"God is dead" (German: ) is a well known phrase by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. It is also known as the death of God. The phrase is not meant literally. Instead it is about what value destruction has done to people's belief in Christianity. Some religious thinkers do take it literally though.
Nietzsche wrote this phrase in his book The Gay Science (German: Die fröhliche Wissenschaft). It is in the section called "The Madman". He also used the phrase in his book Thus Spoke Zarathustra (German: Also sprach Zarathustra), which is most responsible for making the phrase popular. The idea is written in "The Madman" as follows:
- Quote
God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?
—Friedrich Nietzsche, "The Madman" in The Gay Science, Section 125, transl. Walter Kaufmann
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- Simplified
God is dead. God stays dead. And we have killed him. How will we comfort ourselves now that we are murderers more than all murderers? The world's holiest and strongest thing ever has bled to death under our knives. Who will wipe this blood off us? What water will we use to clean ourselves? What festivals to make things right, what holy games will we have to invent? Isn't the greatness of this action too great for us? Won't we have to become gods ourselves just to seem worthy of it?
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See also
In Spanish: Muerte de Dios para niños
