Ludwig Feuerbach

The Essence of Christianity

Written: 1841

Source: Introduction from The Fiery Brook, remainder from The Essence of Christianity

Translated: Introduction translated by Zawar Hanfi, 1972, remainder translated by George Eliot, 1854.

Transcribed: Andy Blunden;

HTML Markup: Andy Blunden.

Table of Contents:

Preface to the Second Edition, 1843

I: Introduction

§1 VIIII Being of Man in General

§2 XIIII Essence of Religion in General

Part I: The True or Anthropological Essence of Religion

II XVIII God as Being of Understanding

III XVII God as Moral Being or Law

IV XIIII God as Love

V XIIIII The Suffering God

VI XIIII The Trinity and Mother of God

VII XIII The Logos and Divine Image

VIII XII The Cosmogonical Principle

IX VIIII Nature in God

X VIIIII Creation out of Nothing

XI VIIII Creation in Judaism

XII VIII The Mystery of Prayer

XIII VII Faith and the Miracle

XIV IIII The Resurrection

XV IIIII The Personal God

XVI IIII Christianity and Heathenism

XVII III Celibacy and Monachism

XVIII II Heaven & Immortality

Part II. The False or Theological Essence of Religion

XIX IIII The Essential Standpoint of Religion

XX IIIII Contradiction in existence of God

XXI IIII Contradiction in revelation of God

XXII III Contradiction in the nature of God

XXIII II The Speculative Doctrine of God

XXIV II Contradiction in the Trinity

XXV III Contradiction in the Sacraments

XXVI II Faith & Love

XXVII I Concluding Application



“Then came Feuerbach’s Essence of Christianity. With one blow it pulverised the contradiction, in that without circumlocutions it placed materialism on the throne again. ... The spell was broken; the ‘system’ was exploded and cast aside, and the contradiction, shown to exist only in our imagination, was dissolved. One must oneself have experienced the liberating effect of this book to get an idea of it. Enthusiasm was general; we all became at once Feuerbachians...” Engels