Christianity Unveiled: An Examination of the Principles and Effects of the Christian Religion

by Paul-Henri Thiry d'Holbach

Contents: Of the necessity of an inquiry respecting religion Sketch of the history of the Jews Sketch of the history of the Christian religion Of the Christian mythology Of revelation Of the proofs of the Christian religion, miracles, prophecies and martyrs Of the mysteries of the Christian religion Mysteries and dogmas of Christianity Of the rites and mysterious ceremonies or theurgy of the Christians Of the inspired writings of the Christians Of Christian morality Of the Christian virtues Of the practice and duties of the Christian religion Of the political effects of the Christian religion Of the Christian church or priesthood Conclusion Baron D'Holbach was an 18th century French philosopher whose Systme de la Nature (The System of Nature) made the first blunt denial of any divine purpose or master plan in nature. "All religions are ancient monuments to superstitions, ignorance, ferocity; and modern religions are only ancient follies rejuvenated." This is a reprint of the 1819 edition.

Genres: Religion, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Atheism, History

108 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1761

About the author

Paul-Henri Thiry, Baron d'Holbach (born Paul Heinrich Dietrich), was a philosopher, encyclopedist, and prominent figure in the French Enlightenment well known for his atheism and voluminous writings against religion.

Reviews

[Никола Будић · Rating 5 out of 5]

Холбах је у XVIII веку задао леп ударац религиозном учењу. Међутим, његов атеизам је ограничен и недостатан. Основна његова слабост је субјективизам у објашњавању религије. Он је религију, њене изворе и настанак сместио у човека, у узнемирена збивања његовог заплашеног срца, у његову слабашну вољу, у његов неразвијени ум. Ту, у непознатим дубинама његове интиме, религија је рођена у знаку немоћи, страха и незнања. Ослобођење од религије стога, има за прву претпоставку просвећивање човека , уништење незнања и самим тим немоћи и страха од непознатог у природи.

Али не развитак људског духа, као што је мислио Холбах, него развитак људског друштва је онај одлучујући елеменат који ће допринети да она нестане из живота и да сване нови, светао дан. Поред замерке да религија ипак има дубље и чвршће објективне основе постојања, књига је одлична и просто зрачи необоривим аргументима.

Знање ће заувек сатрти чудовиште које је родио мрак људске душе и ума, оно ће раскинути окове којима је зло оковало човека!

[Onyango Makagutu · Rating 4 out of 5]

d'Holdbach spares no punches on his criticism of religion. His books are a must read

[Ryan Jung · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read many careful deconstructions of Christianity. This one is the best one.

[Gregory Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still relevant

I was watching a video on YouTube and the name Paul Henri Thiry Holbach was mentioned. I immediately jumped to Kindle to see if any of his works were available. I found several for free and this particular book was my first exposure to his thinking. Be forewarned that it is longer than the 40 pages as mentioned in the description. Nor be discouraged by the fact that this was written in the 1700's. Much of it is still sadly very relevant and the yoke of superstition still weighs heavily on the shoulders of humanity. At various points the author touches on now despotic leaders will form an alliance with religious sects in order to better manipulate their subjects, and the church becomes very complicit in the subsequent tyranny. Doesn't this all have a very familiar ring to it. Nothing of any great significance has changed. Reason has made some progress but the fetters of religion hold humanity hostage. Given the period of time this was published in surprise that the author was not stoned to death for expressing views which contradicting the church. Although, he did publish the book under an assumed name, aware that these ideas were going to spark hostility. I will certainly be reading more of his work. The writing is very simple and straightforward and not weighed in the language of the period. It's a good companion piece to Age of Reason by Thomas Paine.

[Christian Baeza · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a so-called materialistic thinker, it’s actually a rather idealistic critique. I found it entertaining, though. It’s easy to read and presents an interesting view of some contradictions within Christianity.