David Friedrich Strauss

David Friedrich Strauss (German: Strauß; 27 January 1808 – 8 February 1874) was a German liberal Protestant theologian and writer who influenced Christian Europe with his portrayal of the "historical Jesus", whose divine nature he explored via myth.

Strauss argued that many Gospel narratives are myths, where "myth" means not mere falsity but the imaginative expression of religious truth; however, he rejected orthodox supernatural claims about Jesus and did not simply affirm Jesus' divine nature in the traditional doctrinal sense.

His work was connected to the Tübingen School, which revolutionized study of the New Testament, early Christianity, and ancient religions. Strauss was a pioneer in the historical investigation of Jesus.

Early life

He was born in Ludwigsburg, near Stuttgart. At age 12 he was sent to the evangelical seminary at Blaubeuren, near Ulm, to be prepared for the study of theology. Two of the principal masters in the school were Friedrich Heinrich Kern and Ferdinand Christian Baur, who instilled in their pupils a deep appreciation for the ancient classics and the principles of textual criticism, which could be applied to texts in the sacred tradition as well as to classical ones.

In 1825, Strauss entered the Tübinger Stift. The professors of philosophy there failed to interest him, but the theories of Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, Jakob Böhme, Friedrich Schleiermacher and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel successively claimed his allegiance. In 1830, he became an assistant to a country clergyman, and nine months later, he accepted the post of professor in the Evangelical Seminaries of Maulbronn and Blaubeuren, where he would teach Latin, history and Hebrew.