QUEST OF THE HISTORICAL JESUS

LATEST REVOLUTION IN THEOLOGY.

A NOTABLE BOOK.

It is now twenty five years since Wellhausen was translated into English. That translation made a greater revolution in the theological thinking of English students than any work since the "Tracts for the Times" in 1833 For the last twenty five years all our theological thought and study his been "in the wake of Wellhausen." Now a new star has arisen, a new revolution is threatening. This star is Dr Albert Schweitzer, who was in 1906 a privat docent at Strassburg, who published in that year his epoch making book called "Von Reimarus zu Wrede," and this, has been now translated into English under the title, 'The Quest of the Historical Jesus." Of course R. J. Campbell made more splash in the surface mind of the populace with his "New Theology," as did also Father Tyrrell with his " Modernism." But these commotions like that one made by "Essays and Reviews," were not of the source and centre, they were merely storms on the surface. The true disturbance is the current underneath, which suddenly arises from the thought of some creative mind, for this kind of disturbance grows, and spreads until it becomes a revolution. Such was the influence of Newman seventy years ago, of Wellhausen twenty-five years ago, and probably of Schweitzer to-day. Schweitzer's book, so we are told in the reviews from London is the storm centre at present of Christian apologetics, and it is said to be "the most remarkable theological work that has been produced in Germany within recent years" At the same time we are told that Schweitzer has not raised the same storm in Germany that he has done in England, and that German theologians are somewhat astonished at the upheaval in English thought.

English readers were not quite unprepared for this new thinker. All who had been reading Tyrrell were struck by the marked difference between his "Scylla and Charybdis"—the book in which he expounded his modernism—and his later work on "Christianity at the Cross Roads." It was difficult to think that these two works were by the same man. But the truth was that Tyrrell, whose was a most plastic and imaginative nature had fallen in the meantime under the influence of Schweitzer and Schweitzer's book had shunted him on to another set of rails altogether. His "Modernist" thinking which he had evolved partly under the influence of Newman and partly under that of Loisy, Sabatier and their school seemed to be laid on one side, and this new problem, the one opened up in Schweitzer's book, dominated his mind. Then besides Tyrrell we had the even more striking case of Sanday. Sanday is one of the sanest thinkers, soundest scholars and most delightful writers among English theologians. Yet Schweitzer his become a kind of obsession in Sanday's mind. In his "Life of Christ in Recent Research'—a work whose charm and interest and scholarship everyone will admit—he tells us that more than one third of the whole book is based on Schweitzers lectures and the reader thinks that this is not an exaggerated estimate. Now a new thinker who could sway Tyrrell to his will and who could engross the interest of such a man as Sanday may well be described as the "storm centre" of our Christian apologetics at the present day. These facts about Tyrrell and Sanday serve to advertise Schweitzer's lectures among English people, and give his book a kind of adventitious interest. But the chief interest is an intrinsic one—it lies in the book itself, and in its problem. The book itself is a review of German theology for the last hundred and fifty years, in so far as it has centred round just one problem, and that problem is, "What is the true meaning of the title 'Son of Man,' as applied to Jesus of Nazareth?'' Or we may put it more simply thus "What is the real meaning of the life of Jesus?"

It will be seen that Schweitzer's method is historical. He reviews and summarises the work of his predecessors. But he so tells the history of German thought as to make it all lead up to one triumphant conclusion, viz., the conclusion which is his, Schweitzer's, position. He is not a judge, therefore, so much is he is a barrister speaking to a brief. He has his own views, which are firmly and clearly held, and with brilliant ability he so arranges his evidence so summarises German thought and so analyses the gospels as to make the result come out according to his desire. Now, to the English student, German theology generally seems to be rather a futile thing. German theologians seem to live by taking in each other's washing or—to change the figure—by cutting off each other's heads. Each brilliant new privat docent, or budding professor, advertises his skill by removing all his neighbours and predecessor's landmarks and by putting up a new set of his own, but before he is middle-aged all his work is frankly destroyed by the next comer. Each one is a member of that gruesome pedigree—"the priest who slew the slayer, and shall himself be slain." Yet, although that is all quite true, there is a definite trend and progress and movement in German theology; there is a kind of cumulative pressure in a certain direction. Schweitzer maintains that this direction is towards the goal where he stands for so he interprets the history of the movement. This goal he states in most drastic words and quite unashamed. "There is nothing more negative than the result of the critical study of the life of Jesus. The Jesus of Nazareth who came forth publicly as the Messiah, who preached the ethic of the kingdom of God, who founded the Kingdom of Heaven upon earth and died to give His work His final consecration, never had any existence. He is a figure designed by rationalism, endowed with life by liberalism, and clothed by modern theology in a historic garb. The historic Jesus will be to our time a stranger and an enigma. . . It is a good thing that the true historical Jesus should overthrow the modern Jesus, should rise up against the modern spirit, and send upon earth not peace, but a sword."

That last quotation will convey to the reader some idea of the warfulness of Dr. Schweitzer's spirit. Although he claims that the trend of German theology is towards his position, he lays about him like a swashbuckler in the midst of the present day teachers. Modernism, rationalism, liberalism, are all anathema to him. His particular brand of negative criticism is just as much opposed to these things as it is to the old dogmatic orthodoxy of the church. In fact, for one short fallacious moment the church might even dream that this new protagonist was on its side, but the awakening would be rude. But let us look first at the more peaceful part of the book, and we can take the stress of battle later on. German theology, then, for the last century and a half divides into three periods; each period up a definite stage in growth, and each stage in growth had as nucleus one problem and one solution. The first stage ended with Strauss. Its nucleus was the question as to whether the life of Jesus was to be looked on as purely historic or purely supernatural. The solution was that the life was purely historic. And the consequence of that solution was that in future all supernatural elements in the records of the Gospels— whether miraculous or inspirational—were to be dropped out or explained away. The only comment the English student has to make is that he does not see where the "purelyness" comes in. He does not see why the life of the Son of Man should not have been both historic and supernatural. Then the next stage in German theology covers the period from Strauss to Holtzmann. The nucleus question here was whether the life of Jesus was to be taken from the synoptists or from the fourth Gospel. The answer was that the synoptists alone were to be trusted, and in consequence that S. John was to be dropped out of the discussion. Again the English student fails quite to grasp the "purelyness" of the alternative. He cannot see the opposition between the last Gospel and the others. He cannot understand why all should not be taken into account. But German theology so far is of pretty much one mind.

Now however we come to the stress of the battle for we come to the divergent schools of the present day ; and amid these schools Schweitzer stands, blessing one and one only, anathematising the rest. This third stage then centres round the question —Was the Son of Man an ethical or a Messianic figure? We shall put the alternatives more fully. The liberal rationalist alternative—that defended by such men as Harnack and Wernle — was this; Jesus of Nazareth was a gentle, beautiful, human personality, He founded a society and gave forth a wonderful ethical teaching. That teaching and that society are to leaven all human history. At last all mankind, in their industrial and social and political life, as well as in their private character, will show the touch of the spirit of Jesus. Then the Messianic alternative—that put forth by Wrede, but most of all by Schweitzer himself—is this: The Son of Man was a mysterious and an imperious figure. He cared nothing about human life or history, about ethics or a gradual leaven, or a new society or a new effect. He came to announce the coming of the Kingdom of God. First, there would be great tribulations, perhaps involving His own death. But whether He died or not in a short time the heavens would be rolled up as a garment, all human history would come to an end, and the mysterious new age would begin. Men had only to repent and passively await the awful event. There are two courses open. Schweitzer demolishes his enemies and at present reigns supreme. But again the English comment is —" Why such drastic alternatives? Why such rigour and vigour in your hypotheses?" There is a double vein running through Old Testament prophecy, a preaching of righteousness and a Messianic hope. Why should there not be a similar double vein through gospel and epistle? Schweitzer may be doing good work in showing up the partialness of Harnack and Wernle; but that only makes us expect the man who is to undo Schweitzer. In the meantime there is a great storm out at sea.

 The Argus 10 September 1910,