Foundations of Christianity (German: Der Ursprung des Christentums) is a 1908 book by Marxist theoretician Karl Kautsky. In it, he attempts to explain the origins of Christianity, and claims that it can be explained by historical materialism rather than divinity. Karl Kautsky (October 18, 1854 - October 17, 1938) was a leading theoretician of social democracy. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1953 calendar). ... A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) book is bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with cloth or heavy paper) and a stitched spine. ... Paperback may refer to a kind of book binding by which papers are simply folded without cloth or leather and bound - usually with glue rather than stitches or staples - into a thick paper cover; or to a book with this type of binding. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... Karl Kautsky (October 18, 1854 - October 17, 1938) was a leading theoretician of social democracy. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on Jesus of Nazareth, and on his life and teachings as presented in the New Testament. ... Historical materialism is the methodological approach to the study of society, economics and history which was first articulated by Karl Marx (1818-1883), although Marx himself never used the term. ... Divinity has a number of related uses in the field of religious belief and study. ...

The German text was translated into English by Henry F. Mins, and published by Russell and Russell in 1953. 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1953 calendar). ...

Summary

In his foreword, Kautsky expressed his hope that the book would be 'a powerful weapon in the struggles of the present, in order to hasten the attainment of a better future'. He began his analysis by looking for evidence that 'the person of Jesus' existed at all, using pagan and Christian sources. The next dozen chapters are then taken up with a materialist description of the ancient Roman society from which early Christianity sprang. Kautsky then went on to describe the history of the Jewish people, up to the point where Christianity began. Pagan may refer to: A believer in Paganism or Neopaganism Bagan, a city in Myanmar also known as Pagan Pagan (album), the 6th album by Celtic metal band Cruachan Pagan Island, of the Northern Mariana Islands Pagan Lorn, a metal band from Luxembourg, Europe (1994-1998) Pagans Mind, is... This article primarily focuses on the general concepts of matter and existence. ... History - Ancient history - Ancient Rome This is a List of Ancient Rome-related topics, that aims to include aspects of both the Ancient Roman Republic and Roman Empire. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination...

Having set the scene, Kautsky described with the beginnings of Christianity. The next five sections are called 'The Primitive Christian Community', 'The Christian Idea of the Messiah', 'Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians', 'The History of Christ’s Passion' and 'The Development of the Christian Community'. In Judaism, the Messiah (מָשִׁיחַ Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew , Aramaic ) initially meant any person who was anointed by a prophet of God. ... The word Gentile from the Latin gentilis, can either be a translation of the Hebrew Goy/גוי or of the Hebrew word Nochri/נכרי. In the most common modern use it refers to the former being derived from the Latin term gens (meaning clan or a group of families) and it is... The Passion is the technical term for the suffering and Agony of Jesus that led directly to the Crucifixion, a central Christian event. ...

Kautsky contended that Christianity was born out of a group of Jewish proletarians in a decaying Roman empire, who sought to defeat the Romans through a violent insurrection. The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination... The proletariat (from Latin proles, offspring) is a term used to identify a lower social class; a member of such a class is called a proletarian. ... The Roman Empire was a phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by an autocratic form of government. ...

Quotes

~ One who takes the standpoint of the materialist conception of history can look at the past with the most complete impartiality, even though he takes the most active part in the practical struggles of the present. His practical action can only make his view keener into many phenomena of the past; it can no longer becloud it. (Foreword) This article primarily focuses on the general concepts of matter and existence. ...

~ The factual core of the early Christian reports about Jesus is at best no more than what Tacitus tells us: that in the days of Tiberius a prophet was executed, from whom the sect of Christians took their inspiration. As to what this prophet taught and did, we are not yet able, even today, to say anything definite. (The Dispute over the Concept of Jesus) Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius (or: Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c. ... Tiberius Caesar Augustus, born Tiberius Claudius Nero (November 16, 42 BC – March 16 AD 37), was the second Roman Emperor, from the death of Augustus in AD 14 until his own death in 37. ...

~ More and more men felt the need of a doctrine that would assert the immortality of the individual, not as an unessential shadow but as a blissful being. Soon bliss was no longer sought in earthly pleasure, not even in earthly virtue, but in the attainment of a better world beyond, for which this wretched life is but a preparation. This conception found strong support in Plato’s doctrine, and that was the way in which the Stoic school too developed. (Thought and Sentiment in the Age of the Roman Empire) For other uses, see Plato (disambiguation). ... Stoicism is a school of philosophy commonly associated with such Greek philosophers as Zeno of Citium, Cleanthes, or Chrysippus and with such later Romans as Cicero, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus. ...

~ This national life now took on a peculiar coloration, corresponding to the peculiar position of these city Jews. Though the Israelites had not differed markedly from the other peoples around them, what was left of it, what still continued a specific national life, now became a people unique of its kind. It is not only after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, but already at the destruction by Nebuchadnezzar that the abnormal situation of the Jews begins, a situation which makes them a phenomenon unique in history. (The First Destruction of Jerusalem) Nebuchadnezzar was the name of several kings of Babylonia. ...

~ Although Jesus usually appears as gentle and submissive, occasionally he says something of a quite different nature which suggests that whether he really existed or is only an imaginary, ideal figure, he lived as a rebel in the original tradition, one who was crucified for his unsuccessful uprising. (Jesus as a Rebel)

External link

• link to transcript