The phrase "God is dead" does not mean that Nietzsche believed in an actual god who first existed and then died in a literal sense; rather, that God is no longer a source of meaning or moral compass.
The phrase "God is dead" does not mean that Nietzsche believed in an actual god; rather, that God is no longer a source of meaning or moral compass. This actual god first existed. This actual god first then died in a literal sense.