German philosopher and radical theologian David Friedrich Strauss (1808-1874) distinguished himself as one of Europe's most controversial critics of the Bible and an intellectual martyr for freethought. In The Old Faith & the New (1872) he uses both 19th- century science and leading philosophers to reject God as the creator of the universe and humankind, the divinity of Christ, and the reality of miracles (the Old Faith), thus consigning religion to the domains of history, myth, and ethics. With Christianity's cosmology undermined, Strauss constructs a new view of the universe and humanity's...

The German theologian David Friedrich Strauss (1808 1874) published his highly controversial The Life of Jesus in three volumes between 1835 and 1836. This translation by George Eliot is based on the fourth German edition (1840). Strauss applied strict historical method to the gospel narratives and caused scandal across the Protestant world by concluding that all miraculous elements were mythical and ahistorical. Strauss introduces Volume 1 with a survey of 'de-mythology' in Western thought. He applies modern historical and scientific criticism to the annunciation and birth narratives; the...

The German theologian David Friedrich Strauss (1808 1874) first published his highly controversial The Life of Jesus in three volumes between 1835 and 1836. This translation, by George Eliot, is based on the fourth German edition (1840). In this work Strauss applied strict historical methods to the New Testament gospel narratives and caused scandal across the Protestant world by concluding that all miraculous elements in the life of Jesus were mythical and ahistorical. In volume 2 Strauss applies modern historical criticism to 'de-mythologize' the idea of Jesus as Messiah; the narratives...

The German theologian David Friedrich Strauss (1808 1874) published his highly controversial The Life of Jesus in three volumes between 1835 and 1836. This translation, by George Eliot, is based on the fourth German edition (1840). In this work Strauss applied strict historical method to the New Testament gospel narratives and caused scandal across the Protestant world by concluding that all miraculous elements were mythical and ahistorical. Volume 3 applies modern historical criticism to 'de-mythologize' the narratives of the transfiguration, Jesus' final journey into Jerusalem, the passion,...