110 The Fundamentals What do these men say? The two physicians claim that the only rational explanation of this Christ is to consider Him as one of the great pathological figures in the world’s history; that means, in other words, that He was partially insane. The others say exactly what conservative theolo- gians—as B. Weiss, Ihmels, Kahler, Zahm, Haussleiter, Grutzmacher, Lemme, and others—alway s have said against this naturalistic representation of Jesus, and what was ig- nored by liberal theologians. But here are men who were trained in the methods of Pfleiderer, Bousset, and their kin; men who possess as much critical acumen and philosophic penetration as do the liberal leaders; men whose thinking is in no wise fettered by dogmatic prejudices,—and their al- most unanimous verdict is really remarkable. All of them say that this picture of Christ is both un- scientific and unhistorical. It is unscientific, because the methods applied are purely subjective. Says Dr. Kalthoff, after analyzing the Jesus of a number of modern theologians : “Every scholar leaves of the words of Christ only what he can make use of according to his preconceived notions of what is historically possible. Lacking every historical defi- niteness, the name of Jesus has become an empty vessel into which every theologian pours his own thoughts and ideas.” Eduard von Hartmann shows that the only results which this method of analytical criticism has arrived at are nega- tive results. “The historic Christ remains a problematical figure which is of no religious value at all.” W. von Schnehen quotes the liberal Professor Steck, who says: “A strict ap- plication of these principles of research will show that there is not one solitary word of Jesus of which we know for certain that it was spoken thus and not otherwise by Jesus,” and uses this assertion to prove that all pictures of Christ are admittedly uncertain; and consequently unscientific. But another argument which is of much greater import is advanced. Kalthoff, von Schnehen. and von Hartmann
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