Some tried to reconcile Reimarus’s views with more traditional beliefs. A theologian from Heidelberg, H. E. G. Paulus, attempted a ‘rational’ explanation of the miracles, arguing that they were in fact natural events mistakenly taken to be miracles by the rather gullible disciples. Most famous is his explanation of the feeding of the five thousand: by sharing his own loaves and fishes, Jesus prompted others to do likewise. Thus, the feeding was not a miracle but a story of what can happen when everyone