Chapter I: Front Matter

THE HISTORICAL JESUS
A SURVEY OF POSITIONS

BY
JOHN M. ROBERTSON

[ISSUED FOR THE RATIONALIST PRESS ASSOCIATION, LIMITED]

London:
WATTS & CO.,
17 JOHNSON'S COURT, FLEET STREET, E.C.
1916

CONTENTS

PAGE

Preamble xi

Chapter I.--THE SNARE OF PRESUPPOSITION

Presupposition in science. The Copernican theory. The reception of
Galileo, Harvey, and Darwin. Blinding effects of scholarship. The
theological record. Mutations of Christian opinion. Defence
of the belief in witchcraft. Leibnitz and Newton. Criticism
of the Pentateuch. Parvish, Astruc, Voltaire, Colenso, and the
professional scholars 1

Chapter II.--MODES OF CONSERVATIVE FALLACY

Persistence of the theological temper. Each abandoned position
first defended with the same fierceness. Saner forms of
conservatism. Persistence in presupposition. Canon Inge on Jesus
and Paul. The logical hiatus. Mill's precedent. His dithyrambic
mood and critical inadequacy. Disregard of the documentary
evidence. Need to face the real problem. The sociological
process. Mill's dictum contrasted with those of Newman and
Baur 6

Chapter III.--ILLUSIONS AS TO GOSPEL ETHIC

Mill's method and mind non-historical. "The historic
sense." Dr. J. E. Carpenter's. The concept of "sublimity." God
portraiture. Its limitations. The Gospel ethic. Significance of the
contradictions. The parable of the Good Samaritan. Incompetent
verdicts of theologians. The story of Lycurgus and
Alcander. Plutarch on forgiveness of enemies. Fanaticism of
Christian estimates of antiquity 18

Chapter IV.--THE METHOD OF BLUSTER

The historic problem. Its treatment by a Unitarian cleric. The
method of bluster. The real and the pretended character of the
Gospel according to Mark. Wellhausen's estimate. Actual features
of primitive and popular myth-lore. Biography in Plutarch. Mr.
McCabe on the Marcan residuum. The gospel figure. Doctrinal
determinants 30

Chapter V.--SCHMIEDEL AND DEROGATORY MYTH

Collapse of the thesis of "human characteristics." The myth
and the historicity of Herakles. The more considerate thesis
of Schmiedel: argument from "derogatory" episodes. Kalthoff on
the human characteristics in Ruth and Jonah. Confusion of the new
argument. Jesus introduced in Mark with divine characteristics. The
Unitarian blunder as to "conventional" and "unconventional"
hero-worship. Jewish and Pagan heroes and Gods alike put in
"derogatory" positions. Herakles, Dionysos, and Apollo. Need to
apply anthropological, mythological, and hierological as well as
N. T. scholarship. Grounds for a Christian myth of the Founder
as opposed by his family 44

Chapter VI.--THE VISIONARY EVANGEL

B. Weiss's "Primitive Gospel." Its characteristics common to
Mark. The enigma of the evangel of the Twelve. That problem never
rightly realized by the exegetes. The allegorical explanations
to be withheld from the people. Complete deficit of historical
matter. The evangel of the Twelve a myth. Real origin in a rite,
not in an evangel. The last hypothesis: a political evangel that
could not be later avowed. Incompatibility of this view with the
Gospels. Composition of the record. Why the Primitive Gospel lacked
the Tragedy. Breakdown of the traditionary explanation. Orthodox
avowals of anomaly 51

Chapter VII.--THE ALLEGED CONSENSUS OF SCHOLARS

Resort to the myth-theory forced by the data. Unitarian attitude to
that. Appeal for acceptance of the "consensus of scholars." No such
consensus ever attained. Dalman on his fellow-specialists. His own
presuppositions. Pretensions to solve historical problems through
philology. Distinction between pedantry and science. Candour of
Schmiedel. Inadequacy of his method. Resistance of scholarship
to scientific thought. Colenso and the Zulu and the orthodox
resistance. Attack on the New Testament scholars by Professor
Blass 62

Chapter VIII.--CONSERVATIVE POSITIONS

Modifications of conservative attitude. Lack of good faith
or of comprehension. Samples of misrepresentation. The
Unitarian attitude. Treatment of myth-solutions: the Myth of
the Temptation. Dr. Thorburn's orthodox solution. Mythology
and psychology. Psychic determinants of resistance to new
views. Attitude to "healing powers" ascribed to Jesus. Force of
presupposition. Davidson's "must." 74

Chapter IX.--BLASS AND FLINDERS PETRIE

The attempt to find an "impersonal" test of the documentary
basis. Dr. Flinders Petrie on The Growth of the Gospels. Theory
of selection and compilation from logia. Acceptance of any
item as early. The argument of Blass as to possibility of real
predictions. Case of Savonarola. Nature of the problem. Political
anticipation versus prophecy. Investigation of the Savonarola
case. His earlier prophecies, conditional and absolute 82

Chapter X.--THE SAVONAROLA FALLACY

Comparison between Savonarola's prediction of the Sack of Rome
and the gospel prophecy of the Fall of Jerusalem. Normality
of Savonarola's vaticinations. Historical blunder of the Blass
school as to medieval warfare. Frequency of sacrilege in Christian
war. The Christian sack of Constantinople 93

Chapter XI.--THE "LOGIA" THEORY AND THE HISTORICAL TEST

Blass on the gospel prophecy: analysis of the texts. Their
arbitrary handling by Blass. The "Nucleus" theory of
Dr. Petrie. Its arbitrary implications. Impersonal method
of selection not followed by impersonal inference from the
results. The logia theory much more compatible with the myth-theory
than with the tradition. Test cases 104

Chapter XII.--FAILURE OF THE "LOGIA" THEORY

The scientific inference. Omission and invention of logia
necessarily to be inferred as well as selection. Implicit
abandonment of certain prophecies, and resulting incoherence
of the argument. Reversion to the fundamental issue between
supernaturalism and reason. Final futility of the attempt
to vindicate the documents. Possibilities as to currency
of written logia. Illustration from Islam. The mass of
incompatibilities in the Gospel Teaching. Possibilities of genuine
self-contradiction. Carlyle and Ruskin. Mohammed. The gospels not
thus explicable. Damaging implications of the logia theory. Variety
of "Christs." Papias. Baruch and Enoch 113

Chapter XIII.--RESURGENCE OF THE HISTORIC PROBLEM

The actually recovered logia of Oxyrhynchus. Their incompatibility
with Dr. Petrie's assumption of historic genuineness for
all. The real process of composition in Luke's gospel. Motives
for invention. The myth of the Seventy Disciples a sample and
test case. Inadequacy alike of the documentary theory and that
of scattered logia 123

Chapter XIV.--ORTHODOXY AND THE "ORAL" HYPOTHESIS

The "oral" hypothesis of the Rev. A. Wright. His approximations
to the "liberal" chronology as against the Blass school. His
candour. Hypothesis of fifty-two Lessons. Another "selection"
theory--selection from oral traditions locally cherished. Wide
departures of Mr. Wright from his theory. Unaccountableness of
apostolic information. The tradition as to baptism. Problem of
the duration of the Ministry, and of the one or four visits to
Jerusalem. The oral hypothesis, like the others, more compatible
with the myth-theory than with the tradition. Stand on the
Resurrection 129

Chapter XV.--THE METHOD OF M. LOISY

M. Loisy and the "liberal" school. His attitude to the
myth-theory. His certitudes. Disclaims biography, and
produces one. His treatment of the legend. The problem of the
multitude of healings. Collapse of the assumption in the case
of Nazareth. Inconsistency of M. Loisy's method, and weakness
of his solutions. His acceptance of the Joseph legend. "The
carpenter." Difficulty set up by Origen. The myth solution. "The
son of Mary." Dilemma set up by later passages. Problem of the
Messianic declaration of Peter. Impossibility of the personality
set up by Petrine and anti-Petrine records 141

Chapter XVI.--THE TRIAL CRUX

Lax treatment of the main problems by M. Loisy. Acceptance
of the non-historical as historical. The Purification of the
Temple. The Agony. Approximation to the true solution. The
priestly Trial. Virtual abandonment of the narrative by
M. Loisy. Illicit reconstruction. Successive retreats of the
"liberal" school. Surrender of (1) the Trial before Herod, (2)
the Johannine record, (3) the Trial before the priests. Stand on
the Trial before Pilate. Untenableness of that. The Roman Trial
admittedly a loose tradition. Impossible as recorded. A clear
solution supplied by the myth theory. Irreconcilable character
of the Triumphal entry and the unanimous hostility of the people
before Pilate. The Barabbas story admittedly unhistorical. Its
presence accounted for only by the myth-theory 161

Chapter XVII.--THE JESUS-FIGURE OF M. LOISY

The dilemma of the Evangel of the Twelve. M. Loisy on the
Teaching of Jesus as preparative for the cult. Destructive
effect of his admissions as to the teaching of Paul. His attitude
towards the myth-theory. Demanding definiteness, he rests in the
indefinite. His self-contradictions. His ascription of originality
to quoted teachings. Incompatibility of his Teacher and his
Messiah. The teaching as to divorce not that of one expecting
a new order. Its prior currency. Bases of the gospel ethic. The
Good Samaritan documentarily a late creation 173

Chapter XVIII.--THE PAULINE PROBLEM

M. Loisy on the testimony of Paul. His misconception as to
its bearings on the myth-theory. Van Manen helped by his own
thesis to accept the historicity of Jesus. The myth-theory quite
independent of the dating of the Epistles. Importance of noting
that, early or late, they are interpolated. M. Loisy's treatment
of the documentary problem. Van Manen's strong case against the
Epistles. Need to revise the details of the chronology. Also
to orient the myth-theory aright. Inadequacy of the theories of
Kalthoff and Kautsky 185

Chapter XIX.--THE HISTORY OF THE DISCUSSION

Prospects of controversy. Slow advance of the "liberal"
view. Identity of the final positions of Strauss and
Loisy. Tentative beginnings of the myth-theory. Effects of
persecution and of Strauss's final dialectic. Schweitzer on
the evolution "from Reimarus to Wrede." Bruno Bauer. Claims
for "the German temperament." Need for a truly scientific
temper. Effects of Bauer's flaws of mood and method. Schweitzer's
amenity and candour. Demonstrates the shortsightedness of German
specialism. Schweitzer's ignorance concerning the myth-theory
in its later developments. His laxities in research. His own
thesis 193