What did Friedrich Nietzsche mean when he said "God is Dead"?

Answer 1

It's important not to take things out of context. First of all, when Nietzsche wrote that quote, he put it in the lips of a 'madman'. So it would be easy to argue that he thought the idea of God's death to be madness. Instead, though, I think he was thinking of the kind of insight that is often mistaken for madness.

The madman himself goes on to explain some of the context: "Where has God gone?" he cried. "I shall tell you. We have killed him - you and I. We are his murderers..."

This is actually the REAL central point that Niezsche wants to discuss. Not that God is dead, but that man has killed God. Though he doesn't elaborate on how or why the madman thinks this is so, he does talk at length about the implications:

"How shall we, murderers of all murderers, console ourselves? That which was the holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet possessed has bled to death under our knives. Who will wipe this blood off us? ... Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we not ourselves become gods simply to be worthy of it?"

This, then, is the critical point that I think he is making. God IS holy and mighty. And those who wish to replace or do away with God (there seems to be no short supply of them) must logically take God's place. Upon the killers of God falls the responsibility for the universe... and a great responsibility it is.

But only those who do so will have been justified in the act. The others will be no better than the murderers the madman calls them out for being.

Answer 2

For Nietzsche, man created God, not the other way round. But God grew into one of our most powerful ideas, holding sway over the hearts and minds of mankind for pretty much all of history.

But then a combination of theology poking apart the mystery of the divine, science and the will to truth (the same will that sparked the creation of God) began to overcome, and thus kill the idea of God. Man is both a creator and destroyer, according to Nietzsche. All ideas we create must eventually be destroyed to make way for new ones. It never ends.

Answer 3

LOL

Ok...Well, we all have relatives who have died and we all know that we don't get to see these people anymore.

This is what the Master is saying; that if you cannot see God, He must be dead. Another Master, Plato, would say that a man who sees with his eyes is blind.

As simple as that, there's nothing else. Truth is unbelievable....lol

It is just unbelievable and unreasonable. You must become a superman. Understanding and reason alone are not good enough.

MAN IS SOMETHING TO BE SURPASSED.

Thus Spake Zarathustra.


Good luck!

Answer 4

I think Neitzsche was heralding a new age in which secular ideas were going to replace religious ones. I think this could be rephrased as "religion is dead". It might also suggest that "morality" was dead as well. Neitzsche's "uberman" was a man who took care not to have too many virtues. The uberman was an extreme individualist whom ordinary people followed because the uberman was an intellectual pioneer who, like Promethius, brought useful gifts to humankind. This hero worship was inspiring as dramatic fiction but failed in the modern world. "Superman" can only exist in commic books because Neitzsche was unable or unwilling to admit that absolute power corrupts ordinary people.

Answer 5

I think he made the radical statement originally in "The Gay Science."
Nietzche meant that as a group, man has become more and more dependent on science for the answers, which means less dependence was needed upon religion thus on God. Science has become the new religion and the new God - thus the Christian God is Dead.

This quote is actually one of my favorite, even though it is radical, it makes a good point.

Answer 6

It means that modernity's culture of rationalism, secularism and materialism has rendered classical Christian theological conceptions of God unintelligble and unbelievable.

Answer 7

He was probably implying that either a: Christianity was losing its believer base or b: Christ was just a man and so therefore God died with him.

On the plus side...

"Nietzsche is Dead"
-God

Answer 8

In his own words, and I paraphrase, it means that the Christian god is no longer believable.

Answer 9

Nietzshe was an athiest. . .therefore he never thought God was alive, but he meant that people were no longer fearing the concept of God, therefore God was powerless therefore God was dead.

Answer 10

Freddy meant the same thing when the DaDaist 'Blue Reiter Groupe' stated "Kunst ist sheist" Art is Sh*t!

Freddy was just making another Nihilistic statement.