God is dead
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"God is dead" (German: "Gott ist tot"; also known as the death of God) is a widely-quoted and sometimes misconstrued statement by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. It first appears in Die fröhliche Wissenschaft, section 108 (New Struggles), in section 125 (The Madman), and for a third time in section 343 (The Meaning of our Cheerfulness). It is also found in Nietzsche's classic work Also sprach Zarathustra, which is most responsible for popularizing the phrase. The idea is stated by "The Madman" as follows:
- "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? --Nietzsche, The Gay Science, Section 125, tr. Walter Kaufmann
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