God Is Dead Theologian William Hamilton Dead At 87

Published February 29, 2012 10:36PM (EST)

Theologian William Hamilton, a member of the Death of God movement of the 1960s that reached its peak with a Time Magazine cover story, has died in Portland, Ore. He was 87.

His family says Hamilton died Tuesday of complications from congestive heart failure.

Hamilton told The Oregonian newspaper in 2007 that he had questioned the existence of God since he was a teenager. He said two friends died from the explosion of a pipe bomb they were building, while a third — an atheist — escaped without a scratch.

He was teaching theology at Colgate-Rochester Divinity School in Rochester, N.Y., in 1966 when he co-authored the book, "Radical Theology and the Death of God."

He became a prominent voice in the Time magazine story.


By Salon Staff

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