What did Nietzsche mean with "God is dead"?

Aivo½so · January 20, 2004, 09:12

I guess most of us have heard the famous quote from Nietzsche, but what is its context? What did he actually mean with the phrase "God is dead"?

Ecthy · January 20, 2004, 09:31

What did Faithless mean with "God is a DJ"?

Ecthy · January 20, 2004, 09:33

What did Faithless mean with "God is a DJ"?

Bereta_Eder · January 20, 2004, 09:37

Nietze was a bit loco

BeBro · January 20, 2004, 09:38

Let´s wait until Gepap comes and explains us. Meanwhile we could spa....errrmmm....bump the thread

Bereta_Eder · January 20, 2004, 09:38

but nothing compared to Goethe

why not go for the cute german romantics the likes of Hesse? At least something you'll understand

(not to be underestimated)

BeBro · January 20, 2004, 09:39

Goethe? He didn´t went nuts IIRC.

Bereta_Eder · January 20, 2004, 09:40

Have you ever tried to actually read Faust?

Aivo½so · January 20, 2004, 09:43

Ecth, feel free to share with us your viewpoints on Nietzsche's idea of god and his death.

BeBro · January 20, 2004, 09:45

Yeah, we read it at school (at least part I) -- it´s difficult. But not crazy

And maybe something is lost in the translations, but some parts of it eg. the "Osterspaziergang" ("easter walk"?) are really beautiful...

MikeH · January 20, 2004, 09:46

Quote:

Have you heard of that madman who lit a lantern in the bright morning hours, ran to the market place, and cried incessantly, "I seek God! I seek God!" As many of those who do not believe in God were standing around just then, he provoked much laughter...

Whither is God," he cried. "I shall tell you. We have killed him - you and I. All of us are murderers.... God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him...

Friedrich Nietzsche. The Gay Science (1882), section 126

So, Neitzsche didn't say it, he got a character to say it. Big difference.

In The Antichrist (1888), Nietzsche says:

Quote:

The Christian conception of God... is one of the most corrupt conceptions of God arrived at on earth..." And, when he was already close to insanity, he called himself "the Anti-Christ.

Basically, he's saying that the shared cultural belief in God, which until then had been a shared European concept, was/is dead.

BeBro · January 20, 2004, 09:48

But isn´t the Anti-Christ higly biased?

Bereta_Eder · January 20, 2004, 09:49

Quote:

Originally posted by BeBro
Yeah, we read it at school (at least part I) -- it´s difficult. But not crazy

And maybe something is lost in the translations, but some parts of it eg. the "Osterspaziergang" ("easter walk"?) are really beautiful...

Well I kind of made a self inflicting injury

and I bought the book for myself. It is one of the very few books, actually basically the only one I've encountered, where I just couldn't make sense of it! Not in the slightest! Maybe it's the translation but it really didn't make any sense to me. I suppose it's one of these books where it's good to have some guidance when reading it. But it wasn't even proper greek... some kind of strange language.

Bereta_Eder · January 20, 2004, 09:50

maybe the translator was crazy

MikeH · January 20, 2004, 09:56

Quote:

Originally posted by BeBro
But isn´t the Anti-Christ higly biased?

No idea, I did what any sensible person would do. I google searched for the thread title and copied and summarised the first result in my own words.

Solly · January 20, 2004, 10:04

"Friedrich Nietzsche. The Gay Science (1882), section 126"

Looking for a banning?

We're not allowed to say *** any more. It's too offensive.

MikeH · January 20, 2004, 10:09

Not allowed to say 126?

BeBro · January 20, 2004, 10:15

Quote:

Originally posted by paiktis22

Well I kind of made a self inflicting injury

and I bought the book for myself. It is one of the very few books, actually basically the only one I've encountered, where I just couldn't make sense of it! Not in the slightest! Maybe it's the translation but it really didn't make any sense to me. I suppose it's one of these books where it's good to have some guidance when reading it. But it wasn't even proper greek... some kind of strange language.

In the late 16th century there was a popular "Faust" book, which had however quite a different meaning. In this older book Dr.Faust (which really existed, btw) makes a pact with the devil (as in Goethe´s book) to get more knowledge, and then has to pay the price - his life. This book was more intendet to "warn" of the idea that humans should strive for more knowledge (to become god-like) - you have to see it on the background of the time, in conflict between the christian morals, and newer developments like humanism, boom in natural sciences etc....

Then the story became popular on theatres as well, Goethe saw as a child one of these plays, and he tried later several "versions" before his own "Faust" was released. He transforms the basic idea from the popular book into a great tragedy so full of facettes that even Goethe himself admitted the book (or at least esp. part II) is very hard to read.

However the main theme of Goethe´s Faust is what it means to be human, what individual autonomy is, and where human limits are (if there are any

).

The Mad Monk · January 20, 2004, 10:16

There you go AGAIN!

Whaleboy · January 20, 2004, 10:17

He said it not as a celebration. Reading his work on nihilism it would seem that he was writing it as an antithesis to what he was purporting. It still rules!

Sava · January 20, 2004, 10:31

It's pretty obvious, don't you think?

plus, Nietzche is a nutbag... I heard he used to talk to his horse.

LARRY HORSE!

only Ming and rah will get that one...

Guynemer · January 20, 2004, 10:35

...bereft of life, he rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed him to the perch...er...church, he'd be pushing up daisies! He's rung down the curtain and joined the choir invisible!

and so on and so forth.

GePap · January 20, 2004, 10:45

Nietzsche states that men makes gods, and that, as MikeH said, the belief in the Christian God was on its way out.

Aivo½so · January 20, 2004, 11:22

Thanks people, that makes a lot of sense. I was kind of expecting something more complicated.

OzzyKP · January 20, 2004, 11:26

Basically Nietzsche wanted people to worship him as a new, human god, so he had to debase and attack the God everyone followed.

BeBro · January 20, 2004, 11:39

Quote:

Originally posted by Aivo½so
Thanks people, that makes a lot of sense. I was kind of expecting something more complicated.

Nah, Nietzsche is kinda simplistic

*runs before GePap and Whaleboy send their black helis*

OzzyKP · January 20, 2004, 11:40

BeBro, I've got an Asbestos suit I can let you borrow. I think we both need to suit up in advance of the inevitable flaming.

MikeH · January 20, 2004, 11:51

Quote:

Originally posted by Ecthelion
What did Faithless mean with "God is a DJ"?

They meant "we've taken a lot of ecstacy"

Ecthy · January 20, 2004, 11:56

not allowed to say what? gay? fag?

Whoha · January 20, 2004, 12:10

He meant that people were getting less and less religious&spiritual I think, er what Mike said.