JESUS
By Ch. Guignebert, translated by S. H. Hooke
This book (Kegan Paul, 25s.) is the reductio ad absurdum of the historical method whose history Albert Schweitzer outlined from Reimarus to Wrede. It should be read by 'all Christian apologists and all students of the idde fixe. The only documents for a life of Jesus are contained in the New Testament. Scarcely a sentence in these documents was written without a dogmatic interest, and their validity depends on whether in the history of Jesus dogma and history were absolutely and indissolubly one. If it is possible -to reconstruct the biography of Jesus without the dogmatic intention of the Church which wrote it, then the only sources for such biography are at once and hopelessly discredited. Professor Guignebert " has dealt with his subject in a spirit:of complete historical detachment." He shows no misgiving. Ile is learned, scientific, scrupulous in using the exquisite technique with which he extracts his sunbeam out of his cucumber and in concluding that the sunbeam is a very poor thing. He does not realize that "complete historical detach- ment " is itself an act of faith, more arbitrary and miraculous than the dogmatic prejudice which lie rejects. An instance of his method is his treatment of the entry into Jerusalem : " Nevertheless, wo • do not believe in the reality of the incident ; in the first place because it is not clear how a nabi probably unknown , to the people of Jerusalem could have found outside the walls the people to compose such a demonstration : and in the second place, because, oven if ho had . . . it would be hard to understand why the Roman and Jewish authorities did not interfere . . . it. is definitely an invention."
And so with the whole story. Everything is " definitely an invention" which Professor Guignebert finds "it hard to understand." This historical detachment is the more per- fectly exposed because Professor Guignebert serves it with a fine scholarship. He has produced a learned, conscientious, infinitely careful work which reduces the gospels and his own
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