Paul-Louis Couchoud
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Paul-Louis Couchoud (; July 6, 1879 at
Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...
in Paris, a physician, a man of letters, and a poet. He became well known as an adapter of Japanese
haiku is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a ''kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 '' on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, and a ''kigo'', or se ...
into French, an editor of Reviews, a translator, and a writer promoting the German thesis of the non-historicity of Jesus Christ.


Education in philosophy

In 1898, Paul-Louis Couchoud entered the École Normale Supérieure (at 45, rue d'Ulm, Paris, called "ENS rue d'Ulm"), a special college-level institute in Paris for French elite students in arts and sciences selected every year through a national competition. He graduated in 1901 as an “ agrégé” (lecturer) in philosophy. The French degree is not directly comparable to an American one, as it is granted to a few dozens of top-ranked students in a national competition held once a year.


Visit to Japan and interest in Japanese poetry

Couchoud obtained a scholarship from the banker Albert Kahn. This grant allowed Couchoud to visit Japan (Sept. 1903 - May 1904), a country which became a passion. During a trip on French canals by barge (1905), Couchoud and his two friends, sculptor Albert Poncin and painter André Faure, composed haiku in French. They published their work anonymously in a limited edition (30 copies) of ''Au fil de l'eau'' (''Along the waterways''), a collection of free-verse
tercet A tercet is composed of three lines of poetry, forming a stanza or a complete poem. Examples of tercet forms English-language haiku is an example of an unrhymed tercet poem. A poetic triplet is a tercet in which all three lines follow the same ...
s which was well received. It still is considered one of the most successful adaptations of haiku in French. Couchoud also studied and translated Japanese
Haijin The Haijin () or sea ban was a series of related isolationist policies in China restricting private maritime trading and coastal settlement during most of the Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasty. Despite official proclamations the Ming policy was ...
(
Yosa Buson was a Japanese poet and painter of the Edo period. Along with Matsuo Bashō and Kobayashi Issa, Buson is considered among the greatest poets of the Edo Period. He is also known for completing haiga as a style of art, working with haibun prose ...
in particular) in ''Les Épigrammes lyriques du Japon'' (''Lyrical Epigrams of Japan'', 1906). Couchoud made later two more trips to Japan and China, from which resulted his collection ''Sages et poètes d’Asie'' (published as ''Japanese Impressions'', 1920). In 1955,
Marguerite Yourcenar Marguerite Yourcenar (, , ; born Marguerite Antoinette Jeanne Marie Ghislaine Cleenewerck de Crayencour; 8 June 1903 – 17 December 1987) was a Belgian-born French novelist and essayist, who became a US citizen in 1947. Winner of the ''Prix Fem ...
wrote: "I have never met P. L. Couchoud, but one of his books, ''Sages et poètes d'Asie'', which I still have in a hardback edition on my bookshelves in Northeast Harbor, may have been the first work through which I encountered Asian poetry and thought. I was fifteen then, and I still know by heart some haiku translated or adapted by him; this exquisite book was for me the equivalent of a half-open door. It has never closed. How much would I have loved to go and visit P. L. Couchoud with you, and thank the sick poet for all what he made me feel or resonate".


Friendship with the writer Anatole France

In 1907, Couchoud became acquainted with the famous French writer
Anatole France (; born , ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Académie França ...
(1844-1924), becoming his friend and confidante until A. France's death in 1924. The French writer was famous as being the model of the ideal French man of letters. He was a passionate critic of the Catholic Church, and an avowed opponent of the clerical political factions. He supported the Jew
Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus ( , also , ; 9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French artillery officer of Jewish ancestry whose trial and conviction in 1894 on charges of treason became one of the most polarizing political dramas in modern French history. ...
in the world-famous
Dreyfus Affair The Dreyfus affair (french: affaire Dreyfus, ) was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francop ...
. He received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1921, and in 1922 all his books were placed on the ''
Index Librorum Prohibitorum The ''Index Librorum Prohibitorum'' ("List of Prohibited Books") was a list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former Dicastery of the Roman Curia), and Catholics were forbidden ...
'' of the Vatican. Couchoud took part in the sessions of the "
Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...
" organized by Leontine Lippmann, Anatole France's friend and "muse", known after her marriage as "Madame Arman de Caillavet". Couchoud became Anatole France's doctor, and, upon the death of Leontine Lippmann (1910), he paid regular visits to A. France at the Villa Saïd, in his quality of physician, and also as a friend, to bring him consolation during his mourning. He convinced A. France to go on another journey in Italy to overcome his grief. Couchoud acted as witness at the wedding of Anatole France and Emma Laprévotte (Oct. 1920). After France's death, Couchoud said of him: "For more than twenty years I have known him as if he were a gentle father, always ready to listen and guide you".


Becoming a doctor in medicine

In the mid 1900s, Couchoud decided to study medicine. At the same time,
Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian-German/French polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran minister, Schwei ...
was making the same choice in Germany after his studies in theology. After an internship at the "Maison nationale" of Charenton, Couchoud became an intern in the asylum system of the Paris administration. He worked at the "Maison Blanche Asylum" as an assistant of Marc Trénel (May 1909 - April 1910). Trenel entered a very complimentary appraisal of his assistant in his file (Dec. 1909): "High intelligence, encyclopedic knowledge, highly sophisticated mind. His future will be extraordinary ". This assessment was confirmed by Albert Paraz who said of him: "... a man of amazing culture, reading all the ancient languages. He was so aggrieved when I confessed that I didn’t understand them that, in the end, I made him believe that I could at least speak Latin and Greek ..." Couchoud presented in Paris his doctorate thesis on primitive
asthenia Weakness is a symptom of a number of different conditions. The causes are many and can be divided into conditions that have true or perceived muscle weakness. True muscle weakness is a primary symptom of a variety of skeletal muscle diseases, i ...
(1911). He became director of a health center in Saint-Cloud, where he took care of Anatole France, a center owned by Anthippe Sevastos, the sculptor
Antoine Bourdelle Antoine Bourdelle (30 October 1861 – 1 October 1929), born Émile Antoine Bordelles, was an influential and prolific French sculptor and teacher. He was a student of Auguste Rodin, a teacher of Giacometti and Henri Matisse, and an important fi ...
's sister-in-law, whom Couchoud ended up marrying (May 1918). In 1922, Couchoud became a doctor at the leading Cochin hospital in Paris. When the French writer Jules Romain started conducting experiments on "extra-retinal vision" (1917), criticisms of this pseudo-science obliged him to interrupt his "research" until 1922. One such session took place at Anatole France's home, which was witnessed by co-signing doctors, including Couchoud, who at the time offered his own home for another session (Dec. 1922).


The question of the historicity of Jesus, and the German "Christ myth" thesis


Encountering the "German thesis"

Couchoud became intrigued by the German
Christ Myth Theory The Christ myth theory, also known as the Jesus myth theory, Jesus mythicism, or the Jesus ahistoricity theory, is the view that "the story of Jesus is a piece of mythology", possessing no "substantial claims to historical fact". Alternatively ...
after reading ''Orpheus'' (1909), a history of religions by
Salomon Reinach Salomon Reinach (29 August 1858 – 4 November 1932) was a French archaeologist, religious historian and was a major figure in the Franco-Jewish establishment in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was vice president of the mos ...
(1858-1932), another graduate of the "ENS".
Jacques Chevalier Jacques Chevalier (13 March 1882 – 19 April 1962) was a French Catholic philosopher and a politician. Chevalier was born in Cérilly, Allier, educated at the École normale supérieure and the University of Oxford and taught at the Faculty of ...
, a close friend of Couchoud since their time at the "ENS" as students in philosophy, was reported describing Couchoud's decisive encounter with the new ideas: " ter attending Loisy's lectures at the ''Collège de France'', Couchoud became convinced by a German thesis denying the
historicity of Jesus The question of the historicity of Jesus is part of the study of the historical Jesus as undertaken in the quest for the historical Jesus and the scholarly reconstructions of the life of Jesus. Virtually all scholars of antiquity accept that Je ...
. Which did not prevent him from using some poetic language when discussing Christianity, for instance in ''The Enigma of Jesus'' (1924) and ''The God Jesus'' (1951)".


Editor of reviews on religions

In the 1920s and 1930s, Couchoud became an editor of major media projects on the history of religions. "Archibald Robertson" wrote that " e works of Paul Louis Couchoud are such a joy to read that their style alone must have made many converts."


First article and book: ''The Enigma of Jesus'' (1923)


Introduction by James G. Frazer

Couchoud presented his thesis in a first article published in the literary review ''
Mercure de France The was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group. The gazette was published f ...
'':
The Enigma of Jesus
, (March 1923), and developed it in his first book, ''The Enigma of Jesus'' (1923), which carried an introduction by the Scottish anthropologist
James G. Frazer Sir James George Frazer (; 1 January 1854 – 7 May 1941) was a Scottish social anthropologist and folklorist influential in the early stages of the modern studies of mythology and comparative religion. Personal life He was born on 1 Janu ...
, the famous author of ''
The Golden Bough ''The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion'' (retitled ''The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion'' in its second edition) is a wide-ranging, comparative study of mythology and religion, written by the Scottish anthropologist Sir ...
'' (1890), a pioneering study of primitive
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 narrat ...
and
comparative religion Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yie ...
. Frazer had initially strongly rejected the Jesus myth thesis, but he modified his original view while giving credit to Couchoud for his calm and reasoned analysis without adopting his hypothesis: " ether Dr. Couchoud be right or wrong n denying the historicity of Jesus..he appears to have laid his finger on a weak point in the chain of evidence on which hangs the religious faith of a great part of civilized mankind." Frazer's contribution and more open stance gave a marked credibility to Couchoud.Walter P. Weaver, ''The historical Jesus in the twentieth century, 1900-1950'', (Trinity Press Int'l, 1999), p. 302,
Google Books
/ref>


Jesus, a divine product of his cult

Couchoud rejects Robertson's hypothesis of a pre-Christian cult of Joshua, for which he finds no evidence. He presents his thesis in his article in the following terms:
"Jesus is an unknown historical figure. It is possible that he may have lived, since millions of people have lived without leaving a trace. It is not enough to declare 'We know nothing about Jesus, except that he existed'. On the contrary, we must boldly assert that 'We do not know anything about him, not even whether he existed'. In historical research, only the strictest accuracy permits us to say anything more. However, the very document which would positively prove the existence of Jesus is missing...Jesus belongs to history thanks to his name and the cult built around him, but he is not a historical figure. He is a divine being, whose knowledge was slowly developed by Christian minds. He was begotten in faith, in hope and in love. He was shaped by emotional fervor. He has been given changing figures by various forms of worship. He was born the moment he got his first believer... His only reality is spiritual. Everything else is phantasmagoria."


Critics

In the ''Creation of Christ'' (1939), they will be pushed to a later date, around 135–140. Couchoud was countered by articles written by the Jesuit Léonce de Grandmaison, and the Protestant
Maurice Goguel Henry Maurice Goguel (20 March 1880 – 31 March 1955) was Dean of the Protestant Faculty of Theology in Paris, director of studies at the École pratique des hautes études, and professor at the Sorbonne. He published a substantial body of work o ...
also in ''Le Mercure de France''.


Second article and book: ''The Mystery of Jesus'' (1924)


Other early Christian documents confirm Paul's doctrine

Couchoud continued exposing his thesis in a series of lectures to a cultural association, the ''Union pour la Vérité'' ("Union for Truth") in early 1924. He published a second article,
The Mystery of Jesus
(March 1924), after having presented the proofs for inspection to A. France, assuring him that "You know that I have given you my heart". Couchoud produced a second book of the same title as the article, to complete his exposé, ''The Mystery of Jesus'' (March 1924). In this second book, Couchoud reproduced his two articles of the ''Mercure de France'', adding three more chapters. "At the origin of Christianity there is, if I am right, not a personal biography, but a collective mystical experience, sustaining a divine history mystically revealed." (p. 117) He attempted to show that the study of the
Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...
(
Revelation of John The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of R ...
) and of the non-Pauline epistles confirmed the conclusions drawn from the Pauline epistles. Only the testimony of Paul of Tarsus is valid. The
docetic In the history of Christianity, docetism (from the grc-koi, δοκεῖν/δόκησις ''dokeĩn'' "to seem", ''dókēsis'' "apparition, phantom") is the heterodox doctrine that the phenomenon of Jesus, his historical and bodily existence, an ...
form of Christianity should be the orthodox one, if Paul is defined as the true founder of Christianity.


No ordinary man becoming deified

As a first step, Couchoud argued that it is impossible to assume that Jews would have deified a mere man. The methodology followed by contemporary historians, from
Ernest Renan Joseph Ernest Renan (; 27 February 18232 October 1892) was a French Orientalist and Semitic scholar, expert of Semitic languages and civilizations, historian of religion, philologist, philosopher, biblical scholar, and critic. He wrote influe ...
to Alfred Loisy, in trying to understand the figure of Jesus and the origins of Christianity, faced two major obstacles: One cannot accept that after one generation or even less, an ordinary man could be deified, and, second, that Jesus's life could have escaped the attention of historians: there is no documentation of it. Couchoud believes that the entire "
Testimonium Flavianum The extant manuscripts of the book ''Antiquities of the Jews'', written by the first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus around AD 93–94, contain two references to Jesus of Nazareth and one reference to John the Baptist. The first a ...
" (the famous passage in
Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
's ''
Antiquities of the Jews ''Antiquities of the Jews'' ( la, Antiquitates Iudaicae; el, Ἰουδαϊκὴ ἀρχαιολογία, ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek, by historian Flavius Josephus in the 13th year of the re ...
'', III, iii, 3 which mentions of Jesus "He was the Christ") is an interpolation. Everything in the
Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
concerning Jesus is derived from Christian sources . Of the three Roman "witnesses" (
Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...
,
Pliny the Younger Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo (61 – c. 113), better known as Pliny the Younger (), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate ...
and
Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...
) Suetonius only mentions a Jewish agitator named ''Chrestos.'' Couchoud considers the Christ mention in the Tacitus passage genuine. But these Roman "witnesses" only testify to the existence of a Christian movement, and concerning the origin of this movement, they only repeated Christian beliefs.


Couchoud and the French rationalists

Couchoud's ''Mystery of Jesus'' was a slim volume, not impressive by scholarly standards, but, in the France of 1924, it packed a lot of weight. Couchoud became de facto the leader of French rationalists on the subject of religion from 1924 to 1939. He was chief editor for a series of publications on religion and free thinking: "Christianity" (which lasted ten years, 1923–1932, publishing 42 works), "Judaism", and "Myths and Religions", amounting to some 100 works. Couchoud was made editor of a new section, "Chronicle of Ideas" in the magazine "Europe" (Jan. 1927). The magazine published various articles popularizing Couchoud's thesis that Jesus was not a historic figure — to the objection of the French writer
Romain Rolland Romain Rolland (; 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and Mysticism, mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915 "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary pro ...
. But after 1928, the Couchoud faction lost some of its influence with the publisher. Europe published Couchoud's last article, "Le problème de Jésus", in June 1934.Le problème de Jésus
, In Europe, no 138, (June 15, 1934), p. 268-273.


''Jésus, Le Dieu fait homme'' (1937), or ''The Creation of Christ'' (1939)

The original French title was ''Jésus: Le Dieu fait homme'' ("Jesus: The God made man", 1937). Challenged and criticized from all sides in France, Couchoud published his book as a public answer. Couchoud had the advantage of the advanced research published by three elite scholars: the independent historian Charles Guignebert, the Protestant theologian Maurice Goguel, and the excommunicated critic of the Catholic Church Alfred Loisy. Couchoud displayed no acrimony against Christianity, and always showed respect and appreciation for it, occasionally using poetic language to describe Jesus and his influence. He dedicated the book "to the memory of that most noble man",
John Mackinnon Robertson John Mackinnon Robertson (14 November 1856 – 5 January 1933) was a prolific Scottish journalist, advocate of rationalism and secularism, and Liberal Member of Parliament for Tyneside from 1906 to 1918. Robertson was best known as an advoca ...
(1856-1933), accepting his idea that a myth and a cult must have preceded the development of the figure of Christ and of the Christian religion. Couchoud did not believe that a human Jesus had existed. Couchoud believed that the figure of Jesus Christ had been originally conceived by Jews as a purely 'heavenly Man' who announced a cosmic transformation. This heavenly Jesus was amplified and diffused through the mystery books ("
apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...
s"). "It was only much later that he was made flesh and blood n the Gospelson paper. Thus Christ was created", as a "literary creation". In ''The Creation of Christ'', Couchoud told a story in which Marcion wrote the first gospel, followed by Basilides, Mark, Matthew, John and Luke; Mark knew Paul's theology; the Acts of the Apostles is a thoroughly reliable historical source; and Clement of Rome is the likely author of the Gospel of Luke. The book of 459 pages was published in two slim volumes. It consists of three parts, with 22 chapters and 2 Appendices: * Part 1 THE APOCALYPSES (168 B.C. – A.D. 40), 7 chapters - "Appearance of secret and mysterious books": Daniel, Enoch, Moses. * Part 2 THE PROPHETS (A.D. 40-130), 5 chapters - The eruptive and anarchic activity of Christian
prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
s. * Part 3 THE GOSPELS (A.D. 130-150), 10 chapters - Books that "fix and regulate the faith". * Appendix I: The Gospel According to Marcion * Appendix II: The Historicity of Jesus (Response to Loisy in ''
Hibbert Journal ''The Hibbert Journal'' was a large, quarterly magazine in softback book format, issued since 1902 by the Hibbert Trust, best described by its subtitle: ''A Quarterly Review of Religion, Theology and Philosophy''. In the early years it was publish ...
'' )


Reception and criticisms

Couchoud's thesis was received with passionate reactions in France, a culture traditionally dominated by Catholicism, and he became subjected to a wave of criticisms from various quarters.


Léonce de Grandmaison, ''Jesus in history and in mystery'' (1924)

Léonce de Grandmaison, (1868-1927), a priest of the ''Society of Jesus'', founder of the magazine ''Research in Religion science'', also answered Couchoud's 1923 article in the ''Mercure de France'' (August 1923) with his own article, "Jesus in History", which became the basis for his book, ''Jesus in history and in mystery'' (1924). He claimed that Couchoud's work was the "dream of a poet rather than the work of an historian". He followed with an article "Recent French discussion of the Historical Existence of Jesus Christ." Couchoud's policy was to make no formal response to criticisms.


Maurice Goguel's response, ''Jesus of Nazareth: Myth or History?'' (1925)

The debate of the historicity of Jesus (Goguel) against the denial of historicity (Couchoud) unfurled in Paris during 1923–1925. Maurice Goguel (1880-1955) was a professor at the Faculty of Protestant Theology and the
Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...
University in Paris. Representing a group of liberal
exegetes Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...
, he responded to Couchoud's first article (1923), with an article also published in the ''Mercure de France'' (June 1923), entitled
About the Enigma of Jesus
. To better criticize Couchoud's ideas, he also joined the discussions of "The Union for Truth". Finally, he tackled the whole issue of Couchoud's non-historicity thesis in his ''Jesus of Nazareth: Myth or History?'' (1925, transl. 1926).


Charles Guignebert, ''Jesus'' (1933)

The liberal historian
Charles Guignebert Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
(1867–1939), professor of "History of ancient and medieval Christianity" at the Sorbonne University, had been raised without any religious education, and studying Christianity as a professional historian free of religious bias and apologetics, as shown in his ''The Jesus Problem'' (1914). He defended the historicity of Jesus in an article in the ''Review of History of Religions'' (1926), then with his book ''Jesus'' (1933), criticizing the historicity denial of the major advocates of the time: Paul-Louis Couchoud,
William Benjamin Smith William Benjamin Smith (October 26, 1850 – August 6, 1934) was a professor of mathematics at Tulane University, best known as a proponent of the Christ myth theory. Biography In a series of books, beginning with ''Ecce Deus: The Pre-Christian ...
,
John M. Robertson John Mackinnon Robertson (14 November 1856 – 5 January 1933) was a prolific Scottish journalist, advocate of rationalism and secularism, and Liberal Member of Parliament for Tyneside from 1906 to 1918. Robertson was best known as an advocat ...
, Peter Jensen,
Albert Kalthoff Albert Kalthoff (5 March 1850, Barmen – 11 May 1906, Bremen) was a German Protestant theologian, who along with Emil Felden (1874–1959), Oscar Mauritz (1867–1959), Moritz Schwalb (1833–1916) and Friedrich Steudel (1866–1939) formed a ...
, and
Arthur Drews Christian Heinrich Arthur Drews (; November 1, 1865 – July 19, 1935) was a German writer, historian, philosopher, and important representative of German monist thought. He was born in Uetersen, Holstein, in present-day Germany. Biography Drews ...
. On the other hand, however, he considered that research from Catholic circles was tainted with dogmatic bias. Like Alfred Loisy, Guignebert objected to the apologetic use of historical criticism, as it tends to confuse history with theology, a literary genre characterizing the works of a whole group of French Catholic writers carefully identified in his book. The
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
Joseph Huby published his book, ''The Mythomaniacs of the Rationalist Union'' (1933) as a rebuttal to ''The Question of Jesus and the Origins of Christianity'' (1932), jointly published by P. L. Couchoud, Prosper Alfaric, and Alfred Loisy, a book already condemned and placed on the
Index Index (or its plural form indices) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Index (''A Certain Magical Index''), a character in the light novel series ''A Certain Magical Index'' * The Index, an item on a Halo megastru ...
by the Vatican (June 1933).


Alfred Loisy's ''History and Myth of Jesus'' (1938)

Loisy had remained silent when Couchoud published ''The Mystery of Jesus'' (1924), refusing to make any public commentary. In addition, Couchoud, had been using Loisy's scholarship, considering his own thesis as a logical continuation of Loisy's analysis. in a spirit of friendship, Couchoud had organised Loisy's
jubilee A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...
celebration (1927). Their relationship had created the public impression that Loisy was agreeing with Couchoud. In his book, ''La Naissance du Christianisme'' (1933), transl. ''The Birth of the Christian Religion'', (1948), Loisy had expressed doubts about "the noisy conjectures...
hich Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...
seem to me somewhat fragile. These conjectures arise generally from persons who have arrived late at the problem of Jesus, and who have not previously made any profound study of the history of Israel and of Christianity...With us P.L Couchoud... postulating a pre-Christian myth of the Suffering Jahve, which a vision of Simon Peter suddenly transformed into a living religion." (p. 6). In his ''Memoirs'' Loisy later wrote that he had worried about giving Couchoud too much publicity. He had taken note that Couchoud was close to former radical priests who had also been excommunicated), including Joseph Turmel — sufficient grounds to arouse Loisy's distrust. Loisy, after a long silence, felt the need to speak out publicly in an article in the ''Hibbert Journal'', "Was Jesus a Historical Person?", then in his book ''History and Myth of Jesus'' (1938), attacking Couchoud's non-historicity. He dismissed "Couchoud's central point being the metamorphosis into history, through the initiative of Marcion, of a myth that sprang from Jewish apocalyptic."


Couchoud's response to Loisy, "The Historicity of Jesus" (1939)

Couchoud was extremely hurt by Loisy's publication, whom he counted as a friend and ally. He wrote to Loisy:
"A friend told me that you have devoted the contents of a whole booklet against my last book. I will not read it, because I have learnt at the same time that it is insignificant in its criticism, and noteworthy only for the hatred it manifests. I'm rather proud of the hatred that I have inspired in you through the help I have given you. One must have enemies: it keeps you warm. I regret, poor man, that after having held you in some esteem, I now have to despise you to such a degree.” (June 4, 1938).
Couchoud responded to Loisy with an article in the same ''Hibbert Journal''.''Hibbert Journal'' 37 (1938-9), p.193-214 He attached this response as appendix II to ''The Creation of Christ''. He summarized the confrontation: "The historicity of Jesus is an article of faith." (Appendix II, p. 447). However, Couchoud reiterated his affirmation of the power of the spiritual figure of the Heavenly Christ. " thas no relation to the conception of a man elevated to divinity nor to that of the anthropomorphic God, both of which were familiar to the religion of antiquity. It is an intimate and unique synthesis in which God retains his glory in its fullness and man his mortal destiny in its bitterness, without change of God into man or of man into God. It was a new idea, and it was by this new idea that the world was conquered."


"Myth" versus "religious conception"

Couchoud explained his own use of the word ''myth''. A "myth" is a narrative aiming at shaping beliefs. A ''religious conception'' animates rites, rituals and behaviors: "I am concerned
ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...
the history of a religious conception." Myth is easily derogatory; it explains a natural fact, a rite, or an idea as a "narrative", to help the mind grasp, and remember rules or beliefs. A "religious conception", is "simpler and deeper, far more unsophisticated and fertile. Its relation to rites and myths is primordial. Zeus is a religious conception. The punishment of the Danaids is a myth." The Heavenly Christ is such a "religious conception": "I regard it as philosophically impossible that the conception of the God-Man, the Saviour of the world, can have originated in any event of history... is a great religious creation which arose in the context of the mystery cults and was founded on earlier conceptions and vitalized by mystic illuminations. Its consequences were developed slowly and in sequence."


George Santayana - Saving the "Idea of Christ"

George Santayana Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, known in English as George Santayana (; December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952), was a Spanish and US-American philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. Born in Spain, Santayana was raised ...
(1863-1952) was an agnostic strongly influenced by
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
's evolution, who admired
Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus ( , ;  – ) was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the philosophical poem ''De rerum natura'', a didactic work about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, and which usually is translated into E ...
and
Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...
. He had a soft attitude to religion, calling it the "Spiritual Life", and, as an "aesthetic Catholic", valuing the poetic and aesthetic benefits of belief to consciousness. He was sensitive to the major dilemma between accepting the skeptical findings of historical criticism (Jesus Christ was a myth), and saving the "spiritual" value of the "Idea of Christ". He thus shared some of Couchoud's dual ideas towards Christianity, and even some of Drews, who had claimed that the ideal Christ was a better object of cult for Christianity than a historic Christ.
"Your letter, accompanying Robertson's ''Jesus-Myth or History'', certainly represents just what I think on that subject, and I am pleased to see how clearly you put it. But there is the other side of the question, the ''positive'' history and appeal of the Idea of Christ, which Couchoud feels much more adequately than Robertson, and I was a bit disappointed in finding that Robertson had nothing to add in that direction; nor do the other recent writers he mentions seem to have any new lights. Couchoud is warmer; but on the other hand he does not inspire any confidence, whereas Robertson at least is cautious and reasonable in his conclusions. If I were younger, I should be tempted to write a companion volume, or counterblast, to my ''Idea of Christ in the Gospel'', in the form of ''Probabilities about Jesus in the Real World''. There is hardly any evidence, but there are suggestions that could be sifted and combined, to make a tragic picture. Somebody will doubtless do it some day: but will he be able to be both critical and inspired?"


Jean Guitton's testimony after Couchoud's death

Couchoud, as a psychiatrist, accepted the idea that a religious movement could originate with psychological events such as visions, interpreted by imagination, very close to the symptoms of some psychiatric diseases. As a matter of psychiatric interest, he wanted to visit a French female "mystic" (''mystique''),
Marthe Robin Marthe Robin (13 March 1902 in Châteauneuf-de-Galaure, Drôme, France – 6 February 1981 in Châteauneuf-de-Galaure) was a French Roman Catholic mystic and stigmatist and foundress of the Foyers de charité ("Charity homes") association. She ...
(1902-1981), not far from Vienne, where he had retired. She was a female peasant, paralyzed since 1928 following undocumented mental traumas, and spending her life in bed, in a dark room, reportedly without food. She had claimed visions of the
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
, and having received the
stigmata Stigmata ( grc, στίγματα, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, and feet. Stigm ...
in 1930. Jean Guitton (1901-1999), was also a philosophy graduate of the ENS, like Couchoud, and a disciple of
Henri Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopherHenri Bergson. 2014. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 13 August 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61856/Henri-Bergson
(yet another philosophy graduate of the ENS, and a 1927 Nobel Prize for Literature, 1859-1941). Guitton was a French Catholic philosopher interested in mysticism, and a friend of Couchoud. Guitton interceded with the local archbishop to overcome the resistance of the mystic's Catholic priest who was her "spiritual director" and allow visits by Couchoud. Guitton described his last conversation with Couchoud, discussing the mystic on the quay of the Vienne train station, when Couchoud recited a short poem about the mystic.


Reported deathbed conversion of Couchoud

Guitton later reported in his book, 26 years after Couchoud's death, that "a quarter of an hour before his death, Couchoud received by chance the visit of a priest. He died "in the faith" 'il mourut dans la foi'' as I had the opportunity to say it at his funeral." This "testimony" by Jean Guitton became the source of a French legend that Couchoud would have "converted" on his deathbed, spread in print by most French publications. The reliability of this account has been disputed by those who doubt that the philosopher/psychiatrist, who had been an admirer of Spinoza, a skeptical rationalist all his life, and a standard-bearer of the Christ Myth thesis, would have reversed his lifetime convictions during a short unverified conversation on his deathbed. The value of a deathbed conversion is that it saves a soul from hell, in a Christian perspective. It also gives ammunition to believers for undermining the integrity of a Jesus's existence denier.


Couchoud's non-historicity thesis abandoned in French academia


Predominance of the historicity thesis in French scholarship

The thesis denying the historicity of Jesus has been abandoned by French academic studies since 1933, thanks to the critical work of the secular historian Charles Guignebert. Daniel Marguerat, a Swiss Protestant, former professor of NT at the University of Lausanne, wrote that: "We are no longer in the age when Bruno Bauer (1840), or P. L. Couchoud (1937) went to great lengths to deny that Jesus had existed: Nowadays the debate is about the meaning of his actions, not his existence. Hermann Reimarus is the first source of doubts on the reliability of the Gospels' information on Jesus's life." Étienne Trocmé, a Protestant, President of the Un. of Humanities in Strasbourg, said that "these brilliant ideas of Couchoud’s have been easily refuted by Maurice Goguel ... and Alfred Loisy... They face two insurmountable difficulties: the absence of any denial of the existence of Jesus in ancient times — even among the opponents of Christianity and among those heretics that were the most eager to get rid of the humanity of Jesus — and then the Jewish and specifically Palestinian characteristics that abound in the Synoptic Gospels and make it impossible for them to be the belated creation of a largely Hellenized church. We wish the present epigones of Couchoud and Alfaric would stop rehashing arguments so entirely discredited, that even Soviet historians themselves do not support them any more". A review of the French ideas about Jesus denial (French ''mythisme'') was presented by Charles Maignial, "Quick remarks on mythicism in the history of religions and of faith."


The question of the "historical Jesus" eclipsed by the "Jesus of faith"

A reviewer of Stéphane's book (1962), asked: "Should we conclude that the question f historicityis no longer actual?... some argue that 'doubts about this matter do not deserve one word of rebuttal.'... idence of 'historical type' gives way to 'psychological' arguments... 'of sympathy': Is it necessary or not, to assume at the origin of all and every religion a historical figure?... e question.. becomes 'placed in parenthesis,' which leads exegetes... to push the Jesus of history back into the shadows while vigorously spotlighting the Jesus of faith."


Bibliography


Key works

* ''L'énigme de Jésus'' (Mercure de France, 1923); transl. Winifred Stephens Whale, ''The Enigma of Jesus'', (Watts, 1924) * ''Le mystère de Jésus'' ("The Mystery of Jesus") (F. Rieder, 1924). No English translation * ''La Sagesse Juive: Extraits des livres sapientiaux'' ("Jewish Wisdom: Excerpts from the Wisdom books") (Payot, 1930) * ''Apocalypse'' (Rieder, 1930); transl. Charles B. Bonner, ''The Book of Revelation : A Key to Christian Origins'', (Watts, 1932) * ''Premiers écrits du christianisme'' ("Early Christian Writings") by G.A. van den Bergh van Eysinga, Robert Stahl, and P.L. Couchoud (F. Rieder, 1930) * ''Le problème de Jésus et les origines du christianisme'' ("The Problem of Jesus and the Origins of Christianity"), by Prosper Alfaric, P.L. Couchoud, Albert Bayet, (1932) * ''Jésus : Le Dieu fait homme'' ("God made man"), (Rieder, 1937); transl. Charles B. Bonner, ''The Creation of Christ: An Outline of the Beginnings of Christianity'' (2 vol., Watts, 1939
vol. 1
an
vol. 2


Other works


''Benoit de Spinoza''
(Thesis, Alcan, 1902; 2nd ed. 1924) * ''Au fil de l'eau'' (Along the Waterways) ; followed by Haïkaïs: the first French haïku, 1905-1922 (re-ed., Éric Dussert; 2011) * ''Sages and Poets of Asia'' (Calmann-Levy, 1916, 4th ed. 1923) * ''Japanese Impressions, with a note on Confucius'' (transl. Frances Rumsey, John Lane, 1921) * ''La Vérité sur Jésus: Jésus est-il un Personnage Historique ou un Personnage Légendaire?'' ("The Truth About Jesus: Is Jesus a Historical Figure of a Legendary Figure?"), a public debate (Conflans-Honorine, 1926) *
L'Evangile de Marc A-t-il Eté Ecrit en Latin?
' ("Was the Gospel of Mark Written in Latin?" 1926). German trans. Frans-Joris Fabri,
Das Markusevangelium Ist in Lateinischer Sprache Verfasst Worden
' (2007)

* ''Jubilé Alfred Loisy'' (Paris 1927), by P.L. Couchoud & Alfred Firmin Loisy. Congrès d'histoire du christianisme. (Published under direction of P.-L. Couchoud, Rieder, 1928) *
La Première Edition de St Paul
' ("The First Edition of St. Paul"), (1928). German trans. Frans-Joris Fabri,

' (2001). English trans. Frans-Joris Fabri and Michael Conle

(2002). *

(by P.L. Couchoud & R. Stahl), in ''Premiers écrits du Christianisme'' (1930), pp. 139–161. German transl. Frans-Joris Fabri,
Jesus Barabbas
(2007) *
Le Problème de Jésus
, ''Europe'', No. 138, June 15, 1934, p. 268-273. * "Jésus, Dieu ou homme?" ("Jesus: God or Man?"), (NRF, No. 312, Sept. 1, 1939, 26 p.) * ''Histoire de Jésus'' ("History of Jesus") (PUF, 1944) * ''Spinoza. Pensées et règles de vie'', (J. Haumont, 1944). * "Hymne à Déméter", transl. (1946) * ''Le Dieu Jésus : essai'' ("The God Jesus: An Essay") (Gallimard, 1951)
excerpts online
* ''Une réponse inédite à Loisy sur l'historicité de Jésus'' ("Response to Loisy on Jesus Historicity") (1970)


Notes and references


Further reading

* * * Archibald Robertson,
Jesus: Myth or History?
' (1946) detailed presentation of the themes of Couchoud and other major proponents of historicity versus non-historicity debate, 1770-1940


External links


vridar.org, ''Paul-Louis Couchoud''

vridar.org, ''Earl Doherty’s forerunner? Paul-Louis Couchoud and the birth of Christ''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Couchoud, Paul-Louis 1879 births 1959 deaths Writers from Vienne, Isère 20th-century French philosophers 20th-century French poets French translators Greek–French translators École Normale Supérieure alumni Christ myth theory Christ myth theory proponents Haiku poets