Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

§4.2 The Flight from Dogma
Christ had already been identified in relation to the beginning and end events of
Jesus' life; the step Strauss took was to extend this theory of myth to the whole of
Jesus' life. 33 Some of the Gospel accounts he designated as historical myths,
mythical elements having entwined themselves round a historical event. Jesus'
baptism was a good illustration, the historical event of Jesus' baptism having
been elaborated by the account of the heavens opening, the heavenly voice and
the Spirit descending as a dove. Others he regarded as pure myths, with no correspondence
in historical fact. For example, the account of Jesus' transfiguration
developed from the idea that Jesus was a new Moses. 34 Behind them all was the
idea of Jesus, Jesus perceived by his disciples as Messiah and as therefore fulfilling
the expectations for the Messiah then current, albeit modified by the impression
left upon the disciples by Jesus' personal character, actions, and fate. In
Strauss, however, this idea is transposed into the ideal of God-manhood which
transcends the particularity of Christ. It was that ideal which really mattered for
Strauss; the historical figure as such was no longer of importance. 35
The brevity of such an account can never even begin to do justice to the
amazingly detailed critique of each of the Gospel narratives which Strauss accomplished.
His work needs to be savoured for itself. As Schweitzer observed,
those who think that Strauss can be easily dismissed simply demonstrate that
they have never read him with care. 36 Because he proved such a controversial figure,
37 his significance is hard to measure adequately. But three points should be
noted in particular. (1) Strauss was the first in the hermeneutical debate regarding
the Jesus of history to stress the importance of recognizing the intention of the
text (to narrate a miracle) before any attempt to inquire into the event behind the
text — even if he in turn attempted to inquire behind the evident intention to a
deeper rationale. It should not escape notice that Strauss's mythical interpretation
of the Gospel texts was the Enlightenment equivalent of the patristic and
mediaeval resort to other than literal interpretations in order, inter alia, to resolve
the inconsistencies on the surface level of the text. (2) Strauss's work heightened
33. Strauss, Life 65.
34. Strauss, Life 86-87, 242-46 (baptism), 540-46 (transfiguration).
35. Strauss, Life 780-81. Karl Barth credited Strauss with the distinction of being 'the
first to bring to the notice of theology ... the problem of God's revelation in history' {From
Rousseau to Ritschl [London: SCM, 1959] 363, also 388).
36. 'If these [rationalist explanations of Jesus' miracles] continue to haunt present-day
theology, it is only as ghosts, which can be put to flight by simply pronouncing the name of David
Friedrich Strauss, and which would long ago have ceased to walk if the theologians who regard
Strauss's book as obsolete would only take the trouble to read it' (Schweitzer, Quest 1 84 =
Quest 80). Baird classifies Strauss's Life as 'the most revolutionary religious document written
since Luther's Ninety-Five Theses' (History 246).
37. On a plaque in the Tübingen Stift Strauss is commemorated as 'Ärgernis und
Anstoss für Theologie und Kirche'.
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