Strauss

(David Fried rich), German critic, b. Ludwigsburg (Wurtemburg), 27 Jan. 1808. He studied Theology at Tübengen, was ordained in ’30, and in ’32 became a istant-teacher. His Life of Jesus Critically Treated , ’35, in which he shows the mythical character of the Gospels, aroused much controversy, and he was deprived of his position. In ’39 the Zürich Government appointed him profe or of church history, but they were obliged to repeal their decision before the storm of Christian indignation. His next important work was on the Christian Doctrines (2 vols.), ’40. In ’47 he wrote on Julian the Apostle , and in ’58 an account of the Life and Time of Ulrich von Hutten . He prepared a New Life of Christ for the German People , ’64, followed by the Christ of the Creeds and the Jesus of History . In ’70 he published his lectures on Voltaire , and two years later his last work The Old Faith and the New , in which he entirely breaks not only with Christianity but with the belief in a personal God and immortality. A devoted servant of truth, his mind was always advancing. He died at his native place, 8 Feb. 1874.