I have machine translated all three volumes of Kritik der evangelischen Geschichte der Synoptiker (1841-1842) I expect there will be an occasional error since my powers of focus are limited over 1150 pages and on a few occasions (only a few!) rely on my impressions from skimming the content and checking through Fraktur and Greek optical character recognition issues.
First post is the Foreword or Preface, which I confess I had a hard time fully understanding and having the patience to read. It was clearly addressed for another time and audience though it does contain some timeless nuggets. I think someone more adept at German would do a better job of making a more meaningful translation. A Table of Contents is attached to the end of that Foreword. (I have since picked up Douglas Moggach’s study of Bruno Bauer and hopefully that will help me understand some of the more philosophical discussions of BB, especially as they relate to his idea of how Christianity and the figure of Jesus in the gospels emerged.
I have also given myself permission to make occasional remarks on what I consider points of note or difficulty in each section.
If there is a single theme in the work, I believe it is to establish the case — through close textual analysis — for the gospels being the creations of the minds of the evangelists as opposed to them being compilations of traditions about Jesus. Bauer does not spare the apologists of his day who insist on arguing otherwise.
(Note the entry of the Gospel of John in the third volume. This would follow on from BB’s earlier critique of the pre-Passion chapters of that fourth gospel. I have also translated that work and will post it on this blog in due course.)
Critique of the Gospel History of the Synoptics*
by Bruno Bauer
* Note that Volume 3 introduces the Gospel of John alongside the Synoptics
Volume 1
Preface and Contents v—xxiv
First Section
The Birth and Childhood of Jesus 1—141
- 1. The Genealogy of Jesus from David 1 (— note: explains that the notion of a physical descent of Jesus from David evolved over time from what was originally a only a “theocratic” or symbolic idea of the reign of a future “David”)
- 2. The Birth of John the Baptist 23 (— note: contains some (by today’s standards and in the absence of modern anthropological and pscyhological concepts) obscure discussion of about why people believe in angels, and the grounds for angels in a narrative counting against its historicity)
- 3. The Supernatural Conception of Jesus 35 (— note: argues that the idea of the virgin birth could only have arisen after Christianity was well embedded in “pagan” society; the idea arose as a metaphor of the unity of the Christian community with the Divine. Is this a Hegelian argument?)
- 4. The Visit of Mary to Elizabeth 47 (— note: polemic against apologists who attempt to rationalize the narrative historically; addresses the artistic function of the Lukan narrative)
- 5. The Messiah as a Child 54 (— note: includes symbolic significance of Simeon and Anna)
- 6. The Origin of the Gospel of Luke’s Infancy Narrative 68 (— note: reasons for concluding “Luke” was the author and creator of the narrative and not a compiler or redactor of traditions)
- 7. The Angel’s Message to Joseph 84 (— note: treats Matthew as being written after Luke; argues against apologetics)
- 8. The Star of the Magi 92 (— note: the origin of Matthew’s account is argued to be partly reliant upon Tacitus and Suetonius)
- 9. The flight to Egypt and settlement in Nazareth 106 (— note: Matthew’s account depicts experiences of the well established Christian community in the Jewish and gentile worlds)
- 10. The origin of the Gospel account of Matthew’s infancy 121 (— note: Reasons to conclude that Matthew’s account was his own creation and not strung together from tradition)
- 11. Chronological Note 128 (— note: Origin of Luke’s dating of the nativity and ages of Jesus and John the Baptist)
Second Section
The Preparations for the Public Appearance of Jesus 142—244
- 12. The Effectiveness of the Baptist 142
- 13. The Baptism of Jesus 182
- 14. The Temptation of Jesus 213 (— note: addresses the integrity of the biblical accounts and their sources; addresses apologists who attempt to rationalize the account; and sets forth reasons for seeing the account as originating from the experiences of the Christian community and projecting these into the figure of the messiah)
Third Section
The beginning of Jesus’ public ministry 245-298
- 15. Jesus’ return to Galilee 245 (— note: discusses problems of historicity, motivations of Jesus and contradictions in gospels)
- 16. The first appearance and preaching of Jesus in Galilee 250
- 17. The calling of the first four apostles 265 (— note: why Luke was obliged to present an account so different from Mark’s; the artificiality of the accounts)
- 18. Transition to the Sermon on the Mount 283 (— note: writes as Matthew succeeding Luke; good points on questioning historicity, literary function of mountain
Fourth Section
The Sermon on the Mount 299-390
- 19. Introduction 299 (— note: Beatitudes, Salt of the earth, Light of the world)
- 20. The New Law 322 (— note: the new in relation to OT, murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, retaliation, love of enemies )
- 21. The righteousness of hypocrites 353 (— note: giving alms and fasting, prayer)
- 22. The True Concern 364 (— note: care for heavenly and earthly goods, worship and service to mammon, the inner light)
- 23. Unconnected Sayings 371 (— note: judging, judging of splinters, prayer answered, law and the prophets, narrow gate, false prophets)
- 24. The Epilogue 385 (— note: Matthew 7:21-27, argues for Matthew being indebted to Luke)
- 25. A Look Back at the Fourth Gospel 387
- Appendix: The Messianic Expectations of the Jews at the Time of Jesus 391 (Compare Appendix — The Messianic Expectations of the Samaritans in Criticism of the Gospel of John)
Volume 2
Fifth Section
Two Miracle Days (Matthew 8:1 – 9:34) 1-172
- 26. Overview of the report of Matthew and ancillary accounts 1 (— note: demonstrates how and why Matthew re-wrote the chronology of Mark’s account and rebuts apologist rationalisations)
- 27. Healing of the leper 14 (— note: identifies evidence for the literary invention of the story)
- 28. The Centurion of Capernaum 22
- 29. The first stay of Jesus in Capernaum 31 (— note: continues critical analysis demonstrating the creative-literary origins of the narrative)
- 30. Order to cross to the other shore 38 (— note: Werner Kelber has since advanced a better argument for the origin of the order to cross the sea.)
- 31. The Request of Two Disciples 40 (— note: explains why certain sayings could not have been uttered by Jesus, why they came from the church community, why tradition cannot explain the sayings, why the life of Jesus was derived from the experiences of the community)
- 32. The Calming of the Storm 52 (— note: discusses why the religious mind believes in miracles; explains Matthew’s differences from Mark’s account)
- 33. The Two Demoniacs of Gadara 61 (— note: the difficulties Matthew created when he changed the single demon possessed into two; interesting insight into nineteenth century psychology and demon possession)
- 34. Arrival on the Other Side 77 (— note: bringing of the paralytic and raising of daughter of Jairus; evidence that Matthew and Luke derived their accounts from Mark, not independent tradition)
- 35. The Healing of the Paralytic 87
- 36. The banquet of the tax collector Matthew 95 (— note: why the difference between Levi and Matthew; Luke’s story of Zacchaeus derived from Mark’s story of Levi)
- 37. The Fasting of the Disciples of John 114
- 38. The Healing of the Woman with the Issue of Blood 124
- 39. The Raising of Jairus’s Daughter 133 (— note: makes it clear why the daughter is meant to be understood as having died, not merely sleeping)
- 40. The Healing of Two Blind Men 137
- 41. The Healing of a Mute Demoniac 140
- 42. Period of Rest 154 (— note: Bauer reflects on the nature of religion and the religious belief that can be seen in the synoptic gospels, especially Matthew, and how it inspired and shaped the narrative; implies a defence of a different kind of religiosity or spirituality)
Sixth Section
The Instruction of the Twelve (Matthew 9:35 – 11:1) 172-243
- 43. The Election and Sending Out of the Twelve 173 (— note: an analysis of the gospels demonstrates that the Twelve originated as an idea in the early Christian community)
- 44. The Instructional Speech 206
Seventh Section
The Message of the Baptist (Matthew 11:2-30) 244-268
- 45. The Doubt of the Baptist 244
- 46. Jesus’ discourse on the Baptist 255
- 47. A convocation of heterogeneous sayings 261
Eighth Section
Collision with the Law and the Pharisees (Matthew 12, 1-50) 269-303
- 48. Overview 269
- 49. The disciples’ grain-picking 275
- 50. A sabbath healing 280 (— note: drives home the argument that the anecdotes arose from the later Christian community imputing their views and experiences to the figure of Jesus)
- 51. Defence against the accusation of an alliance with Beelzebub 285
- 52. Refusal of a sign 293
- 53. Visit of the relatives of Jesus 300
Ninth Section
The parable lecture (Matthew 13, 1-52) 304-336
- Preamble on apologists 304
- 54. The Crowds 305 (— note: demonstrates the artificiality of the crowds in the gospels; their origin is from compositional needs, not tradition)
- 55. The comprehension power of the disciples 313
- 56. The connection of the parables 326
- 57. The parabolic teaching and the people 330
- 58. Conclusion 332 (— note: “There can be no more talk of a tradition. . . If the letter could not stand, should it have been possible for tradition or memory?” p. 335)
Tenth Section
The Elijah deeds of Jesus (Matthew 14: 1 – 16:1) 337-392 (– note: interesting views derived from Wilke contextualizing each of the following pericopes within the Elijah narrative)
- 59. The Situation 337 (— note: introduces the case for the Elijah subtext in the Gospel of Mark going beyond the obvious miracle parallels, extending even to geographical settings; includes explanation for Mark calling Herod a “king”)
- 60. Jesus in Nazareth 344
- 61. The Beheading of the Baptist 348
- 62. The Miraculous Feeding 353 (— note: explores the origin of the doubling of the feeding miracle in the Gospel of Mark; demonstrates the original intent of the account being figurative and not historical)
- 63. The Walking on the Lake 370
- 64. The divine commandment and the statutes of men 374
- 65. The Canaanite Woman 383 (— note: why the episode could only have arisen from within a mature Christian community)
- 66. The demand for signs 389 (— note: reinforces the principle difference between a writing that compiles traditions of historical events and those that are literary creations and adaptations)
- Closing comment 391
Volume 3
Critique of the Gospel History: the Synoptics and John. Third and Final Volume
Eleventh Section
The express revelation of Jesus as the Messiah 1-102
- 67. The Confession of Peter 1
- 68. The prophecies of Jesus of Passion 21 (— note: concluding sentence – “One can see that theology is an easy science; but its weight has become even lighter through criticism.”)
- 69. The Transfiguration 46 (— note: explores how such a narrative arose; discusses how the Transfiguration is also found in the Gospel of John!)
- 70. The Second Coming of Elijah 61
- 71. The power of faith 63
- 72. The little ones 66
- 73. Divorce 82 (— note: includes discussion of problems of geography; celibacy)
- 74. The rich man 91 (— note: demonstrates how Nicodemus in the Gospel of John is indebted to the rich man in the Synoptic Gospels; addresses the (im)morality of certain Christian teachings put in the mouth of Jesus)
- 75. The request of the Zebedees 100
Twelfth Section
The activity of Jesus in Jerusalem (Mark 11:1 – 13:37) 103-160
- 76. The Entry into Jerusalem 103
- 77. The cursing of the fig tree and the cleansing of the temple 110
- 78. Controversy about the justification of Jesus 113
- 79. The fight between Jesus and his opponents 121
- 80. Speech against the scribes and Pharisees 130
- 81. Speech of Jesus about the last things 138 (— note: much, unfortunately, about how Matthew supposedly (mis)used Luke as well as Mark.)
Thirteenth Section
The tale of suffering 161-322
- 82. Entrance 161 (— note: “I will once again name theologians, mention theological views, since we now come to the point where the Synoptic Gospels and the Fourth Gospel cross each other most sharply and the theologians exert their last powers to come to the aid of their favourite, the disciple, whom their Lord also loved, at this perilous moment.” – p. 161)
- 83. The raising of Lazarus 165 (— note: excoriates the character of Jesus and God as displayed in the Lazarus story and defended by theologians (would make an excellent additional chapter to Hector Avalos’s The Bad Jesus; analyzes the source of the miracle story)
- 84. The anointing of Jesus in Bethany 190 (— note: includes a discussion of the woman caught in adultery – BB relates this passage in John’s Gospel to the sinner woman in the Synoptics)
- 85. The last supper of Jesus 216
- 86. The struggle of Jesus’ soul in Gethsemane 247
- 87. The Capture of Jesus 259
- 88. The interrogation before the high priest 264
- 89. The trial of Jesus before Pilate 278
- 90. The Crucifixion, Death and Burial of Jesus 291
- 91. Respite 307 (— note: reflects on significance of the criticism undertaken here: what it informs us about Christian origins and the nature/historicity of the Christ figure, the reasons for the emergence and domination of Christianity, and apologists vis a vis criticism today)
Fourteenth Section
The Story of the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ 323-341
- 92. The report of Mark 323
- 93. Luke’s account 326
- 94. The report of Matthew 330
- 95. The report of the Fourth 333 (— note: includes discussion of the Beloved Disciple; a philosophical conclusion is difficult to translate)
Contemporaries addressed by Bruno Bauer:
- Wilhelm Martin Leberecht de Wette
- Otto Fridolinus Fritzsche
- August Friedrich Gfrörer
- Andreas Gottlieb Hoffmann
- Johann Peter Lange
- Gottfried Christian Friedrich Lücke
- August Neander
- Hermann Olshausen
- Heinrich Eberhard Gottlob Paulus
- Heinrich Saunier
- Friedrich Schleiermacher
- Matthias Schneckenburger
- Friedrich Ludwig Sieffert
- David Friedrich Strauss
- August Tholuck
- Christian Hermann Weisse
- Christian Gottlob Wilke
Earlier commentators frequently addressed:
- Johann Albrecht Bengel
- John Calvin
- Augustine
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