"God is dead" (German: ; also known as the death of God) is a statement made by the German philosopher
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 ...
. Nietzsche's first use of this statement is his 1882 ''
The Gay Science
''The Gay Science'' (german: Die fröhliche Wissenschaft), sometimes translated as ''The Joyful Wisdom'' or ''The Joyous Science'', is a book by Friedrich Nietzsche published in 1882, and followed by a second edition in 1887 after the completio ...
'', where it appears three times. The phrase also appears in Nietzsche's ''
Thus Spoke Zarathustra
''Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None'' (german: Also sprach Zarathustra: Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen), also translated as ''Thus Spake Zarathustra'', is a work of philosophical fiction written by German philosopher Friedrich Niet ...
''.
The meaning of this statement is that since, as Nietzche says, "the belief in the
Christian God
God in Christianity is believed to be the eternal, supreme being who created and preserves all things. Christians believe in a monotheistic conception of God, which is both transcendent (wholly independent of, and removed from, the material ...
has become unbelievable", everything that was "built upon
this faith, propped up by it, grown into it", including "the whole
.. European morality
Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of co ...
", is bound to "collapse".
Other philosophers had previously discussed the concept, including
Philipp Mainländer
Philipp Mainländer (5 October 1841 – 1 April 1876) was a German philosopher and poet. Born Philipp Batz, he later changed his name to "Mainländer" in homage to his hometown, Offenbach am Main.
In his central work (''The Philosophy of R ...
and
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends ...
. Proponents of the strongest form of the
Death of God theology have used the phrase in a literal sense, meaning that the Christian God who had existed at one point has ceased to exist.
Early usage
Discourses of a "death of God" in
German culture
The culture of Germany has been shaped by major intellectual and popular currents in Europe, both religious and secular. Historically, Germany has been called ''Das Land der Dichter und Denker'' (the country of poets and thinkers). German cult ...
appear as early as the 17th century and originally referred to
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...
theories of
atonement
Atonement (also atoning, to atone) is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other ...
. The phrase "God is dead" appears in the
hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn ...
"Ein Trauriger Grabgesang" ("A mournful dirge") by
Johann von Rist.
Before Nietzsche, the phrase 'Dieu est mort!' was written in
Gérard de Nerval
Gérard de Nerval (; 22 May 1808 – 26 January 1855) was the pen name of the French writer, poet, and translator Gérard Labrunie, a major figure of French romanticism, best known for his novellas and poems, especially the collection '' Les ...
's 1854 poem "
Le Christ aux oliviers" ("Christ at the olive trees"). The poem is an adaptation into a verse of a dream-vision that appears in
Jean Paul
Jean Paul (; born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, 21 March 1763 – 14 November 1825) was a German Romantic writer, best known for his humorous novels and stories.
Life and work
Jean Paul was born at Wunsiedel, in the Fichtelgebirge mountain ...
's 1797 novel
Siebenkäs
''Siebenkäs'' (Sevencheese) is a German Romantic novel by Jean Paul, published in Berlin in three volumes between 1796 and 1797.
The novel's full title is ''Blumen-, Frucht- und Dornenstücke oder Ehestand, Tod und Hochzeit des Armenadvokaten ...
under the chapter title of 'The Dead Christ Proclaims That There Is No God'. In an address he gave in 1987 to the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
, the literary scholar
George Steiner
Francis George Steiner, FBA (April 23, 1929 – February 3, 2020) was a Franco-American literary critic, essayist, philosopher, novelist, and educator. He wrote extensively about the relationship between language, literature and society, and the ...
claims that Nietzsche's formulation 'God is dead' is indebted to the aforementioned 'Dead Christ' dream-vision of Jean Paul, but he offers no concrete evidence that Nietzsche ever read Jean Paul.
The phrase is also found in a passage expressed by a narrator in
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
's 1862 novel ''
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...
'':
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
philosopher
K. Satchidananda Murty
Kotta Satchidananda Murty (1924-2011) was an Indian philosopher and professor. Murty served as the Professor of Philosophy, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam and Vice-Chancellor of Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati in the state of Andhra ...
wrote in ''The Realm of Between'' published by the
Indian Institute of Advanced Study
The Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) is a research institute located in Shimla, India. It was set up by the Ministry of Education, Government of India in 1964 and started functioning from 20 October 1965.
History and establishment
The ...
in 1973, that, coming across in a hymn of
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...
what
Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...
described as "the cruel words", "the harsh utterance", namely, "God is dead", developed the theme of God's death according to whom, to one form of experience, God is dead. Murty continued that commenting on
Kant
Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and aest ...
's first ''Critique'',
Heinrich Heine
Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lied ...
who had purportedly influenced Nietzsche spoke of ''a dying God''. Since Heine and Nietzsche the phrase ''Death of God'' became popular.
German philosophy
Hegel
Contemporary historians believe that 19th-century
German idealist
German idealism was a philosophical movement that emerged in Germany in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It developed out of the work of Immanuel Kant in the 1780s and 1790s, and was closely linked both with Romanticism and the revolutionar ...
philosophers, especially those associated with
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends ...
, are responsible for removing the specifically Christian resonance of the phrase relating to the death of Jesus Christ and associating it with secular philosophical and sociological theories.
Although the statement and its meaning are attributed to Nietzsche, Hegel had discussed the concept of the death of God in his ''
Phenomenology of Spirit
''The Phenomenology of Spirit'' (german: Phänomenologie des Geistes) is the most widely-discussed philosophical work of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel; its German title can be translated as either ''The Phenomenology of Spirit'' or ''The Phenomen ...
'', where he considers the death of God to "Not be seen as anything but an easily recognized part of the usual Christian cycle of redemption". Later on Hegel writes about the great pain of knowing that God is dead: "The pure concept, however, or infinity, as the abyss of nothingness in which all being sinks, must characterize the infinite pain, which previously was only in culture historically and as the feeling on which rests modern religion, the feeling that God Himself is dead, (the feeling which was uttered by
Pascal
Pascal, Pascal's or PASCAL may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Pascal (given name), including a list of people with the name
* Pascal (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
** Blaise Pascal, Frenc ...
, though only
empirically
In philosophy, empiricism is an epistemological theory that holds that knowledge or justification comes only or primarily from sensory experience. It is one of several views within epistemology, along with rationalism and skepticism. Empir ...
, in his saying: Nature is such that it marks everywhere, both in and outside of man, a lost God), purely as a phase, but also as no more than just a phase, of the highest idea."
Hegel's student
Richard Rothe
Richard Rothe (28 January 1799 – 20 August 1867) was a German Lutheran theologian.
Biography
Richard Rothe was born at Posen, then part of Prussia. He studied theology in the universities of Heidelberg and Berlin (1817–20) under Karl Daub, ...
, in his 1837 theological text ''Die Anfänge der christlichen Kirche und ihrer Verfassung'', appears to be one of the first philosophers to associate the idea of a death of God with the
sociological theory
A sociological theory is a that intends to consider, analyze, and/or explain objects of social reality from a sociological perspective,Macionis, John and Linda M. Gerber. 2010. ''Sociology'' (7th Canadian ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson ...
of
secularization
In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses ...
.
Stirner
German philosopher
Max Stirner
Johann Kaspar Schmidt (25 October 1806 – 26 June 1856), known professionally as Max Stirner, was a German post-Hegelian philosopher, dealing mainly with the Hegelian notion of social alienation and self-consciousness. Stirner is often seen a ...
,
whose influence on Nietzsche is debated, writes in his 1844 book ''
The Ego and its Own
''The Ego and Its Own'' (german: Der Einzige und sein Eigentum), also translated as ''The Unique and its Property'', is an 1844 work by German philosopher Max Stirner. It presents a post-Hegelian critique of Christianity and traditional moralit ...
'' that "the work of the
Enlightenment, the vanquishing of God: they did not notice that man has killed God in order to become now - 'sole God on high.
Mainländer
Before Nietzsche, the concept was popularized in philosophy by the German philosopher
Philipp Mainländer
Philipp Mainländer (5 October 1841 – 1 April 1876) was a German philosopher and poet. Born Philipp Batz, he later changed his name to "Mainländer" in homage to his hometown, Offenbach am Main.
In his central work (''The Philosophy of R ...
.
It was while reading Mainländer that Nietzsche explicitly writes to have parted ways with
Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer ( , ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the pr ...
. In Mainländer's more than 200 pages long criticism of Schopenhauer's metaphysics, he argues against one cosmic unity behind the world, and champions a real multiplicity of wills struggling with each other for existence. Yet, the interconnection and the unitary movement of the world, which are the reasons that lead philosophers to
pantheism
Pantheism is the belief that reality, the universe and the cosmos are identical with divinity and a supreme supernatural being or entity, pointing to the universe as being an immanent creator deity still expanding and creating, which has ...
, are undeniable. They do indeed lead to a unity, but this may not be at the expense of a unity ''in'' the world that undermines the empirical reality of the world. It is therefore declared to be dead.
Nietzsche
In ''
The Gay Science
''The Gay Science'' (german: Die fröhliche Wissenschaft), sometimes translated as ''The Joyful Wisdom'' or ''The Joyous Science'', is a book by Friedrich Nietzsche published in 1882, and followed by a second edition in 1887 after the completio ...
'', "God is dead" is first mentioned in "New Struggles":
Still in ''The Gay Science'', the expression is stated into the mouth of a "madman", in "The Madman", as follows:
AIn the madman passage, the madman is described as running through a marketplace shouting, "I seek God! I seek God!" He arouses some amusement; no one takes him seriously. "Maybe he took an ocean voyage? Lost his way like a little child? Maybe he's afraid of us (non-believers) and is hiding?" – much laughter. Frustrated, the madman smashes his lantern on the ground, crying out that "God is dead, and we have killed him, you and I!". "But I have come too soon", he immediately realizes, as his detractors of a minute before stare in astonishment: people cannot yet see that they have killed God. He goes on to say:
Lastly, the "The Meaning of our Cheerfulness" section of the ''The Gay Science'' discusses what "God is dead" means ("that the belief in the Christian God has become unworthy of belief"), and the consequences of this fact.
In
''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'', at the end of the section 2 of Zarathustra's prologue, after beginning his allegorical journey, Zarathustra encounters an aged
ascetic
Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
who expresses
misanthropy
Misanthropy is the general hatred, dislike, distrust or contempt of the human species, human behavior or human nature. A misanthrope or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings. The word's origin is from the Greek words μῖ� ...
and love of God (a "saint"). Nietzche writes:
What is more, Zarathustra later not only refers to the death of God but states: "Dead are all the Gods." It is not just one morality that has died, but all of them, to be replaced by the life of the , the superman:
Explanations
Nietzsche recognized the crisis that this "Death of God" represented for existing moral assumptions in Europe as they existed within the context of traditional Christian belief. "When one gives up the Christian faith, one pulls the right to
Christian morality
Christian ethics, also known as moral theology, is a multi-faceted ethical system: it is a virtue ethic which focuses on building moral character, and a deontological ethic which emphasizes duty. It also incorporates natural law ethics, whic ...
out from under one's feet. This
morality
Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of co ...
is by no means self-evident
..By breaking one main concept out of
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
, the
faith in God, one breaks the whole: nothing necessary remains in one's hands."
Interpretation
Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th centu ...
understood this aspect of Nietzsche's philosophy by looking at it as the death of
metaphysics
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
. In his view, Nietzsche's words can only be understood as referring not to a particular
theological
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...
or
anthropological
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
view but rather to the end of philosophy itself. Philosophy has, in Heidegger's words, reached its maximum potential as metaphysics and Nietzsche's words warn of its demise and the end of any metaphysical worldview. If metaphysics is dead, Heidegger warns, that is because from its inception that was its
fate.
Death of God theology
Although theologians since Nietzsche had occasionally used the phrase "God is dead" to reflect increasing
unbelief in God, the concept rose to prominence in the late 1950s and 1960s, subsiding in the early 1970s. The German-born theologian
Paul Tillich
Paul Johannes Tillich (August 20, 1886 – October 22, 1965) was a German-American Christian existentialist philosopher, religious socialist, and Lutheran Protestant theologian who is widely regarded as one of the most influential theolo ...
, for instance, was influenced by the writings of Nietzsche, especially his phrase "God is dead."
William Hamilton wrote the following about American radical theologian
Thomas J. J. Altizer
Thomas Jonathan Jackson Altizer (May 28, 1927 – November 28, 2018) was an American university professor, religious scholar, and theologian, noted for his incorporation of Death of God theology and Hegelian dialectical philosophy into his body o ...
's redeployment of Nietzsche's view:
See also
*
Christian atheism
Christian atheism is a form of Christianity that rejects the theistic claims of Christianity, but draws its beliefs and practices from Jesus' life and teachings as recorded in the New Testament Gospels and other sources.
Christian atheism ta ...
*
Nontheism
Nontheism or non-theism is a range of both religious and nonreligious attitudes characterized by the absence of espoused belief in the existence of god or gods. Nontheism has generally been used to describe apathy or silence towards the subject o ...
*
Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) developed his philosophy during the late 19th century. He owed the awakening of his philosophical interest to reading Arthur Schopenhauer's ''Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung'' (''The World as Will and Represe ...
*
Postmodernity
Postmodernity (post-modernity or the postmodern condition) is the economic or cultural state or condition of society which is said to exist ''after'' modernity. Some schools of thought hold that modernity ended in the late 20th century – in the ...
*
Post-theism
*
Post-monotheism
*
Postmodern Christianity
Postmodern theology, also known as the continental philosophy of religion, is a philosophical and theological movement that interprets theology in light of post- Heideggerian continental philosophy, including phenomenology, post-structuralism, a ...
Notes
References
Further reading
; Nietzsche's philosophy
*
Heidegger, Martin. (1943) translated as "The Word of Nietzsche: 'God Is Dead,'" in ''Holzwege'', ed. and trans. Julian Young and Kenneth Haynes. Cambridge University Press, 2002.
*
Kaufmann, Walter. ''
Nietzsche: Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1974.
* Roberts, Tyler T. ''Contesting Spirit: Nietzsche, Affirmation, Religion.'' Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1998.
*Benson, Bruce E. ''Pious Nietzsche: Decadence and Dionysian Faith''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2008.
* Holub, Robert C. ''Friedrich Nietzsche''. New York: Twayne, 1995.
* Magnus, Bernd, and Kathleen Higgins. ''The Cambridge Companion to Nietzsche''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
* Pfeffer, Rose. ''Nietzsche: Disciple of Dionysus''. Canbury: Associated University Presses, 1972.
* Welshon, Rex. ''The Philosophy of Nietzsche''. Montreal: McGill-Queen's UP, 2004.
; Death of God theology
*''Thinking through the Death of God: A Critical Companion to Thomas J. J. Altizer'', ed. Lissa McCullough and Brian Schroeder. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2004.
*
John D. Caputo and
Gianni Vattimo
Gianteresio Vattimo (born 4 January 1936) is an Italian philosopher and politician.
Biography
Gianteresio Vattimo was born in Turin, Piedmont. He studied philosophy under the existentialist Luigi Pareyson at the University of Turin, and graduat ...
, ''After the Death of God'', ed. Jeffrey W. Robbins. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007.
*''Resurrecting the Death of God: The Origins, Influence, and Return of Radical Theology,'' ed. Daniel J. Peterson and G. Michael Zbaraschuk. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2014.
John M. Frame, "Death of God Theology"
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:God Is Dead
Antitheism
Atheism
English phrases
Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche
Philosophical phrases
Quotations from philosophy
Nihilism
Death of God theology
German philosophy