8-2-38

?
a

7
8

INTRODUCTION

TO THE PRESENT EDITION,

BY PROFESSOR OTTO PFLEIDERER, D.D.

The Life of Jesus (Leben Jesu) by David Friedrich Strauss, published in 1835, marked an epoch in the history of theology. On one hand, this book represents the crisis in theologyUnderlined in ink by reader where the doubts and critical objections of centuries regarding the credibility of Biblical narratives had accumulated in such overwhelming volume that they broke through and swept away all the defenses of orthodox apologetics. | [Handwritten vertical line marking the next sentence] On the other hand, the very completeness of this destructive criticism of past tradition contained the seeds of a new science of constructive critical inquiry, the purpose of which was to bring to light the historical truth. It is true that the Life of Jesus of 1835 was far from perfect by modern standards of scientific criticism, and Biblical science has long since advanced beyond it. Nevertheless, it is undisputed that it ranks among the standard works secure of a permanent place in literature, because it gives final expression to the spirit of its age and represents one of its characteristic tendencies. The liberating and purifying influence that such works exert ✓