Ludwig Feuerbach and the Jewish Bible

On the one hand, the New Testament writers interpreted the Jesus event as the fulf ijilment of the Old Testament prophecies, on the other hand, they saw it as the overcoming of the Jewish law in the name of a more universal love. The latter aspect involved a controversial trend against Judaism that became dominant in certain times. During the Enlightenment, when voices for the emancipation of Jews drew public attention, concepts like universality, freedom and rationality played an important role in the confrontation between Christianity and Judaism. Prominent scholars in exegetic studies (e.g. J. D. Michaelis, J. S. Semler) and rationalistic thinkers (H. S. Reimarus) were critical against Judaism. They partly influenced Lessing and Kant, but also Feuerbach in his main workThe Essence of Christianity, where Jews are judged as lacking a basic disposition towards science, culture and nature. After-wards Feuerbach corrected his own point of view and re-evaluated in his Theogony the Jewish Bible as a source of lyrical feelings, sense of nature and humanity.