Luther as Arbiter between Strauss and Feuerbach

Written at the end of January 1842.

From: “Anekdota zur neuesten deutschen Philosophie und Publicistik”, Vol. II, 1843

Strauss and Feuerbach! Who of the two is right in the recently raised question of the concept of miracle? Strau[ss], who still regards the subject as a theologian, hence with bias, or F[euerbach], who regards it as a non-theologian, hence freely? Strau[ss], who sees things as they appear in the eyes of speculative theology, or F[euerbach], who sees them as they are?

Strau[ss], who can come to no decisive judgement on the miracle, still divines through the miracle a special power of the spirit distinct from the wish – as though the wish were not precisely this power of the spirit or man that he divines, as though, for example, the wish to be free were not the first act of freedom – or F[euerbach], who makes short work of it and says: the miracle is the realisation of a natural or human wish in a supranaturalistic way? Who of the two is right? Luther – a very good authority, an authority infinitely outweighing all Protestant dogmatics put together, because for him religion was immediate truth, as it were nature – let Luther decide.

Luther says, for example – for innumerable similar passages could be cited from him – on the raising of the dead in Luke 7:

“The works of our Lord Jesus Christ we should regard differently and more highly than the works of men, for for this reason they are also written down for us, so that from these works we may recognise what kind of Lord He is, namely such a Lord and God, who can help where otherwise no one is able to help, so that no man may have fallen so high or so low that He cannot help him, be the distress what it may.” “And what is impossible with our Lord God, that we should not boldly venture upon Him? For He created heaven and earth and all things out of nothing. Every year He still makes the trees full of cherries, plums, apples and pears, and needs nothing for it. It is impossible for the likes of us, when the snow lies in winter, to bring forth a single little cherry out of the snow. But God is the man who can set everything right, who can make alive that which is dead, and call into being that which is not, in short, no matter how deeply a thing may have fallen, it has not fallen too deep for our Lord God to lift it up and raise it. It is needful that we recognise such works in God and know that nothing is impossible for Him, so that when things go ill, we learn to be undaunted in the face of His omnipotence. Should the Turk come or some other misfortune, we may think that there is a helper and saviour there, who has a hand that is almighty and able to help. And that is the true, genuine faith.” “In God we should be bold and not despair. For what I and other men cannot and are not able to do, that He can and is able to do. If I and other people more cannot help, then He can help me and also deliver me from death, as the 68th Psalm says: We have a God who helps, and the Lord Lord who delivers from death. So may our heart always be bold and confident and hold fast to God. And those are hearts that serve God aright and love Him, namely those that are undaunted and unafraid.” “In God and His Son Jesus Christ we should be bold. For what we cannot do, He can; what we do not have, He has. If we cannot help ourselves, then He can help and is very glad and willing to do so, as we see here.” (Luther’s Works, Leipzig, 1732, Part XVI, pp. 442–45.)

In these few words you have an apology for the whole of Feuerbach’s work – an apology for the definitions of providence, omnipotence, creation, miracle, faith, as they are given in that work. O shame on you, you Christians, you noble and common, learned and unlearned Christians, shame on you that an Antichrist had to show you the essence of Christianity in its true, unveiled form! And to you, speculative theologians and philosophers, I advise: free yourselves from the concepts and prejudices of the speculative philosophy that has been current, if you really want to get to things as they are, i.e., to the truth. And there is no other way for you to truth and freedom than through Feuerbach. Feuerbach is the purgatory of the present.

Not a Berliner.