SOURCE: Fiorenza, Francis Schuessler. “Feuerbach's Interpretation of Religion and Christianity.” Philosophical Forum 11, no. 2 (winter 1979-80): 161-81.

In the following essay, Fiorenza concentrates on Feuerbach's response to criticism of The Essence of Christianity, arguing that the philosopher clarified his views and arguments on religion in the work's second edition.

Although Feuerbach's Essence of Christianity has contributed significantly to the development of a post-idealist philosophy, its interpretation has remained controversial. This paper seeks to interpret The Essence of Christianity by focusing on Feuerbach's understanding of religion and Christianity from the perspective of his responses to theological and philosophical critics. The paper will therefore first list some of the difficulties in interpreting Feuerbach, secondly, survey his responses to misunderstandings and criticisms, and thirdly analyze the differences between the first and second edition to uncover his interpretation of religion and Christianity. In this process two distinctions should be made. The first distinction...