German philosopher and philologist (1844-1900). Famous for his proclamation that "God is dead" in his book Thus Spake Zarathustra.
The Christian God, Nietzsche taught, was pitiable, absurd and "a crime against life." (The Twilight of the Idols and The Antichrist). He had encouraged people to fear their bodies, their passions and their sexuality and had promoted a puling morality of compassion which had made us weak. There was no ultimate meaning or value and human beings had no business offering an indulgent alternative in "God." A History of God.
In Thus Spake Zarathustra, Nietzsche suggested that to call god love is a slander to love, since god wants also to judge, and love should never even see sins in need of forgiveness.