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Introduction

In 1882, a German philosopher, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, made himself

famous by using a madman in his book, µ


, to let the world know that the

death of God has come.

 


  
 

 


 


 

  

  



 
 
 


  
  


 

 


  
  
 
  

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(Section 125; Gay Science, 1882)?

These words had given birth to Nietzsche as the ³brilliant but wild writer, an
immoralist and nihilist, an elitist and nationalist, a despiser of women and Jews´
(³Nietzsche is not Dead,´ 1994).
Indeed, back then, to say that ³God is dead´ was like saying that values are not
absolute, and so the teachings of the church about the divine creator are all nonsense.
This was also seen as an announcement of the ³end of the era of theology´ (Franke,
2007).
With this statement, Nietzsche implied that man simply invented God ³to give his
life meaning, purpose, and a moral center (Ratner-Rosenhagen 2006), and that God is a
mere fiction.

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Naturally, the believers would endlessly question these ideas which are absolutely
absurd for them.

However, it might make more sense to ask,
 


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Imagine there¶s no Nietzsche

³God is dead.´ Yes, Nietzsche said it. Later, the media and the academe
popularized the idea.
That Nietzsche has ³conquered America´ is something difficult to deny (Ratner-
Rosenhagen 2006). The media and the academe ³delivered´ the news to the people until
so much hype is created that the statement has become a part of the consciousness of
those who heard it.
If in the past, the professors ³had instructed students in the serious contemplation
of the good life, they now taught young minds that µreason cannot establish values, and

[the] belief that it can is the stupidest and most pernicious illusion.¶´ (Bloom, 1987; qtd.

in Ratner-Rosenhagen, 2006).

Outside the academe, Nietzsche was also among the favorite topics in media, be it

in newspapers, magazines, films, advertisements, plays, novels or even in popular music

(Ratner-Rosenhagen 2006).

It must be remembered that Nietzsche¶s three-word pronouncement became

controversial again over 80 years after the publication of µ


when µ


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came up with an issue on April 8, 1966 reiterating the so-called death of God.

The famous magazine relived Nietzsche¶s statement because of what the American

people have been experiencing that time: assassinations, violence, sex, drugs, etc.

(Shermer 1998).

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In a Methodist student magazine called #
, an obituary for God was

published. It said:

µ&'µ'())ú

 
 



  

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The magazine cited ³secularization, science, urbanization´ as the causes of God¶s

death (Shermer 1998).

Adding to the hype was the popular band called the Beatles, with which John

Lennon became more popular when he said, ³Christianity will go. It will vanish and

shrink. I needn't argue about that, I'm fight and will be proved right. We're more popular

than Jesus Christ right now" (Pareles and Romanowski, 1983; qtd. in Shermer 1998).

The 1971 hit song  
by Lennon was then a remarkable attempt to

proliferate the God-is-dead idea that Nietzsche started over a hundred years prior to

Beatles¶ popularity (Shermer 1998). The song obviously implied a godless future:

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?hat if God were Dead?

At first, the Nietzschean idea might sound very atheistic that it loses its values.
However, a closer examination of the God-is-dead premise brings us to the so-called

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Nietzschean virtues: drive, self-discipline, ambition± which can ³enhance life´

(³Nietzsche is not Dead,´ 1994).

Human persons without a god to rely on could have more opportunities to develop
their creativity (Aramban 2009). Instead of believing that their purpose and fate have
already been decided upon even before they were born, they would have to be convinced
that they make their own future, and that their ³existence precedes essence´ (Barash,
2001), as what Jean-Paul Sartre, a famous existentialist, has said.

Also, to have no god means to have the freedom to make decisions without
following absolute standards on morality.

Bernard Williams, a British philosopher, saw nothing unusual about this idea. In
fact, he reiterated that it¶s usual ³to suspend the normal rules for exceptional people´
(³Nietzsche is not Dead,´ 1994).

Well, of course, opposition is always present. For Philippa Foot, an analytical

philosopher, Nietzsche¶s ideas are ³defective´ for it implies that there can be no justice at
all ± that respect can no longer be guaranteed among human persons (³Nietzsche is not
Dead,´ 1994), if there were no standard rules on morality and goodness.

Ôonclusion

Nietzche¶s statement is more of a challenge, than an atheistic remark. It

challenges man¶s capacity to step back and make some reflections on the kind of life they
choose to live, instead of simply accepting the kind of life a god has designed for them.
Whether God is dead or alive should be of little importance. ?
  



   

 
 
  
  


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After all, even if God died, He will remain immortal among those people whose lives he
had touched.

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