--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: God remains dead. And we have killed him…" description: "\"God remains dead. And we have killed him. Yet his shadow still looms. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers?\" — Friedrich Niet..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d10/friedrich-nietzsche-15_comfort_god-remains-dead-and-we-have-killed-him_145340.jpg" --- # God remains dead. And we have killed him. Yet his shadow… ![“God remains dead. And we have killed him. Yet his shadow still looms. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers?” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d10/friedrich-nietzsche-15_comfort_god-remains-dead-and-we-have-killed-him_145340.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d10/friedrich-nietzsche-15_comfort_god-remains-dead-and-we-have-killed-him_145340.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d10/friedrich-nietzsche-15_comfort_god-remains-dead-and-we-have-killed-him_145340.jpg) > “God remains dead. And we have killed him. Yet his shadow still looms. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers?” [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even after humanity’s moral death, its lingering influence forces us to confront existential guilt. **In simple terms:** Even after killing God, his influence remains. Key Takeaway Confront lingering moral shadows. Themes existentialism guilt morality Mood somber introspective Type philosophical existential When to use this quote - personal reflection - cultural criticism - ethical decision‑making - spiritual searching Key Concepts nihilism post‑modern thought Questions to Reflect On - What replaces moral frameworks after their collapse? - Can we find meaning without traditional absolutes? A Different Perspective Comfort may be impossible without new values. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) [Murderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murderer/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) ## Related quotes > [God is dead, God remains dead, and we have killed him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/god-is-dead-god-remains-dead-and-we-have-killed-him/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/god-is-dead-god-remains-dead-and-we-have-killed-him-how-shall-we/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“No, it was you losing the little golden sun killed me, Shadow, killed me dead as sure as water’s wet and days are long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/no-it-was-you-losing-the-little-golden-sun-killed-me-shadow-killed-me/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? —NIETZSCHE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/and-we-have-killed-him-how-shall-we-comfort-ourselves-the-murderers/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. Yet his shadow still looms. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/god-is-dead-god-remains-dead-and-we-have-killed-him-yet-his-shadow/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [As far as I'm concerned, there won't be a Beatles reunion as long as John Lennon remains dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-there-won-t-be-a-beatles-reunion-as-long-as/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [“Gods too decompose. God is dead. God remains dead. We have killed him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/gods-too-decompose-god-is-dead-god-remains-dead-we-have-killed-him/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“I live my life among the remains of dead people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-jon/i-live-my-life-among-the-remains-of-dead-people/) Milton Jon > [“Gods, too, decompose. God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/gods-too-decompose-god-is-dead-god-remains-dead-and-we-have-killed-him/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [We don't cut off the hands of thieves or castrate rapists. Why must we murder murderers?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/we-don-t-cut-off-the-hands-of-thieves-or-castrate-rapists-why-must-we/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [Families are great murderers of the creative impulsive, particularly husbands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/families-are-great-murderers-of-the-creative-impulsive-particularly/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [Two of the three men, who were imprisoned, Norman Butler and Robert 15x Johnson, convicted and given life sentences, I'm absolutely convinced were innocent.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manning-marable/two-of-the-three-men-who-were-imprisoned-norman-butler-and-robert-15x/) [Manning Marable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manning-marable/) > [If you're part of a crew, nobody ever tells you that they're going to kill you, doesn't happen that way. There weren't any arguments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hill/if-you-re-part-of-a-crew-nobody-ever-tells-you-that-they-re-going-to/) [Henry Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hill/) > [I committed the first crime by creating men as mortals. After that, what more could you do, you the murderers? Come on; they already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/i-committed-the-first-crime-by-creating-men-as-mortals-after-that/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“The murderers are loose! They search the world All through the night, oh God, all through the night! To find the fire kindled in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrud-kolmar/the-murderers-are-loose-they-search-the-world-all-through-the-night/) [Gertrud Kolmar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrud-kolmar/) ## More by Friedrich Nietzsche > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Every select man strives instinctively for a citadel and a privacy, where he is FREE from the crowd, the many, the majority-- where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-select-man-strives-instinctively-for-a-citadel-and-a-privacy/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“79. A soul which knows that it is loved, but does not itself love, betrays its sediment: its dregs come up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/79-a-soul-which-knows-that-it-is-loved-but-does-not-itself-love/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-deceive-ourselves-when-giving-respect-to-the-person-for-whom-we/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“The great periods of our life occur when we gain the courage to rechristen what is bad about us as what is best.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-great-periods-of-our-life-occur-when-we-gain-the-courage-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“What is life? Life - that is: continually shedding something that wants to die. Life - that is: being cruel and inexorable against everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-is-life-life-that-is-continually-shedding-something-that-wants/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Writers whose thoughts are expressed with clarity and precision are assumed by readers to be superficial. Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/writers-whose-thoughts-are-expressed-with-clarity-and-precision-are/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“he does not wear a twitching, mobile, human face, but rather a mask, as it were, with its features in dignified equilibrium; he does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-does-not-wear-a-twitching-mobile-human-face-but-rather-a-mask-as/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Chastity is a virtue with some, but with many it is almost a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/chastity-is-a-virtue-with-some-but-with-many-it-is-almost-a-vice/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The earth is like the breasts of a woman: useful as well as pleasing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-earth-is-like-the-breasts-of-a-woman-useful-as-well-as-pleasing/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Of all that is written I love only what a man has written in his own blood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/of-all-that-is-written-i-love-only-what-a-man-has-written-in-his-own/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Pain makes hens and poets cackle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/pain-makes-hens-and-poets-cackle/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) [Explore all 3,486 Friedrich Nietzsche quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More Comfort quotes > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [For many, the call to be a Christian can seem demanding, even overwhelming. But we need not be afraid or feel inadequate. The Savior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-hales/for-many-the-call-to-be-a-christian-can-seem-demanding-even/) [Robert D. Hales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-hales/) > [This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/this-is-no-time-for-ease-and-comfort-it-is-time-to-dare-and-endure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/there-is-a-comfort-in-rituals-and-rituals-provide-a-framework-for/) [Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“When you get lost in a really strange place, nothing is more comforting than found your friend whom you trust and can show the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-get-lost-in-a-really-strange-place-nothing-is-more/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Comfort food is really anything you want at that time. That said, I really love Naple-style pizza.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-zakarian/comfort-food-is-really-anything-you-want-at-that-time-that-said-i/) [Geoffrey Zakarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-zakarian/) > [I actually like getting out of my comfort zone. It shakes me up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/i-actually-like-getting-out-of-my-comfort-zone-it-shakes-me-up/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Maybe that was why she couldn't cry, she realized, staring dry-eyed at the ceiling. Because what was the point in crying when there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/maybe-that-was-why-she-couldn-t-cry-she-realized-staring-dry-eyed-at/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I think that comfort is underrated in a lot of ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-robinson/i-think-that-comfort-is-underrated-in-a-lot-of-ways/) [Phoebe Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-robinson/) [Browse all 4,542 Comfort quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "God remains dead. And we have killed him. Yet his shadow still looms. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/god-remains-dead-and-we-have-killed-him-yet-his-shadow-still-looms/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Comfort" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/god-remains-dead-and-we-have-killed-him-yet-his-shadow-still-looms/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d10/friedrich-nietzsche-15_comfort_god-remains-dead-and-we-have-killed-him_145340.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d10/friedrich-nietzsche-15_comfort_god-remains-dead-and-we-have-killed-him_145340.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d10/friedrich-nietzsche-15_comfort_god-remains-dead-and-we-have-killed-him_145340.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“God remains dead. And we have killed him. Yet his shadow still looms. How shall we comfort ourselves, the…” — Friedrich Nietzsche", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "God remains dead. And we have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/god-remains-dead-and-we-have-killed-him-yet-his-shadow-still-looms/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/god-remains-dead-and-we-have-killed-him-yet-his-shadow-still-looms/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```