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