The Anti-Christian (The Antichrist)

"The Antichrist" is an attempt by Nietzsche to repudiate all religious and metaphysical dogma, ironically asserting metaphysical dogmas of his own, a reality on which Heidegger comments on extensively. Nietzsche's father was a Protestant pastor, and many of his family members were pastors (including his brother-in-law), so the image of Christianity he attacks here is clearly the Protestant one. Eastern Orthodoxy is not mentioned at all, and Catholicism is rarely mentioned. He writes in a letter to Peter Gast: "It occurred to me, dear friend, that the constant inner debate with Christianity in my book must be strange, even embarrassing to you; but it is the best piece of ideal life that I have really come to know; from childhood I have followed it into many corners, and I believe I have never been mean in my heart against it. Finally, I am the descendant of whole generations of Christian clergymen." "Der Antichrist' was written in 1888 but first published in 1895. This publication was part of the larger volume "The Will to Power," a collection of Nietzsche's unpublished writings that were assembled and edited by his sister, Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche, and published by C.G. Naumann in Leipzig. The text is one of Nietzsche's final works, and it delivers a critique of Christianity in a sharp and polemical style. This new 2024 translation of the original 1889 German manuscript includes a new afterword by the translator, a timeline of Nietzsche's life and works, an index with descriptions of his key concepts, and summaries of his complete works. This translation is designed to allow the armchair philosopher to engage deeply with Nietzsche's works without having to be a full-time Academic. The language is modern and clean, with simplified sentence structures and diction to make Nietzsche's complex language and arguments as accessible as possible. This modern critical reader's edition offers a clear and accessible translation of Nietzsche’s original manuscript, using contemporary language and streamlined sentence structures to make his complex ideas easier to engage with. Designed for both general readers and students of philosophy, the edition includes a range of supporting materials to provide context and deepen understanding. These include an afterword by the translator discussing the historical reception and intellectual legacy of the work, an index of key philosophical concepts with emphasis on Existentialism and Phenomenology, a chronological list of Nietzsche’s published works, and a detailed timeline of his life, highlighting the personal relationships that influenced his thinking.