The Existence of God: God is dead by Nietzsche
In a parable contained in his book titled “The Gay Science” Nietzsche made a controversial statement where he claimed that God is dead. Indeed, this statement elicited many opposing opinions not only because it appears inflammatory on the face of it, but also because of the philosophical weight it carried. Contained in the parable of “The Madman”, the text indicated,
“God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?” (Santaniello 184).
As evidenced above, the author makes this bold and sharply focused argument on the guise of a parable to unearth the distorted human behaviour as reflected in popular societal morals of the time. In this regard, he uses a stepwise approach to develop his argument as follows;
Interestingly, he shifts from crying to use an aggressive and bitter tone calling humans the master murderers. At this point, the intention and the real meaning start becoming faintly clear to the reader.
In order to assert his point more certainly, the author poses yet another question inquiring how human beings will wipe the blood on this hands. This is a reflection that they have killed and tormented fellow humans to an extent that it is nonredeemable.
As a conclusion, he concludes that humans are too small for the deeds they have instigated in the world. This is why he ironically thinks that the greatness of the, which are fundamentally sinful, are too great for the size of the humans.
With the same sense of irony, the author offers a solution to the human race now that he finds not other alternatives. In this regard, he suggests that humans would have no choice but to become smaller gods in order to replenish themselves. This way, he thinks that they would appear worthy of the deeds if they at least became a little superior.
Clearly, the philosopher adopts a typical argumentation approach which includes a claim, the premises, and a conclusion to support the claim made in the first place. However, he does not use bare sentiments to assert his position. Instead, he uses innovative techniques such as suspense, irony, and rhetorical question so that the argument remains cohesive but interesting at the same time.
In light of the commentaries and analysis that conducted in light of this argument as posited by Nietzsche, there are various aspects that are evidenced. First, he does not literally mean that God has passed away. In other words, he does not imply that God was a living mortal creature that literally died. Instead, he implies that humans have become so evil such that they do not concentrate on the moral principles and God’s guidance. This is the reason as to why he claims that there is a lot of blood on the hands of human race. Importantly, the fact that he brings in the use of knives creates a virtual images of weapon-based war. Besides addressing the entire human race, the author seems to have particular interest in Christianity. Essentially, Christianity requires that human beings should study and live by the will of God (Weaner 2). Further, it is based on the fact that the will of God as outlined in the bible is unquestionable and hence should be followed to the letter ("Understanding Christian Fundamentalism 1). As such, the fact that they live by those guidelines is an indication that they still believe in the existence of God. If they do not live by the will of God to promote life and love others, then God no longer exist. In the words of Nietzsche, God is dead in that case. Critically, speaking, therefore, this sentiment addresses Christianity. Christians have become ignorant about the will of God. They indulge in murder, ignore the essential aspects of love, and keep silent about fundamental issues such as climatic change. This is based on the fact that very few church leaders are engaging in the debate revolving around global warming and environmental pollution. Indeed, this is an indication that the argument posed by the author does not only apply to the setting in which it was originally developed, but also the contemporary world. Evidently, issues such as terrorism are conducted on the guise of protecting religion and fighting a holy war. These are some of the issues in the modern society validating the idea that God is dead because we have killed him. And we have killed him by disregarding his teaching because he would only be said to exist if we live by way of his will and guidance.
In addition to these aspects, it cannot be disputed that the work portrays perfect mastery of literal techniques and conviction. To start with, the author shows his conviction with the manner in which he makes his claim. The decision to claim that God is Dead is so inflammatory such that it clearly portrays his conviction that humans have become evil. As such, he has succeeded in using literally techniques to actually convince the reader that the claim is true. Importantly, also, he also ensures that the reader finds it interesting so that he reads towards the end. One of the techniques used to achieve this is the use of symbolism. For instance, he uses the phrase “God is Dead” to philosophically mean that human morals have degraded in the face societal evil. In addition, he uses water as a symbol of cleansing and the inquiry as to whether there is a way in which humans would secure forgiveness from God. Lastly, he has applied cases of irony as part of advancing his philosophical agenda. For example, he claims that the greatness of the human evil actions is too great for them to take credit. In that regard, therefore, he would rather human beings become small gods in order to be worth of the greatness of the actions they have committed. This bare and sharp irony used to reinforce the effect of the argumentation, claim made, and the premises provided in the support of the claim. Indeed, the author was not only an opinionated philosopher, but he was also talented with skills to convey his message with conviction. As it stands, I agree with his position that God is dead from the sense that humans and Christianity in specific have denounced the will of God. It is, therefore, the most appropriate time for the human race and Christians to re-evaluate their deeds and reform.
Works Cited
Santaniello, Weaver. Nietzsche and the Gods. Albany: State U of New York, 2001. Print.
"Understanding Christian Fundamentalism." Thoughtful Christian (2007): 1-4. Web. <http://www.fpcbozeman.org/Adult Class/Jan 16 Fundamentalism Session 1.pdf>.
Weaner, Alonzo. "Fundamentals of Bible Doctrine." Review and Herald Publishing Association (1931): 2-252. Web. <http://www.ntslibrary.com/PDF Books/Fundamental of Bible Doctrine.pdf>.
