[shrinkermd]

I suppose it makes little difference, but understanding Friedrich Nietzsche requires something more than realizing he was an atheist. When he made his famous "God is dead" statement he was using it to indicate that the mass of intellectuals no longer believed in God or divine retribution. God "was dead" in men's hearts and this would result in catastrophic consequences.

From this he predicted a 20th Century of psychopathic, murdering leaders who would cause tragedies not then dreamed of.

He was right and this differentiated him from the usual village atheist that has always existed but is seldom of influence. In a certain sense he was affirming Glaucon's assertion in Plato's Republic that one has difficulty proving a moral life is better than an immoral life; hence, the anything goes as long as we believe the outcome is more important than the means.

[Schweinhund]

Also, he asked if Rationalism and the New Sciences, which were created by men, but had unforseeably killed God in their hearts, would not ultimately force these men to become Gods themselves, just to appear worthy of their deed. This is one of the basics on which he founds his transhuman, his Übermensch.

[Malesherbes]

Good comment. And Nietzsche's notion of a Superman as described in Also Sprach Zarathustra was a vain attempt to fill the void which he feared would have the consequences you mentioned. When Dostoyevsky wrote, "If there is no God, then everything is permitted," this set the scene for the 20th century.

I watched Angela Merkel on TV at the dedication of the rebuilt Frauenkirche in Dresden. She sang all the hymns without looking at the hymnal. I took this as a good sign.