is utterly untrustworthy. The only work of
the New Testament from an immediate disciple is the Apocalypse of John.
But this, too, is wholly unhistorical. Adopting the opinion of the
radical Rationalists, Strauss holds that miracles are impossible, and
that if God were to operate against natural laws he would be operating
against himself. As a specimen of the method of criticism adopted to
divest Christ's career of everything miraculous, we may instance
Strauss' disposition of the resurrection of Christ. He confesses that if
he cannot show that this is mythological, his whole work has been
written in vain. Christ did really die, but his resurrection was a
vision. His disciples were excited, and believed they saw their Master
reappear. But it was a great mistake on their part. It was only an
hallucination. Paul had his visions; so did Peter and John; and so did
Mary Magdalene, who was subject to nervous disorders.[66]

The second life of Jesus has met with a cold reception. The "People of
the Reformation," to whom it was flatteringly addressed, prefer a more
substantial theology. The tide has turned since 1835, and no man feels
the power of the new current more keenly than David Frederic Strauss.

The Rationalists, who gained nothing in the controversy concerning the
first _Life of Jesus_ by the tutor of Tuebingen, were unfortunate in
their organized, systematic, and well-sustained effort to regain lost
ground. We have reference to the labors of the Tuebingen school.
Ferdinand Christian Baur was its founder. His works are numerous, and
may be divided into two classes: _doctrinal_ and _critical_. But there
is consistency in all,--and, varied as his subjects of investigation
are, they centre in a common focus. Baur sought the solution of the
agitated question in the apostolic history rather than in the life of
Christ. The Christianity about which so much discussion is elicited, is,
according to him, not a perfect and divine production, but only a vital
force in process of development. This is the principle which underlies
the multifarious theories of the Tuebingen school. In order to have a
place where to stand and eliminate the theory, the epistles of Paul are
chosen. But these are not all authentic. Hence a selection must be made,
and, of course, only those must be chosen which are in harmony with the
supposition that Christianity is but a dormant germ. Consequently, the
Epistles to the Galatians, the Romans, and the Cor