Opinion in belief
I was reading an atheist book that suggests god is dead and he never existed that humanity made him up to bring comfort to those living in fear and anxiety ... anyways what’s your opinion? Is god dead?
36-40, M
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LeopoldBloom · M
I assume you're reading Nietzsche's [i]Thus Spoke Zarathustra[/i]. It was his one foray into fiction, and to me, the least enjoyable of his books. For a philosopher, Nietzsche is a pretty good writer.
As for God being "dead," it depends how you define it. Certainly the [i]idea[/i] of God, as a meme that has an effect on the world, is not dead at all. As for an actual being, since it never existed in the first place, it can't be "dead."
As an atheist, Nietzsche of course didn't believe that an actual God had existed and was now dead. He meant the idea was dead. He observed that religion was no longer an important part of the human experience, at least, nothing like it had been in the Middle Ages. However, his critique was limited to Europe, and would appear to have been correct in that today, religion in most European countries is pretty much an afterthought. That's not the case elsewhere.
As for God being "dead," it depends how you define it. Certainly the [i]idea[/i] of God, as a meme that has an effect on the world, is not dead at all. As for an actual being, since it never existed in the first place, it can't be "dead."
As an atheist, Nietzsche of course didn't believe that an actual God had existed and was now dead. He meant the idea was dead. He observed that religion was no longer an important part of the human experience, at least, nothing like it had been in the Middle Ages. However, his critique was limited to Europe, and would appear to have been correct in that today, religion in most European countries is pretty much an afterthought. That's not the case elsewhere.
Wraithorn · 51-55, M
@LeopoldBloom Well said.
Cannabro · 36-40, M
Yeah I read that in the book about god never existing in the first place so he can’t be ‘dead’ because he never existed. I’m barely on page 19 out of 217 book is called “god is dead now zen is the only living truth” @LeopoldBloom
BridgeOvertroubledWaters · 61-69, M
ImperialAerosolKidFromEP · 46-50, M
@BridgeOvertroubledWaters I think it means the [i]conce[/b]pt [/i]of God is dying. Humanity has believed in God one way or another for millennia, and due to the artificially high numbers of atheists in the West for the last few decades, that's on the way out. Thus atheist numbers will continue to climb until all belief in God is extinguished.
BridgeOvertroubledWaters · 61-69, M
@ImperialAerosolKidFromEP thanks for the explanation.
We in the West (myself included) sometimes forget that the majority of the world's population doesn't live in the West and they all mainly believe in God in some way , either as monotheism or as polythism.
It would be interesting to check out the stats in which Christian groups Atheism is on the rise. My guess is that it's a lot less among Catholics .
I don't think belief is on it's way out.
We in the West (myself included) sometimes forget that the majority of the world's population doesn't live in the West and they all mainly believe in God in some way , either as monotheism or as polythism.
It would be interesting to check out the stats in which Christian groups Atheism is on the rise. My guess is that it's a lot less among Catholics .
I don't think belief is on it's way out.
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England66 · 61-69, M
Never happened
ImperialAerosolKidFromEP · 46-50, M
My opinion is that if that's true, then every non-atheist out there is insecure, and needs to resort to self-delusion on a grand scale. If you can say that about anyone who believes in God, go ahead