Heinrich Eberhard Gottlob Paulus (1 September 1761 – 10 August 1851) was a German

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and critic of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

. He is known as a rationalist who offered natural explanations for the biblical

miracles of Jesus The miracles of Jesus are miraculous deeds attributed to Jesus in Christian and Islamic texts. The majority are faith healings, exorcisms, resurrections, and control over nature. In the Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, and Luke), Jesus refus ...

Career

Paulus was a professor of theology and oriental languages at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

(1789–1803), then professor at the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. The University of Würzburg is one of ...

(1803–1807). He spent time in Bamberg, Nürnberg and

Ansbach Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, ...

before becoming professor of exegesis and church history at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

(1811–44), where he was instrumental in hiring Hegel in 1816. His theological rationalism greatly influenced Hegel's own theology. As a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

in the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...

, he firmly believed in the autonomy of the individual and freedom of the individual (through reason) from the dogma of the church. His special work was the exposition of the Old and New Testaments in the light of his oriental learning and according to his characteristic principle of "natural explanation". In his explanation of the Gospel narratives, Paulus sought to remove what other interpreters regarded as miracles from the Bible by distinguishing between the related and the author's of it, by supplying circumstances omitted by the author, by remembering that the author produces as miracles occurrences which can now be explained otherwise, such as exorcisms. According to Paulus, the miracles can be explained as misunderstandings: something perfectly natural took place, but Jesus' disciples were confused by the circumstances. For example, Paulus' naturalistic exegesis of the narrative of

Jesus walking on water Jesus walking on the water, or on the sea, is depicted as one of the miracles of Jesus recounted in the New Testament. There are accounts of this event in three Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and John—but it is not included in the Gospel of Luke. This ...

is that () really means and not . He contends that since it was a dark stormy night and the disciples had trouble making headway in their boat, when Jesus appeared they only thought they were in the middle of the Sea of Galilee when in truth they were still in the shallows. When Peter reaches out to Jesus he is able to stand in the shallow water until he falls and is easily rescued from the "depths". In another narrative, feeding of the five thousand, Paulus sees another misunderstanding. As Jesus passes the loaves and fish to his disciples the multitude of people realize they are hungry as well and begin preparing their own food. Soon everyone is eating and the extraordinarily communal moment is coated with miraculous qualities when the Evangelists later reminisce on it. Paulus even claims to explain the

resurrection of Jesus The resurrection of Jesus ( grc-x-biblical, ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lo ...

this way. He is the first scholar to propose the " swoon theory" which speculates that Jesus did not actually die on the cross, but somehow survived his execution and proclaimed that he had risen from the dead. This theory has faced criticism and is now almost unanimously rejected by scholars. The rationalism espoused by Paulus went out of fashion during his lifetime and was replaced by

David Strauss David Friedrich Strauss (german: link=no, Strauß ; 27 January 1808 – 8 February 1874) was a German liberal Protestant theologian and writer, who influenced Christian Europe with his portrayal of the "historical Jesus", whose divine nature he ...

' view that held that scripture can be best characterized as

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...

. Charges of

anti-semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

have been levelled at Paulus for his advocacy of assimilation of Jewish people into German culture. In his published pamphlet "The Jewish National Separation: Its Origin, Consequences, and the Means of its Correction." he argued that "Jews were a nation apart, and would remain so as long as they were committed to their religion, whose basic intent and purpose were to preserve them in that condition. In a country that was not their own, therefore, Jews could not claim more than the bare protection of their lives and possessions. They might certainly not claim political equality."

Published works

*1802, ''Philologisch-kritischer und historischer Kommentar über das neue Testament'' (Philological criticism and historical commentary on the New Testament) *1828, ''Das Leben Jesu als Grundlage einer reinen Geschichte des Urchristentums'' (The life of Jesus as the basis of a purely historical account of early Christianity; 2 vols.)

References

External links

List of works by and about Paulus

H.E.G. Paulus Opposes the Emancipation of the Jews in Baden (1831)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paulus, Heinrich 1761 births 1851 deaths People from Leonberg German Lutheran theologians 18th-century German Protestant theologians 19th-century German Protestant theologians German philosophers 19th-century philosophers People from the Duchy of Württemberg Rationalists German male non-fiction writers Spinoza scholars

Career

Published works

See also

References

Further reading

External links