Historical Criteria and Their Application in the Gospel Criticism of David Friedrich Strauss

Abstract

<p>The question which this thesis proposes to answer is: on what basis did David Friedrich Strauss, in his The Life of Jesus Critically Examined (1835-36), form his judgments on the non-historicity of traditions about Jesus?</p> <p>Part of the answer is available in Strauss's explicit criteria of non-historicity (e.g., irreconcilability of events with known and universal laws, internal inconsistency, coherence with existing ideas prevailing in the circles from which the narrative came, etc.). Part of it, however, lies in the influence on his gospel criticism of Strauss's ulterior convictions and purposes (e.g., his prior agreements with Hegel, his conception of myth, his practise of the dialectical method of criticism). This requires giving an account of both the formulation of the criteria for judgments of non-historicity and Strauss's actual practise of gospel criticism. The thesis is conceived as a preliminary study pertinent to the contemporary question of adequate criteria for historical-Jesus research.</p>