New York Times headline:
Thomas Altizer, 91, Proponent of ‘God Is Dead’ Theology, Dies
Yes, God Does Love Irony
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 41 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
It was that video of Peterson that got me to look up the original passage by Nietzsche.
As I read it I realized I had heard this all before… by a certain apostle in Acts 2. Of course Nietzsche was speaking metaphorically, that we kill God in our hearts (which every preacher has pointed out we do when we sin) but Peter was speaking literally. Then I saw the full weight of Peter’s sermon. Because what can absolve a people that kill their own creator?
Ah but there is the crucial difference between Nietzsche’s writing and Peter’s. In his book, the madman declares “God is dead! God remains dead!.” But in the Bible Peter tells us “it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.”
He gives us hope.
I find it no end to irony that Nietzsche and Peterson gave me a better appreciation of that sermon than most preachers.
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