Annotation
In this seminar, we will read one of the most influential books in New Testament scholarship of the 20th century,
"The Quest of Historical Jesus" by Albert Schweitzer. In this excellent book, Schweitzer critically analyzes the various images of the "historical Jesus" by different scholars from the beginning of historical-critical inquiry into the life of Jesus to the end of the 19th century, and against this background, he describes the major issues and problems associated with the quest for the historical Jesus that are still relevant today.
Schweitzer gradually reveals that the various portraits of "historical Jesus" largely reflect the theological positions and preunderstandings of the individual historians who propose them. Further, he discovers the fundamental problem with the whole "quest," namely, that the "quest" tends either toward complete historical skepticism or toward an image of an eschatologically oriented Jesus that is a stranger to our modern society.
At the end of the seminar, students prepare a research paper on a topic that may be related to one of the authors analyzed in the book, or to Schweitzer and his research, or another topic related to research on the historical
Jesus. The topic is suggested by the student in consultation with the teacher, who approves it.