About the proof of spirit and strength

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There is a text about the proof of spirit and strength that Gotthold Ephraim Lessing wrote in 1777 in connection with the now famous fragments dispute.

Emergence

The text was created as a reaction to a work by the theologian Johann Daniel Schumann with the title On the Evidence of Evidence for the Christian Religion . In it he tried to prove the divinity of the Christian religion, which was previously questioned in the fragments published by Lessing by an unnamed , among many other things concerning the Christian religion. Compared to other texts by Lessing, which arose during the fragmentation dispute, this one is characterized by its small size.

content

In his text Lessing in no way attacks Christianity or doubts its worth. He only objects to the claim that one must believe in Christianity because the Bible tells of so many miracles and fulfilled prophecies, which is only due to the influence of God. Lessing says in his reply that these are only reports and reports themselves are not miracles or fulfilled prophecies. But he himself never saw or experienced such a miracle that a prophecy would come true and could therefore not see it as evidence. They are just as reliable as any historical truth. In this context he made the frequently quoted statement: "Accidental historical truths can never become the proof of necessary rational truths". He also criticizes statements that the truth does not matter because the result is so good. That is why his faith has to appeal to something else and consult his mind on this.

effect

This letter was followed by a letter from Schumann, in which, however, he clearly stated that he no longer wanted to comment on the subject. Lessing reacted again on his part, but Schumann as a discussion partner disappeared at this point and made room for others. Which ultimately led to the Constitution of Nathan the Wise .

Text sources

  • Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim: Works and Letters. Ed. v. Wilfried Barner (among others). Vol. 8 works 1774–1778. Deutscher Klassiker Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1989, ISBN 3-618-61125-0 .
  • von Düffel, Peter: GE Lessing. Nathan the wise. Explanations and documents. Reclam, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-15-008118-1 .

literature

  • Monika Fick: Lessing manual. Life-work-effect . Metzler Verlag, 2000, ISBN 3-476-01685-4 , pp. 410-411.
  • Heinrich Scholz: Accidental historical truths and necessary truths of reason . In: Harnack Honor. Contributions to church history offered to her teacher Adolf von Harnack on his seventieth birthday by a number of his students. Hinrichs Leipzig 1921, pp. 377-393.
  • Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim: Nathan the wise. Text and comment . Comment v. Wilhelm Große. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 2003, p. 189.