On Protestantism’s Response To European Nihilism

From the beginning of the term "nihilism" proposed by Jacobi,until today in Europe,there have been some scholars who have proposed various schemes to try to eliminate European nihilism.Among them,Heidegger’s inquisition existence itself,Strauss’ s return to classical political philosophy is the most representative.In addition to this,there is another clue in Europe to reflect on nihilism.This clue is Christianity.In general terms,the response of Christianity—especially Protestantism—to European nihilism has focused on the standard of truth.In addition,in specific life practices,different schools of Protestantism also put forward specific proposals from their own perspectives.We examined the beginning and development of the problems of European nihilism,and Protestantism responds to European nihilism.Based on this,we analyzed the positive significance of Protestantism and reflected on its own possible problems.The introduction part puts forward the problem of the European nihilism and its conceptual analysis,and sorts out the current research status of nihilism.Most of the previous studies were conducted along the metaphysical lines of "abstract philosophy".Although there are extensive and in-depth reflections,few scholars associate nihilism with Protestantism.The first chapter teases out the history of nihilism problems from being raised to breaking out.It mainly focuses on the discussion of Jacobi,Nietzsche,and the two world wars to clarify the inner relationship between nihilism and rationalism.Then,in order to further explore the internal problems of nihilism,the second chapter mainly analyzes the post-war Heidegger,L?with and Strauss solutions to the problem of nihilism,but their solutions still have problems.The third chapter jumps out of the clues of past reflections on European nihilism and puts forward the response of Protestantism to the problem of European nihilism.On the whole,Protestant "revelation truth" is the main response to European nihilism.At a specific level,different schools of Protestantism correspond to their respective belief practices.The fourth chapter analyzes the significance of Protestantism’s response to European nihilism,points out the Protestantism’s transcendence to the understanding of European nihilism,but at the same time rethinks the possible problems and limitations of Protestantism itself.The possible innovation of this article is the research domain that expands the nihilism problem in Europe.Most of the previous research focuses on the main lines of Nietzsche,Heidegger,and Strauss.Few scholars have contacted Protestantism as a solution to nihilism.Reflections on Protestantism’s solutions will help us to understand the shortcomings of Protestantism and further grasp the nature of nihilism.