GEIGER
standard-bearers no longer exist as a political
unit-then this religion has passed a great trial
on the way to demonstrating its reliability and
its truth'. (Geiger, 1911, 25)
In Geiger's view, the development of
Jewish history is divided into four stages.
First, in the age of revelation, the concept of
Judaism was perceived as essentially moral
and spiritual, capable of continual
development. In the second stage-the age of
tradition-the Bible was continually
reshaped and reinterpreted so that the idea of
Judaism would continually be relevant.
During the third period, the age of legalism,
the Babylonian Talmud served as the fulcrum
of Jewish existence. The fourth period-the
era of critical study-marks a significant
break from the past: during this epoch the
constraints of the legalistic heritage have
been overcome through critical reflection and
historical research. Yet, though halakhah
(Jewish law) has not been considered as
binding in this fourth stage, this does not
imply that Judaism is cut off from its roots.
On the contrary, historical studies can
revitalize the traditon. Those aspects of the
Jewish past which are to be discarded should
be viewed as medieval abnormalities
resulting fron1 various restraints: they are not
inextricably connected to the core of the
faith.
In propounding this interpretation of Jewish
history, Geiger was concerned to understand the
Jewish background of Christianity and thereby
combat the anti-Jewish features of eighteenth-
century New Testament scholarship. In Geiger's
view, Jesus 'was a Jew, a Pharisee Jew with
some Galilean colorations; he was an individual
who shared the hopes of his time and believed
that this hope had been fulfilled in him. He
uttered no new thoughts nor did he break
through the boundaries of nationalism' (Geiger,
1910, 118). According to Geiger, Jesus fitted
into the religious context of first-century
Palestine. Even though he viewed himself as the
Messiah, such a claim was in no sense heretical·
'
42
his life and thought are thus authentically
Jewish. Given such a conception of Jesus,
Geiger concludes:
We cannot deny him a deep introspective
nature, but there is no trace of a decisive
stand that promised lasting results ... there
was no great work of reform nor any new
thoughts that left the usual paths. He did
oppose abuses, perhaps occasionally more
forcefully than the Pharisees, yet on the
whole it was done in their manner. (Geiger,
1875, vol. II, 113)
In Geiger's view, Jesus believed that a new
world of history had been initiated in his
lifetime, and his followers awaited this new age.
Concerning Paul, Geiger argues that he was
profoundly influenced by Hellenistic Judaism
and Philo' s conception of the logos', in his
teaching Paul transformed the original messianic
sect in which Jesus was understood as the
intermediary between God and humanity. Jesus,
as well as early Christianity, he continues, was
also influenced by the Sadducees. 'The High
Priesthood of Jesus', Geiger writes, 'his death as
a sacrifice, the participation in the eucharist with
his blood and body became a new priesthood
endowed with the sacredness and holiness of the
old' (Geiger, 1874, 715). In Geiger's estimation,
the Judaeo-Christian sect eventually began to
spread its message to gentiles. The first stage of
this development was essentially Jewish-this
period is marked by the original version of the
Gospel of Mark. A later stage contained the
expression 'Son of God' which was
subsequently used by other Gospel writers. For
Geiger, Christianity's final break with its Jewish
past was initiated by Paul, who had been
influenced by Hellenistic Jewish thought with its
emphasis on the Messiah and the logos. This
initiative gained impetus with the destruction of
the Jerusalem Temple and the defeat of bar
Kokhba.
In his Introduction to Jewish Theology,
Geiger explores the impact of Christianity on