speculative life of Jesus attracted very little scholarly attention. They were plainly based on supposition and thus could add little to more serious historical studies, as noted by Schweitzer. The Classical Period The nineteenth century was the classical period of Protestant Liberalism. Often dated from the publication of Schleiermacher’s On Religion7 in 1799 until World War I, these decades probably produced the largest number of “lives of Jesus.” In fact, this period of thought is sometimes characterized