NIETZSCHE’S THE ANTI CHRIST: A Critical Introduction and Guide

A critical introduction to and interpretation of one of Nietzsche’s last works

The Anti-Christ, although written in 1888, was not published until 1895. It is one of the most notorious, if not the most notorious, books by Nietzsche – and one of his most frequency misrepresented. The main cause for scandal has been its expression of a virulent anti-religious and specifically anti-Christian stance. But Nietzsche’s philologically informed approach to Scripture and his far more charitable interpretation of the figure of Jesus make a reconsideration of this work timely, not to say urgent.

Presupposing no prior knowledge of Nietzsche or the text, nor with Christian beliefs or doctrines, Paul Bishop carefully guides students through The Anti-Christ section by section. Bishop unpacks the difficulties that many readers face when dealing with Nietzsche’s rhetoric. And he contextualises the text within the wider contexts of Nietzsche’s thought as a whole and the broader currents of contemporary 19th and 20th century thought.