David Strauss
David Friedrich Strauss ( born January 27, 1808 in Ludwigsburg, † February 8, 1874 ) was a German writer, philosopher and theologian.
Life
David Friedrich Strauss visited in 1821 the lower Seminar ( = School ) in Blaubeuren and studied theology at the Protestant Foundation in 1825 to Tübingen. In 1830 he became vicar and 1831 Professoratsverweser the seminar to Maulbronn; but he was still half a year at the University of Berlin to listen to Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher. In 1832 he was Repetent at Tubingen and held at the same time philosophical lectures at the university.
At that time he attracted through his published writing 1835-1836 The Life of Jesus, Critically Examined an unprecedented sensation. Strauss turned there which established in the field of classical studies and an explanation of Old Testament and individual New Testament narratives used principle of myth also to the entire contents of the evangelical history at which he interpreted as a product of the sealing unconsciously according to the Old Testament Jewish Messiah image primitive Christian community spirit. The content Hermann Samuel Reimarus related font made yet for an unusual controversy. The responses formed their own literature, in which hardly a theological and philosophical meaning of name was missing. His responses appeared as pamphlets (1837 ). Should later Martin Kähler, then Bultmann establish, inter alia, on his distinction between the historical person of Jesus of Nazareth and the Christ of faith.
For Strauss himself his interpretation was once the consistent application of linkshegelianisch understood Hegel's philosophy. So the Son of God was not seen as an individual, but as the idea of humanity. In this critical determination Strauss moved then the traditional two natures. Jesus is the glory of his infinite mind -emptying and to its infinity reminiscent finite spirit. Under such condition bouquet was even the doctrine of Christ's supernatural birth, the resurrection and ascension and also the wonders can be regarded as " eternal truths."
On the basis of the evidence sources ostrich indeed renounced in whole, but opened the following just here a new field. For the Old Testament the critical historical Jesus research, especially by Julius Wellhausen was continued. Strauss' effect but is only understandable when one considers the hitherto dominant Lutheran orthodoxy, which ( as Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg ) any criticism of the gospel accounts as "fraud" or "mental illness " rejected - as it then Strauss himself should befall.
In the controversy over Strauss' thesis in The Life of Jesus of Hegelianism was divided into two camps, in the laws, regulations or Old Hegelians who stand against him, and sympathizing with him Left or Young Hegelians. Strauss, on the back, this distinction would have been attributable to the left, then in the atheistic teachings of Ludwig Feuerbach's materialism and Bruno Bauer " pure criticism" peaked. Finally, the criticism practiced Max Stirner in his book The Ego and Its Own (1845 ) on Bauer and Feuerbach led ( "Our atheists are pious people " ), to the fact that Karl Marx freely made of old ties and historical materialism conceived. In explicitely eclecticism, however, remained the rights that found the philosophy of Hegel to defend against the allegations of Orthodoxy in the context of the work of Strauss apologetic their employment therein. The central accusation of pantheism, however, was already done by Hegel himself (which was overlooked ).
Strauss himself, who was still in 1835 from his Repetentenstelle and was treated as Professoratsverweser to Ludwigsburg, but then soon moved to the private booth, removed in the course of his life ever further from Christianity. In Stuttgart emerged in 1839, the characteristics and reviews and the treatise On the ephemeral and enduring in Christianity. The marked appearing from a conciliatory mood 3rd edition of the life of Jesus (1838 ) in 1839 returned to the old radicalism. The reputation as a professor of dogmatic theology and church history at the University of Zurich aroused lively opposition such that Strauss had to be treated with 1000 francs pension to retire before taking up his place. As a result of the " Strauss trade " the Liberal government of Zurich was overthrown in Züriputsch of 1839.
His second major work The Christian Doctrine of the Faith, presented in its historical development and in the fight with modern science was published from 1840 to 1841 in two volumes. It contains a sharp criticism of the individual dogmas in the form of a historical discussion of their origin and resolution process. The crucial and much-quoted thesis Strauss' here is: " The true criticism of dogma is his story. "
On August 30, 1842 Strauss married the singer in Horkheim Agnese Schebest that he had met in 1836 in a guest appearance in Stuttgart. The turbulent marriage caused quite a stir. The couple adopted the common residence first in the former German Order's summer house in Sontheim, where rapidly a daughter was born in May 1843. The ratio of married couples, however, was shattered from the beginning; Strauss took therefore already in the autumn of 1843 a home of their own in the near Heilbronn; However, the relationship to Schebest took some years away; of marriage arose in 1845 even a son. Around the turn of the year 1846/47 under the said Strauss away because end Schebest return to the apartment Sontheimer, so the separation was carried out effectively. In the year 1848 that an agreement on the maintenance payments for the children of the marriage is also a legal end. In the same year Strauss also returned Heilbronn back. In its local time some small aesthetic and biographical articles in the yearbooks of the present and 1847, the small font The Romantic on the throne of the Caesars, or Julian were incurred by the renegade, an ironic parallel to the restoration of paganism by Julian and the restoration of the Protestant orthodoxy by King Frederick William IV of Prussia.
1848 Strauss was erected by his home town as a candidate for the German Parliament, subject, however. The speeches which he had partly held in various caucuses partly on this occasion before, appeared in the same year under the title Six theological- political people talk. When he was elected a deputy of the city of Ludwigsburg for the Württemberg Landtag, Strauss showed unexpectedly a conservative political stance that even a vote of no confidence of his constituents earned him, whereupon he was resigning from office in December 1848. His later, partly in Heidelberg, Munich and Darmstadt, partly in Heilbronn ( 1860 to 1864 he lived there in Bläß'schen Palais ) and Ludwigsburg spent leisure came from the distinguished by thoroughness of research and beautiful representation biographical work Schubart's life in his letters (1849 ), Christian Märklin, a life and character image from the present ( 1851), Life and Nicodemus Frischlin (1855 ) writings, Ulrich von Hutten (1858 ) (together with the translation of the talks in 1860 ); Herm. Samuel Reimarus (1862 ); Voltaire, six lectures (1870 ) further Kleine Schriften biographical and art historical literature of contents (1862 ), from which Klopstock youth history, etc. (1878 ) and the lecture Lessing's Nathan the Wise (1877 ) published separately.
A new, "for the people edited " edition of the life of Jesus (1864 ) was translated into several European languages . Part of hereupon renewed attacks against him dismissed Strauss in Scripture directed against leg and Hengstenberg The Half and the whole ( 1865) back. In this context, the Christ of faith and the Jesus of history, a critique of Schleiermacher's Life of Jesus appeared. In his 1872 published work The old and the new faith he had already represented one influenced by materialism monism. The question of whether "we" are still Christians, he answered openly with "No". One is directing to the law as understood by way of functioning universe religiosity saw ostrich, although not in itself, but considered it a legitimate alternative to the Christian faith in God. The book was, among others, by the young Friedrich Nietzsche in its first " anachronistic view " armed attack (see literature). Thus Strauss excited again shortly before his death on February 8, 1874 in Ludwigsburg stir. His collected writings were published shortly thereafter by Zeller in 11 volumes (Bonn 1876-1878 ). A twelfth band, Poetic memorial book then contained the poems of childhood friend of Edward Moerike. The thumbnails were published later.