David Friedrich Strauß, Father Of Unbelief: An Intellectual Biography

Description

David Friedrich Strauss is a central figure in 19th century intellectual history. The first major source for the loss of faith in Christianity in Germany, his work Das Leben Jesu was the most scandalous publication in Germany during his time. His book was a critique of the claims to historical truth of the New Testament, which had been the mainstay of Protestantism since the Reformation. As the father of unbelief, his critique of Christianity preceded that of Nietzsche, Marx, Feuerbach, and Schopenhauer. His views imposed a harsh fate upon him - he was persecuted for his beliefs by religious and political authorities and was denied employment in the university and government, forcing him to live as a free-lance writer. He led a wandering and isolated life as an outcast. Here, Frederick C. Beiser studies the intellectual development of Strauss and recounts his fate, which began in faith as a young man but finally ended in unbelief. Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 2 Title - Complete......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 Preface......Page 10 Introduction......Page 12 1. Historical Significance of Das Leben Jesu......Page 17 2. Reputation and Reality......Page 25 3. Context and Background......Page 32 4. Tübingen Lectures......Page 51 5. Strauß’s Method and Its Problems......Page 65 6. The Theory of Myth......Page 77 7. Reaction, Demotion, and Exile......Page 84 8. The Rogue’s Gallery......Page 95 9. Crisis and Compromise......Page 125 10. The Zurich Affair......Page 143 11. The Doctrine of the Christian Faith......Page 158 12. Career in Politics and Political Writings......Page 191 13. Das Leben Jesu für das deutsche Volk......Page 224 14. Two Polemics of the 1860s......Page 249 15. The New and the Old Faith......Page 263 16. Three Critics......Page 281 Bibliography......Page 292 Index......Page 300