Wolfenbüttel Fragments

A German Deist tract written by H.S. Reimarus,* after whose death the manuscript was given to G.E. Lessing* who published portions of it between 1774 and 1778 as “Fragments by an Anonymous Writer.” It rejected the validity of biblical revelation and explained the origins of Christianity from a purely naturalistic standpoint. Jesus was merely a fervent mystic whose dream of a kingdom on earth was shattered on the cross. The apostles invented the fable of his resurrection to conceal his defeat.