Examine What Is Meant By Saying 'God Is Dead'.

introduction What did Nietzsche mean by 'God is Dead'?
1. Less dependency on God in western society - we do not use him for decision making like we used to Moral compass doesnt equal God
1st Para link this to the intro
1. Nietzsche work - expresses fear that rise of atheism, decline of religion & absence of higher moral authority (God) = turn the world to chaos Western world - depended on god for so long (thousands of years) - without it, Nietzsche writes that society will move into an age of nihilism
  1. nihilism: belief that all values are baseless and nothing can be known or communicated. True nihilists believe in nothing, have no loyalties, and have no purpose other than the impulse to destroy
“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?”
2nd Paragraph Secular society
1. Society was originally built around religion, but now religion has to try and integrate itself into society
2. Awareness of Other Faiths
  1. One's religion can be linked to location, like what John Hick says.
    1. "If I had been born in India, I would probably be a Hindu; if in Egypt, probably a Muslim; if in Sri Lanka, probably a Buddhist; but I was born in England and am, predictably, a Christian."
  2. Contradictions between religions - can question the validity of some, how will people know which is right?
    1. "It is a short step from the thought that the different religions cannot all be true, although they all claim to be, to the thought that in all probability none of them is true."
  3. leads to people disbelieving in God/becoming less dependent on one
3. no right or wrong religions
4. meta narratives
  1. reject absolutes & meta narratives
    1. links to no right or wrong religions
    2. religion is made up of meta narratives (10 commandments) - reject these, reject religion
3rd paragraph science
1. Ray Billington - "God of the gaps" - God was there to explain the universe
  1. now we have science - this explains what God previously did
    1. no need for God in creation of universe - less dependent
4th paragraph Problem of evil inconsistent triad
1. problem of evil
  1. western society now has access to media and news coverage - more aware of the evils of the world from a young age & more information
    1. why isn't God stopping it?
2. inconsistent triad
  1. all loving all knowing all powerful
    1. all loving - why does he let people suffer?
    2. all knowing - how can he allow evil to happen?
    3. all powerful - why isn't he stopping it?

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Examine What Is Meant By Saying 'God Is Dead'.

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	Created by Jade Roe about 8 years ago