The Life of Jesus Critically Examined by David Friedrich Strauss (PDF)

Description

The author of this book, David Friedrich Strauss, was a German liberal Protestant theologian and writer, who influenced Christian Europe with his portrayal of the “historical Jesus”, whose divine nature he denied. His writing, as published here, reflects his belief, as he seeks to examine the life of Jesus Christ from the lens of history instead of through the Christian doctrine.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐02/07/2014 Publication Date Kindle Edition, $0.99 at the time. Intriguing read comparing the four gospel stories to determine which, if any, is historically accurate. This kindle edition appears to be a “photocopy” of the text. Most shows up as legible text, but there are many words that don’t “translate” well, particularly what I assume are Latin and Greek quotes, plus some German references, that make it difficult to read. Also, footnotes appear on the page as in a book, so text and footnotes merge. All in all, this was a challenging read, both from an editing point of view and conceptual point of view, but well worth the struggle.

⭐I ordered this book because George Eliot translated it and I have been a fan of hers for a long time. The book is shocking in that it is a very long, very involved work – over 700 pages in small print. The author is very detailed in his research and leaves no stone unturned in his desire to ferret out the truth of his subject. As the title suggests, this is a critical work and would not suit traditional thinkers who would be wise never to open it. For those who want to read about someone who tried to find truth in the pages of the gospels – truth as a scientist might seek, this book offers much to ponder. I have not finished it, of course, as it will take many months to read the entire work. I am not daunted by that since I am retired and have plenty of time. I recommend this to any scholar to read though much has been discovered since his writing. It will be a good addition to an abundance of books on the same subject written now. When I did get to the last pages of this book, I found that the summation of it was missing – a great disappointment. Still I would recommend it to those interested in it, just don’t expect a conclusion.

⭐This is indeed a most interesting book, as a critical method of bible study is employed, but not at the entry or moderate level. The level used is the steroid level. That is all well and good as it forces the reader to open their minds and set aside the Fundamentalist/King James Only approach to understanding scripture. There are many ways to study/understand the bible and I respect them all including the one just mentioned. Nevertheless, I do have one big concern with this book. The table of contents goes to # 152 “Relation of the critical and speculative theology of the church.” My book ends with # 90 ” The narratives of the women taken in adultery, and of Mary and Martha.” Where are # 91 to # 152? This is the reason for three stars instead of four or five.

⭐This review pertains only to the paperback edition of the book produced as what is labelled a “High Quality Paperback.” It has nothing to say about the content of the book. I was very disappointed in the quality of this edition. It looks like a photocopy of a previous edition. The edition copied is not clean, but has a lot of markings and underlining in the text. Plus the text itself is quite small and not always easy to read. It is printed so close to the edge that it is sometimes difficult to see the inside edge of the text.When one opens the book, one is startled to see that there is no page indicating the publisher, date or who the translator is. There is no ISBN. Then, when I looked at the end of the book, I discovered that the last page of text was not in fact the end of the book! Something was missing. I went to a local college library and found out that there was one whole page of text missing. Plus there are several pages of annotations to the text and a section of bibliographies. All of this is missing, too.In short, this edition is very cheap and suitable only for the casual reader who cares nothing about the quality of the book. I will think long and hard before I purchase another book from this publisher.

⭐This book was the most explosive entry into the 19th Century Historical Jesus Parade. I don’t have time to write this right now; but if you’re nonbelieving, believing, or, just curious, you will find the scholarship of David Strauss matchless. Matchless. You can not be unacquainted with the documents or you will be lost I assure you. Greek certainly helps; but you can steer through this masterpiece without. I haven’t been in seminary for 31 years; but if this copy was in the theological library; out of print; I’d snatch a copy off the shelve and run. Some things are worth a night in jail; this book is one of them. Strauss knocks all the pins down throughout every page. Because of when Strauss wrote this volume, he did not have a big supporting cast; and, what a tribute to one man. He’s a scholar along the order of Erasmus in his day.

⭐The Gospels were written by humans who were not eyewitnesses of the life of Jesus. There are too many contradictions to think otherwise. Strauss’ book makes this obvious. Stories told differently with contradictory information – page after page of this. He showed how those with fundamentalists’ views have tried to harmonize and justify the problems but they fail utterly. I liked the book, though the English translation is very dated and wordy. A convincing book!

⭐Originally published in German in 1835-36. This edition has a preference in Latin by Strauss dated 1846, and seems to be a translation of the 4th German edition (1840). Exhaustively examines points of coincidence and divergence among the four evangelists, pointing out similarities and differences, and critically evaluating the probable historic or mythic basis of each. Very intelligently done. Highly readable despite having been written 170 years ago. Has a modern feel to it.This is a facsimile reproduction of a book printed in the 1850s or thereabout. Some handwritten margin notes and underscores marr the text, but only slightly.

⭐I was a little disappointed as I found this very difficult to read owing to the style of language that this was written in (early nineteenth century)I thought being a translation by George Eliot may have helped,but not so.

⭐A pivotal piece of scholarship faithfully reproduced at an affordable price.Would be even better if the text references were hyperlinked to King James Bible.

⭐There is nothing in the market of close to equal qualityI has 10,000 books and a amiture biblical scholarI lost my original copy and find it a most have for examination of biblical text

⭐”The Life of Jesus” is a major work on the critique of Christianity – and was highly influential in radical European circles in the mid-19th century. The author, David Strauss, seeks to subject the historical life of Jesus to a sustained critical evaluation – with the purpose of rejecting any possible ‘divine’ attributes or nature. This book, a comprehensive analysis of the Biblical portrayal of Christ’s life, is well-written, clearly argued, and presents a reasoned approach – highly logical in form – to its subject. Fortunately, Strauss’ arguments are not affected by his familiarity with (and liking for) the Hegelian dialectic – which, although analytically insightful, tends to result in needless abstraction and unnecessary complexity. Yet the style adopted by Strauss is nonetheless rather dated – when judged by contemporary fashions – and this may deter some readers. However, I encourage anyone genuinely interested in the historical Jesus to read this monumental work.Strauss does not set out to question whether Jesus existed – but, instead, he embarks upon a critique of the miracles ascribed to Jesus, arguing that these were mythical additions fabricated by the authors of the New Testament, having no basis in actual fact. For Strauss, the miraculous elements of the gospels were mere ‘mythical’ in character. This conclusion is arrived at by way of a detailed exploration of the Bible – treating it as a single textual source, as a self-coherent body of writing. Looking at the Bible in this manner, it’s rather straightforward to identify many contradictions – e.g. the genealogy of Jesus is vastly different in different gospels. By eliminating the contradictions, we start to arrive at a better understanding of reality. Furthermore, by drawing on known historical facts – of events and persons – it’s possible to identify erroneous aspects of the Bible (such as the census that is said to have taken place at the time of Jesus’ birth). Ultimately, with all the fabricated elements of the Bible removed, what we’re left with is a more accurate depiction of historical truth – and the miracle stories form no part of this truth. Instead they were simply ‘additions’ made by the early church to present Jesus as the Messiah. Thus Strauss rejected both the supernaturalist approach (that Jesus was a miracle worker) and the rationalist approach (that the miracles were primitive misinterpretations of non-supernatural occurrences).It’s a shame that Strauss is today typically relegated to little more than a footnote in Biblical criticism. I tend to think that this has more to do with the way his arguments are so clearly reasoned and straightforward that they are actually conclusive – and negate the need for further inquiry. Academics prefer to ceaselessly debate and discuss topics … Strauss offers answers – but not everyone desires to hear.Note – I paid £12 for this book. I recommend looking around for the most reasonably priced seller.

⭐every vicar in this country should be compelled to read this book.

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