In this, one of the most influential works of the post-Hegelian era, Feuerbach captures the synthesis that emerges from the dialectical process of a transcending Godhead & the rational & material world. In understanding the true nature of what it means to be fully human, he contends that we come face to face with the essence of Xian theology: human beings investing ordinary concepts with divine meaning & significance. The true danger to humanity occurs when theology is given the force of dogma & doctrine. Losing sight of its anthropological underpinnings & dependence upon or emergence from human nature, it then acquires an existence separate from that of humankind. He leaves nothing untouched: miracles, the Trinity, Creation, prayer, resurrection, immortality, faith & much more.
The essential nature of man
The essence of religion considered generally
God as a being of the understanding
God as a moral being or law
The mystery of the incarnation; or, God as love, as a being of the heart
The mystery of the suffering God
The mystery of the Trinity & the mother of God
The mystery of the Logos & divine image
The mystery of the cosmogonical principle in God
The mystery of mysticism, or of nature in God
The mystery of providence & creation out of nothing
The significance of the creation in Judaism
The omnipotence of feeling, or the mystery of prayer
The mystery of faith, the mystery of miracle
The mystery of the resurrection and of the miraculous conception
The mystery of the Christian Christ, or the personal God
The distinction between Christianity & heathenism
The significance of voluntary celibacy & monachism
The Christian heaven, or personal immortality
The essential standpoint of religion
The contradiction in the existence of God
The contradiction in the revelation of God
The contradiction in the nature of God in general
The contradiction in the speculative doctrine of God
The contradiction in the Trinity
The contradiction in the sacraments
The contradiction of faith & love
Concluding application
Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872) pursued studies in anthropology and philosophy - particularly following Hegel - and from these came his proclaimed stance on secular humanism and atheism. ‘Religion is the dream of the human mind,' he writes unequivocally.
The Essence of Christianity opens with a preface to the second edition in which he responds boldly to critics. ‘I have only found the key to the cipher of the Christian religion, only extricated its true meaning from the web of contradictions and delusions called theology; but in doing so I have certainly committed a sacrilege...let it be remembered that atheism...is the secret of religion itself.' The work itself is divided into two parts. Part one is titled ‘The True or Anthropological Essence of Religion' and part two, ‘The False or Theological Essence of Religion'. In 27 chapters, replete with references supporting his position, he presents his thesis. He considers in some detail ‘God as a Being of the Understanding', ‘The Mystery of the Trinity and the Mother of God', ‘The Significance of the Creation in Judaism' as well as many other issues including mysticism, celibacy, personal immortality and contradictions in the revelation and existence of God. This leads to his assertion, ‘We have shown that the substance and object of religion is altogether human; we have shown that divine wisdom is human wisdom; that the secret of theology is anthropology; that the absolute mind is the so-called finite subjective mind.' The Essence of Christianity remains a striking text in the 21st century, and George Eliot's rendering conveys the strong feelings of both author and translator. Feuerbach's work concludes with a substantial appendix consisting of 22 sections, further illustrating his arguments. This work is read with clarity and commitment by Martyn Swain.
