A Holy Lie is a philosophical concept coined by

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

in his late notes. It is also mentioned in his book ''The Antichrist''.

Concept

A holy lie, according to Friedrich Nietzsche, is the means by which priests and philosophers obtain the piety of their audiences. Nietzsche argues that the purpose of human action is altered by the holy lie since the original moral standards of the general public is influenced by the moral standards preached by the priests and philosophers. Consequently, the human faculty of moral judgment based on the "beneficial" versus the "harmful" is in dysfunction. People who accept the holy lie do not evaluate the fairness of a thing by what Nietzsche calls "The natural notion". Instead, the notions, standards and doctrines preached by the preachers(priests and philosophers) substitutes the natural notion.The Will to Power. Page 94-96. Penguin Classics In his book ''The Antichrist'', Nietzsche further explains his idea with an example of

Paul the Apostle Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

and the downfall of the

Roman empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

.The Antichrist.Note 55-57

References

{{Friedrich Nietzsche Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche Criticism of Christianity Criticism of religion