Living With and Without God

Is there a God? Answers to the question of the meaning of life

Of course God exists, say some people – it's all a load of nonsense, say others. Is God the Creator, or is God Himself just a clever invention? This question has occupied people since the dawn of time, and yet it is as topical as ever. Particularly in our entirely rationalised times, countless people still experience an irrational emptiness – and pose the great questions about the meaning of life. Karsten Krampitz and Uwe von Seltmann are convinced that it is possible to talk about God, and, above all, to argue about Him. To this end, they have gathered diverse voices and varied opinions on the subject of God from all sectors of society. The result: an original and lively debate about humanity’s happiness and misery in living with or without God.


Karsten Krampitz, born in 1969, writes as a historian and journalist for various German newspapers. He is Klagenfurt Writer-in-Residence for 2010, and received the Audience Award in the prestigious Ingeborg Bachmann competition for his novella Heimgehen (Going Back Home) in 2009. The author lives and works in Berlin.

Uwe von Seltmann, born in 1964, studied Protestant theology, and was editor-in-chief of the Protestant weekly newspaper Der Sonntag in Leipzig from 2004 to 2008. Today, he lives primarily in Kraków, where he works as an author and journalist.