"Here's functional belief for a jet age with superfluous baggage flung out--ready to go to work and meet new needs. "We need to reduce the area of what is believed and lay claim upon it," says William Hamilton. "We need to learn from anyone, anywhere, who has the time and grace to speak about what he really knows. Then we have to learn to talk in our own way, though brokenly, less assuredly. This may mean being willing to admit that our knowledge and our faith is in bits and pieces." Bluntly, but with refreshing candor, William Hamilton speaks for the millions who want to know what they can believe and why, but suffer from "theological indigestion" of too rich, too heavy and too much food for the spirit. Let's start, he says, with the idea of fragments--those durable items of belief that have survived persecution, creed building, monasticism and the acids of modern life. These he gathers up, turns over and finds good enough for the cornerstone of the structure he erects for THE NEW ESSENCE OF CHRIRSTIANITY. Our hard, sober look at things forces us to admit that, first of all, we have problems with God. Nietszche proclaimed that God was dead; Carl Goerdler, the anti-nazi martyr, that He was a "botcher"; and, in our own day, Arthur Koestler that He is dethroned; and Albert Camus that He has withdrawn. Even the Christian, says Hamilton, may find that "he is there when we do not want Him, in ways we do not want Him and He is not there when we do need Him." Yet this makes for firmer faith in a God at last found through search and suffering. Greatest help of all, Hamilton believes, is in a revitalized view of Jesus the Lord of life as well as of death. Through a revaluated, de-sentimentalized view of Jesus, we learn how the Christian man is to deal with the world--"the same ways that God dealt with man in the world--with humiliation, patience and suffering." Finally, he emerges with a clear idea of the style of life required of Christians today. He sees choices open along a broad spectrum, ranging from "rebellion, activism, transforming the world...a break with conformist culture" to "resignation, receiving and suffering in the world, the search for a concealed break within culture." By probing the meanings of these cultural expressions, in the clue offered by marriage, in historical examination of ways in which Christlike men have abided in the world are revealed the means by which we today may think, like and obey God. In a book spiced and brilliantly interwoven with apt quotation, William Hamilton turns at last to Dietrich Bonhoeffer for his summary "Man is challenged to participate in the suffering of God at the hands of a godless world."" -Publisher

A new 2023 translation of Feuerbach's classic "The Essence of Christianity" with a new Introduction, Glossary of Terms used by Feuerbach and timeline of his life and works. The Essence of Christianity is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential critiques of religion in modern philosophy. In this work, Feuerbach argues that the traditional Christian understanding of God is a projection of human nature and that religion is a reflection of human ideals, desires, and aspirations. Schopenhauer and Nietzsche both take their satirical criticism about religion from Feuerbach, and every aspect of Marxism can be found here in Marx's favorite Philosopher. Feuerbach is a critical figure in the development of not merely Marxism, but Materialistic Humanism in general. This is Volume IV in the 2023 The Complete Works of Ludwig Feuerbach by Newcomb Livraria Press

Foreword by Geoffrey Wainwright Postmodern thought has attempted to strip many traditional values and beliefs of their power, and the Christian faith is no exception. In this spiritually and intellectually wise book Bruno Forte upholds the "essence" -- the heart and meaning -- of Christianity despite the claims of the contemporary world. In the tradition of thinkers like Feuerbach, Harnack, and Guardini, Forte restates what is unique, reliable, and universal about Christianity for our current age. After outlining in broad terms the nature of postmodernity and its challenges to traditional faith, Forte proceeds, with the voice of one intimately in love with God, to present anew what lies at the heart of genuine Christianity and why it is still good news for women and men today. Among the many books on postmodernism, this one is distinct for its conscientious dialogue with postmodern culture and its clear proclamation of meaningful faith. It will interest everyone pondering the role of Christianity in contemporary life.

Did God create man? Or did man create God? Famed German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach explores the answer in this, his most influential work, published in German in 1841 and translated by celebrated English novelist George Eliot. Using Biblical references, dialectics, and ideas from some of the world's greatest thinkers, he confronts believers with his cogent explanation. Approaching religion from a humanistic perspective, Feuerbach explores the idea that divinity is an outward projection of our idealistic human nature. Asserting that nothing is higher than the perfection found in mankind, he proposes that a Supreme Being was created by man seeking comfort and relief from a hostile world, challenging tenets of Christianity from creation and the resurrection to faith and miracles. Feuerbach's critique of Hegelian idealism excited immediate international attention — influencing Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, and Friedrich Engels in particular. Thought-provoking and utterly compelling, this historically significant polemic is must reading for lifelong students of religion and philosophy.

The Essence of Christianity is a book by Ludwig Feuerbach first published in 1841. It explains Feuerbach's philosophy and critique of religion.