Theological Word of the Day

[nye''-uh-liz''-um or nee''-uh-liz''-um] (Latin nihil, “nothing”)

Nihilism is the philosophy that believes all of existence is without purpose, meaning, or hope. It is often called the philosophy of despair since there is no foundation upon which one can build motives for living. Many believe that nihilism is the necessary outcome of atheism since the atheist finds no reason to believe in any form of transcendence which provides foundational reason and hope. Postmodernism is sometimes labeled as a nihilistic philosophy that resulted from the conclusions of a modernistic worldview which denied God a place in reality. Nineteenth-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche is often called the Father of Nihilism.