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 Andreas von Feuerbach (July 28, 1804 September 13, 1872) was a German philosopher and anthropologist best known for his book The Essence of Christianity, which provided a critique of Christianity which strongly influenced generations of later thinkers, including both Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Feuerbach was the fourth son of the eminent jurist Paul Johann Anselm Ritter von Feuerbach, brother of mathematician Karl Wilhelm Feuerbach and uncle of painter Anselm Feuerbach. An associate of Left Hegelian circles, Feuerbach advocated liberalism, atheism and materialism. Many of his philosophical writings offered a critical analysis of religion. His thought was influential in the development of dialectical materialism, where he is often recognized as a bridge between Hegel and Marx. Feuerbach is best known for his criticism of Idealism and religion, especially Christianity, written in the early forties. He believed that any progress in human culture and civilization required the repudiation of both. His later writings were concerned with developing a materialistic humanism and an ethics of human solidarity. With the recent publication of a new critical edition of his works, a new generation of scholars have argued that his mature views are philosophically interesting in their own right. His most important work, Das Wesen des Christentums (1841), was translated by George Eliot into English as The Essence of Christianity.