The publication of The Christ Myth in 1909 thrust Arthur Drews into international controversy, as he utilized the thesis initially proposed by Bruno Bauer to challenge the historicity of Jesus. Born in 1865 in Uetersen, this German philosopher, writer, and university teacher spent his career critiquing established religious frameworks and advocating for a shift toward monist thought.
Academic Career and Influences
Drews served as a professor of philosophy and German language at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. His intellectual foundation rested on the work of Eduard von Hartmann, whose concept of the unconscious World Spirit shaped his understanding of reality and history. This commitment to monism led him to reject the spiritual dryness he perceived in traditional Christianity, urging instead a religious renewal rooted in German idealism.
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Throughout his life, Drews acted as a persistent critic of Judaism and Christianity, viewing them as relics of antiquity defined by religious dualism. He argued against the Protestant liberal theological tendency to prioritize the Great Man Theory of history, particularly the focus on the personality of a historical Jesus. In his 1926 work, The Denial of the Historicity of Jesus in Past and Present, he compiled a historical review of 35 figures who questioned the existence of a physical Jesus. His later writings, including his 1935 book The German Religion, reflected his failed attempt to replace established faiths with a new belief system.
Opposition to Nietzsche and Wagnerian Defense
Drews maintained a staunch defense of Richard Wagner, producing extensive literature on Wagner's religious and nationalistic ideas. Conversely, he engaged in a lifelong academic assault on Friedrich Nietzsche. In his 1904 lecture, Nietzsches Philosophie, and his 1919 text, Nietzsche als Antipode Wagners, Drews characterized Nietzsche as an apostle of unchecked individualism. By 1934, in an article for the journal Nordische Stimmen, he rejected the Nazi appropriation of Nietzsche, arguing that the philosopher's actual works fundamentally opposed the National Socialist credo of collective utility over the individual.
Fast facts
- Born: 1865, Uetersen
- Died: 1935, Illenau
- Citizenship: Germany
- Primary Employer: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
- Notable Work: The Christ Myth (1909)
- Philosophical School: Monism
- Occupations: writer, university teacher, philosopher, art collector
Questions readers ask
What was the core thesis of The Christ Myth?
Drews argued that the historical existence of Jesus could not be proven, suggesting instead that the figure was a mythic construct rather than a historical person.
Why did Drews critique Nietzsche?
He viewed Nietzsche as an extremist individualist who lacked social awareness and whose philosophies were incompatible with the nationalistic ideals Drews supported.
Achievements
- Held posts at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
