The Essence of Christianity [Paperback]

Feuerbach's critique of religion, translated from German in 1854 by one of Britain's most famous novelists.Ludwig Feuerbach (180472) was a German intellectual whose attack on religion in this 1841 work was immediately controversial. The second edition of 1843 was translated into English by Marian Evans (181980) - who would become better known by her pen name of George Eliot - and published in 1854.Ludwig Feuerbach (180472) was a German intellectual whose attack on religion in this 1841 work was immediately controversial. The second edition of 1843 was translated into English by Marian Evans (181980) - who would become better known by her pen name of George Eliot - and published in 1854.Ludwig Feuerbach (180472), the German philosopher and a founding member of the Young Hegelians, a group of radical thinkers influenced by G. W. F. Hegel (17701831), was an outspoken critic of religion, and the 1841 publication of this work established his reputation. In the first part of the book he examines what he calls the 'anthropological essence' of religion, and in the second he looks at its 'false or theological essence', arguing that the idea of God is a manifestation of human consciousness. These ideas provoked strong reactions in Germany, and soon other European intellectuals wanted to read Feuerbach's book. The 1843 second edition was translated by Marian Evans (181980)  who would become better known by her pen name of George Eliot  and published in Britain in 1854. Evans was influenced by Feuerbach's work, and many of his humanist ideas about religion are reflected in her novels.Preface to the second edition; 1. Introduction; Part I. The True or Anthropological Essence of Religion: 2. God as a being of the understanding; 3. God as a moral being, or law; 4. The mystery of the incarnation; or, God as love, as a being of the heart; 5. The mystery of the suffering God; 6. The mystery of the Trinity and the Mother of God; 7. The mystery of the logos and divine image; 8lC­