God is dead
"God is dead" is a widely quoted phrase by Friedrich Nietzsche, originally "Gott ist tot!" It is first quoted in The Gay Science, section 125 (The Madman) but is also found in Nietzsche's classic work Also sprach Zarathustra. It is perhaps one of the most commonly misunderstood phrases in all of 19th-century literature. The phrase should not be taken literally, as in, "God is now physically dead," or, "Jesus, both the son of God and God himself, died on the cross"; rather, it is Nietzsche's controversial way of saying that God has ceased to be a reckoning force in the people's lives, even if they don't recognize it. Thus, according to Nietzsche, it is time to transcend both the concept of God and the "good vs. evil" dichotomy found within most religions.
The death of God is a way of saying that humans are no longer able to believe in a cosmic order. The death of God will lead, Nietzsche says, not only to the rejection of a belief of cosmic/physical order but also to a rejection of absolute values themselves -- to the rejection of belief in an objective and universal moral law. This leads to nihilism, and it is what Nietzsche worked to find a solution for by re-evaluating the foundations of human values. This meant, to Nietzsche, looking for foundations that went deeper than the Christian values most people refuse to look beyond.
Nietzsche believed that a natural ground for morality should be sought in order to avoid this calamity. He believed that the majority of men did not recognize (or refuse to acknowledge) this death out of the deepest-seated fear. Therefore, when the death did begin to become widely acknowledged, people would despair and nihilism would become rampant, as well as the relativistic belief that human will is a law unto itself -- anything goes and all is permitted. This is partly why Nietzsche saw Christianity as nihilistic. Only by having the foresight to re-establish human values on a new, natural basis could this nightmare future be avoided.
Nietzsche believed there could be positive possibilities for humans without God. Relinquishing the belief in God opens the way for human's creative abilities to fully develop. The Christian God, with his arbitrary commands and prohibitions, would no longer stand in the way, so human beings might stop turning their eyes toward a supernatural realm and begin to acknowledge the value of this world. The recognition that "God is dead" would be like a blank canvas. It is a freedom to become something new, different, creative -- a freedom to be something without being forced to accept the baggage of the past. Like an open sea, this can be both exhilirating and terrifying. It would be a tremendous responsibility, and, Nietzsche believed, many would not be up to it. Most people rely on rules and authorities to tell them what to do, what to value, how to live. The people who eventually learn to create their lives anew will represent a new stage in human evolution.
It is widely believed that Nietzsche himself "proclaimed" the "death of God", but it should be acknowledged that in Die fröhliche Wissenschaft he put the words into the mouth of a "madman." In this passage, the man is described running through a marketplace shouting, "God is dead! God is dead!" He arouses some amusement; no one takes him seriously. Frustrated, the madman smashes his lantern on the ground, crying out that he has come too soon: people cannot yet see that they have killed God. He goes on to say, "This prodigious event is still on its way, and is traveling - it has not yet reached men's ears. Lightning and thunder need time, the light of the stars needs time, deeds need time, even after they are done, to be seen and heard." He does, however, also have his protagonist in the opening to Also sprach speak the words, commenting to himself after visiting a hermit who, every day, sings songs and lives to glorify his god.
"God is dead" is shouted by John Proctor in the Crucible.
Quotes
The following quotes from Also sprach Zarathustra help to elucidate what Nietzsche was trying to say:
- "God is dead: of his pity for man hath God died."
- "The God who beheld everything, AND ALSO MAN: that God had to die! Man cannot ENDURE it that such a witness should live."
References
- Kaufmann, Walter. Nietzsche: Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1974