Moderne Leben-Jesu-Forschung unter dem Einflusse der Psychiatrie (English: Modern Quest for the historical Jesus Under the Influence of Psychiatry) is a book published in 1908 by Philipp Kneib. In the years before the publication, several authors had brought up the notion that Jesus was not divine, but rather an influential mentally ill individual. Kneib tries to reject this idea in his book by discussing the general possibility of miracles and the resurrection of Jesus. He further deals with every argument for the notion that Jesus was mentally ill and brings up counterarguments. By upholding the believe that Jesus was sane, Kneib tries to reinforce the belief in Jesus' divinity.
Context
Author
The author of the book, Philipp Kneib (19 February 1870 in Zornheim, Germany – 21 Juli 1915 in Würzburg, Germany), was ordained as a catholic priest in 1895, started teaching in 1899, and was appointed professor of moral theology in 1903. During his time as a teacher and as a professor, Kneib published multiple books in relation to theology. In line with his education, he always defended the Catholic ideology in these books, with the aim to reinforce the believe in Christianity. For example, in "Die Beweise für die Unsterblichkeit der Seele aus allgemeinen psychologischen Tatsachen" he tries to prove the "immortality of the soul by means of common psychological facts". Moderne Leben-Jesu-Forschung unter dem Einflusse der Psychiatrie matches well in this series of publication as the topic is deeply theological and Kneib makes it explicit that he wants to strengthen the Christian believe with his arguments. Consistent with his theological background and his previous publications, he also aims to uphold the believe in Jesus as a divine representative of God. However, it is the only book published by him that deals with a psychiatric topic.
Quest for the Historical Jesus
Moderne Leben-Jesu-Forschung unter dem Einflusse der Psychiatrie is part of a broader movement of the quest for the historical Jesus. The aim of this movement is to investigate which aspects of Jesus' life can be attributed to the historical Jesus and tries to make a historically accurate portrayal of his doings and personal characteristics. Shortly after the end of Enlightenment, the first attempts to produce biographies of Jesus' life were made. They often either served the purpose to doubt the historicity of Jesus as he is described in the bible, or they made a romanticised portrayal of his life and intentions. These biographies were only loosely based on the Gospels and often disregarded the parts of the gospels that did not fit in the scheme. The most influential publication in this early phase of the quest was contributed by David Strauss in 1835. He asserted that Jesus existed, but that he was not divine. His claims were substantiated on more solid grounds than those of his predecessors. The title of his publication ("Das Leben Jesu"; English: "The life of Jesus") coined the German term for the field (Leben-Jesu-Forschung), which was also used in the title of Kneib's book. In 1906, two years before the publication of Moderne Leben-Jesu-Forschung unter dem Einflusse der Psychiatrie, Albert Schweitzer published his influential book Von Weimarus zu Wrede: eine Geschichte der Leben-Jesu-Forschung (English version: The quest of the historical Jesus). He reviewed the publications that had been made so far and pointed out major methodological shortcomings in the field. The criticism in this book largely decreased the research in relation to the quest for the historical Jesus for nearly the next 50 years.
By using the name of the field in the title of his book, Kneib relates his own work to the movement of the quest for the historical Jesus. It is one of the latest publication in this phase of the quest for the historical Jesus. Similar to the other authors of this movement, the foundation of his arguments are the literal words of the bible. He thereby ignores the criticism that had been expressed by Schweitzer two years before.
Challenging the Sanity of Jesus
During the course of the quest for the historical Jesus, attempts to challenge the sanity of Jesus were made, starting in the second half of the 18th century. The first to do so was Jean Meslier in his Testament, published in 1773. He aimed to prove that Jesus was "a madman, a fanatic". This notion was repeated in similar form by several other authors, including David F. Strauss, up until right before the publication of Kneib's book and continue til today.