TUEBINGEN SCHOOL. A School of theology in Germany of which the real founder was Ferdinand Christian Baur (1792-1860). In 1835 appeared the famous " Life of Jesus " by David Friedrich Strauss (1808-1874), in which the mythical theory was applied rigorously to the gospel history. " The author's method is to apply the principle of myth to the whole extent of the story of the life of Jesus, to find mythical narratives, or at least embellishments, scattered throughout all its parts " (Strauss). The book caused a sensation, and the author was fiercely attacked. But Strauss's work was apprec iated and defended by his Tuebingen teacher, F. C. Baur, and the critical method was continued and developed by Baur's School. Baur had already published (1831) his essay on the Epistles to the Corinthians, " Die Christuspartei in der korinthischen Gemeinde, der Gegen satz des pattlinischen und petrinischen Christenthums in der altesten Kirche, der Apostel Petrus in Rom," in which he sought to show that in the early Church there was opposition between a Pauline and a Petrine party. This was followed by works on the other books of the New Testament, works which were characterised by what came to be known as " Tendenzkritik " (cp. TENDENCY THEORY). Baur found the New Testament writings to be " products of a definite party movement," and he thought it possible to determine " their place in the his tory of primitive Christianity by means of their sup posed dogmatic or ecclesiastical Tendenz '" (Pflei derer). Baur and Strauss were reinforced by Eduard Zeller (1814-1908), Albert Schwegler (1819-1857). Karl Planck (1819-1880), and Karl Kostlin (1819-1894); and the Tuebingen School had an organ in the " Theologische Jahrbticher." Planck and Kiistlin, however, tried to correct the extravagances of A. Schwegler. They were followed by Albrecht Ritschl (1822-1889), who carried his corrections so far that, from being a sympathiser, he became an opponent of the School (so in the second edition of his book, " Die Entstehung der altkatholischen Kirche," 1857). Other opponents were G. V. Lechler (181.1-18S8), B. Weiss (b. 1827), Eduard Reuss (1804-1S91),
H. Ewald (1803-1875), and Karl Hase (1800-1890). But the Tuebingen School found again able defenders in such scholars as A. Hilgenfeld (1S23-1907), who was editor of "Die Zeitschrift far wissenschaftliche Theologie "; Volk-mar, author of " Jesus Nazarenus und die erste christliche Zeit " (1882); and Holsten. Hilgenfeld pre ferred to speak of his method as " Literarkrltik," not as " Tendenzkritik." Other important representatives of the School were Adolf Hausrath (b. 1837), who was also a novelist (George Taylor), and Otto Pflelderer (b. 1839). An important work by Hausrath was his " Neutesta mentliche Zeitgeschichte." " As this work is further distinguished by a beauty of style rare in German theologians, it has attracted attention even among the laity, and contributed much to the diffusion of the results of modern research " (Pfleiderer). Pfleiderer, referring to his own book, " Das Urchristenthurn," writes as follows. " In it I have tried to show that the develop ment of primitive Christianity into the Catholic Church must not be conceived as a continued struggle and gradual reconciliation between Paulinism and Jewish Christianity, as Baur had thought; nor (with Ritschl) as a falling away from the apostolical religion and a degeneration of Paulinism; but as the natural evolution of the Christian Hellenism introduced by Paul, which soon cast off the Pharisaic elements in Paul's doctrines, and developed, on the one hand, in a speculative direct ion, into the Johannine theology of Asia Minor; on the other, in a practical direction, into the Church life of Rome (Epistle of James). But notwithstanding my difference from Baur, both in my general view and in my estimate of individual books (especially the Apocalypse, the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, the Acts and others), I shall never forget how much I, with all our generation, owe to the epoch-making achievements of the great Tiibingen Master." See R. W. Mackay, The Tiibingen School and its Antecedents, 1863; Otto Pfleiderer, The Development of Theol.; and Henry S. Nash, Higher Grit. of the N.T.