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Books Biographies of Jesus Jesus becomes a sort of gentle dreamer who Books wanders through Galilee entranced by the goodness of life, gathering a band of fol- Biographies of Jesus lowers. Increasingly influenced by the apocalyptic views of John the Baptist, he becomes filled with revolutionary zeal. This leads to his crucifixion, which was brought about both by the cruelty of evil men and Vern L. Bullough by Jesus' own inflated dreams of his mission. The Lives of Jesus: A History and Bibli- Following Renan there were a number ography, by Warren S. Kissinger (New York: of "liberal" accounts of the life of Jesus, Garland, 1985), 210 pp., $39.00, cloth. more or less in the same vein. One difference, however, was the way the nationality of par- hat sort of person was Jesus? The sion failed, his disciples removed his body ticular writers led them (all were men) to Wattempts to answer this question have from the grave and made up a story about convey their messages in different ways. resulted in numerous biographies, and the his appearing to them. Reimarus's study was Generally, the German critics came closest results have varied according to the biogra- published posthumously (between 1774 and to pure scholarship and were often the most pher. Jesus has been depicted as a super- 1778) and created a sensation, since by strip- difficult to read. The French writers after salesman (by Bruce Barton), as husband and ping Jesus of his metaphysical and dogmatic Renan were more impressionistic and less sexual person (by William Phipps), and as a characterizations and by visualizing him only scholarly, while the British tried to turn revolutionary (by numerous authors). War- as a prophet and moral teacher, Reimarus scholarship into public literature. Inevitably ren S. Kissinger has compiled a listing of began the quest for the historical Jesus. Both there was a reaction. Martin Kähler, for approximately two thousand biographies, orthodox and rationalist investigators now exampled argued that thest biographies of distinguishing these accounts from Christo- had to look at the Bible differently. Jesus were merely examples of human crea- logical works and special episodes recounted Even more controversial than Reimarus tivity and were on a part with some of the in the New Testament such as miracles, the was David Friedrich Strauss, whose Life of excesses associated with dogmatic Christian- passion, the baptism, and teachings. He has Jesus was published in 1835. Unfortunately ity. In his own study, Kähler stated that the also written a lengthy introduction, since his for him, Strauss published his study while portrayals of Jesus by most of his prede- collection ranges from studies by scholars still a professor at Tübingen, and he lost his cessors were "far removed from the real to stories aimed at juveniles from books by academic post, a fact that has served as a Christ." Albert Schweitzer joined the fray dedicated believers to those who regard damper on many a would-be investigator of with his own study; in which he held that Christianity as a superstition. the life of Jesus. Strauss rejected the ration- Jesus was an ancient apocalyptist and not a Perhaps surprisingly, the notion of Jesus alist and supernatural interpretations of modern social reformer. In his mind the as a person did not receive much attention Jesus and proposed a new mode, the myth- historical Jesus remained unknown and in the first fifteen hundred years of Christian ical. In his mind the Gospels could not be could only be understood by contact with scholarship and teaching. Instead, the early regarded as authentic history but only as per- his spirit; in short, by faith and not through church fathers were concerned with what ceptions of truth: myths expressed in story- the study of history. has been called "harmonies," i.e., harmoniz- like form. Strauss held that there were two This, however, did not end the discus- ing the descriptions of Jesus in the four gradations of myths about Jesus. The first sion. A number of writers, Arthur Drews Gospels. In the Middle Ages the most popu- was evangelical, which was not so much an and William Benjamin Smith among them, lar works of Jesus literature were Medita- expression of fact as a product of an idea of argued that the cult of Jesus was a relic of tions on the life of Jesus, devotional guides Jesus' earlier followers. Examples of this superstition that needed to be purged from for the faithful based upon the gospel por- were the transfiguration and the rending of religion. Adolf Harnack took a different traits. the veil of the temple. The second type of tack. He held that, though the Gospels were The first person to be concerned enough myth was historical, based on an actual insufficient as a source for a biography of with the historical character of Jesus to individual but reflecting religious enthusiasm Jesus, they nonetheless offered a true picture mount a massive investigation was Hermann and surrounded by myths drawn from of his teaching, recounting how his life was Samuel Reimarus, an eighteenth-century Christological ideas. Behind these two forms in the service of his vocation and describing theologian and philosopher. Reimarus held of myth lay the real Jesus, but Strauss's the impression he made on his disciples. For that Jesus' message had a dual emphasis: judgment as to which occurrences were him, as for Schweitzer, the message of Jesus (I) the necessity of repentance, and (2) the historical and which mythical did not find was more important than the story of his proclamation of the Kingdom of God. He much agreement. life. also argued that Jesus always remained a Perhaps the most popular biography of James MacKinnon (1931) saw the Jew and had no intention of founding a Jesus was that by Ernest Renan, which first greatness and uniqueness of Jesus in his new religion. Instead, when Jesus' attempt appeared in 1863 in French. Although Renan spiritual and ethical life and regarded him to free his fellow Jews from political oppres- followed Strauss in denying miracles, he as the most compelling personality of all believed that the historian could recover suf- time. Maurice Goguel (1932) believed that ficient other material from the Gospels, par- by entering into the "psychology of those ticularly that of John, which he preferred who have been the actors in the story, by an Vern L. Bullough is dean of natural and over the synoptic ones (Matthew, Mark, and attempt to revive their state of mind through social sciences at the State University of Luke). Renan's account was written for a an effort of intelligent sympathy and under- New York College at Buffalo. popular rather than scholarly audience, and standing," the life of Jesus could have mean- it became a best-seller. In Renan's version, ing. For him, in fact, comprehending Jesus Spring 1986 55 came through understanding his thought and Christ. regard to Jesus. Our presuppositions will religious experiences, particularly during the Nonetheless, Bultmann's emphasis on become our conclusions, since historical various crises in his life. the discontinuity between history and scholarship cannot, because of its limita- German scholars after World War 1 put kerygma, between the earthly Jesus and the tions, validate the claims that both the forth something called "form criticism," "risen Lord," led to new attempts to under- kerygma and faith make for Jesus. which can be described as the study of the stand the historical Jesus, since, as James The best we can hope for is that some history of the oral tradition behind the M. Robinson states in an overview of the matters of faith might be clarified for those Gospels. Form critics viewed the Gospels as renewed quest for the historical Jesus, Bult- believers willing to listen to the scholars. compilations of older material and attempted mann enabled scholars to attempt to form a True believers, however, will not accept such to find the originals. Rudolf Bultmann was new concept both of history and of self. answers; they would argue that faith trans- influenced both by form critics and by exis- Robinson was also concerned with the cends history. Still, for those who want to tential theory. Existential historians see a meaning of events and, since the kerygma pursue the various interpretations of the life relationship between history and the histor- imparts meaning to an event, both history of Jesus, I can recommend Warren Kissin- ical existence of the historian. Thus Bult- and kerygma come together. If this is the ger's bibliography as a guide. There is a life- mann focused on a highly personal encoun- case, we can conclude that any new quest time of reading in it; and, although the ter with Jesus. His concern was not so much for the historical Jesus will not prove or dis- ability to read German and French would with the historical Jesus as with the teachings prove the kerygma, but rather only that the be helpful, there are enough works in English attributed to him—with the kerygma, the existential decision with regard to the to keep the reader occupied for ten or twenty apostolic preaching that Jesus was the kerygma is an existential decision with years. • who has been taken ill. Equipped with the An Insider's View of critical skills that every good philosopher has in his intellectual tool kit, Adrian easily Fundamentalism deflates the religion he knows so well and dislikes so completely. This makes him popular with some of the brighter students but gets him in trouble with the school's Max Hocutt pious administration and faculty. It also brings him into direct conflict with the With Faith and Fury, by Delos Banning Reverend Manly Plumwell, who McKown (Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus, 1985), secretly adores the comely young coed who 440 pp., $16.95, cloth.
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