).