The Quest of the Historical Jesus is a review of all prior work on the question of the "historical Jesus" starting with the late 18th century. The author points out how Jesus' image has changed with the times and with the personal proclivities of the various authors. He concludes with his own synopsis and interpretation of what had been learned over the course of the previous century. The author takes the position that the life and thinking of Jesus must be interpreted in the light of Jesus' own convictions, which he characterizes as those of "late Jewish eschatology", and that Jesus defies any attempt at understanding him by making parallels to the ways of thinking or feeling of modern men. In Schweitzer's view, Jesus genuinely believed that his ministry would bring about the end of history and did not see any prolonged period elapsing between his time on earth and God's final judgment.
Contents:
The Problem
Hermann Samuel Reimarus
The Lives Of Jesus Of The Earlier Rationalism
The Earliest Fictitious Lives Of Jesus
Fully Developed Rationalism—Paulus
The Last Phase Of Rationalism—Hase And Schleiermacher
David Friedrich Strauss—The Man And His Fate
Strauss's First "Life Of Jesus"
Strauss's Opponents And Supporters
The Marcan Hypothesis
Bruno Bauer. The First Sceptical Life Of Jesus
Further Imaginative Lives Of Jesus
Renan
The "Liberal" Lives Of Jesus
The Eschatological Question
The Struggle Against Eschatology
Questions Regarding The Aramaic Language, Rabbinic Parallels, And Buddhistic Influence
The Position Of The Subject At The Close Of The Nineteenth Century
Thoroughgoing Scepticism And Thoroughgoing Eschatology
Results
