The quest of the historical Jesus : $b a critical study of its progress from Reimarus to WredeSchweitzer, Albert
Religion
The quest of the historical Jesus : $b a critical study of its progress from Reimarus to Wrede
Schweitzer, Albert
Jesus Christ -- Biography -- History and criticism; Jesus Christ -- Historicity
For a moment it seemed as though his rehabilitation would be accomplished.
In January 1839 the noble‐minded Hitzig succeeded in getting him appointed
to the vacant chair of dogmatics in Zurich. But the orthodox and pietist
parties protested so vehemently that the Government was obliged to revoke
the appointment. Strauss was pensioned off, without ever entering on his
office.
About that time his mother died. In 1841 he lost his father. When the
estate came to be settled up, it was found that his affairs were in a less
unsatisfactory condition than had been feared. Strauss was secure against
want. The success of his second great work, his “Christian Theology”
(published in 1840‐41), compensated him for his disappointment at Zurich.
In conception it is perhaps even greater than the Life of Jesus; and in
depth of thought it is to be classed with the most important contributions
to theology. In spite of that it never attracted so much attention as the
earlier work. Strauss continued to be known as the author of the Life of
Jesus. Any further ground of offence which he might give was regarded as
quite subsidiary.
And the book contains matter for offence in no common degree. The point to
which Strauss applies his criticism is the way in which the Christian
theology which grew out of the ideas of the ancient world has been brought
into harmony with the Christianity of rationalism and of speculative
philosophy. Either, to use his own expression, both are so finely
pulverised in the process—as in the case of Schleiermacher’s combination
of Spinozism with Christianity—that it needs a sharp eye to rediscover the
elements of the mixture; or the two are shaken together like water and
oil, in which case the semblance of combination is only maintained so long
as the shaking continues. For this crude procedure he desires to
substitute a better method, based upon a preliminary historical criticism
of dogma, in order that thought may no longer have to deal with the
present form of Church theology, but with the ideas which worked as living
forces in its formation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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