Arthur Drews

Born in 1865, Arthur Drews was a German philosopher and writer associated with idealist thought and influenced by Eduard von Hartmann. He taught for many years at the Technical University in Karlsruhe, where he developed a body of work on philosophy, religion, and the history of ideas.

He is remembered above all for promoting the "Christ myth" theory, especially in his 1909 book The Christ Myth, where he argued that Jesus should be understood as a mythical rather than historical figure. The book sparked intense debate in Germany and beyond, making Drews an unusually public intellectual for a philosopher working on religion.

Drews continued to write on metaphysics, religious history, and critiques of Christianity until his death in 1935. Even when readers strongly disagree with his conclusions, his books remain part of the story of how modern scholars and skeptics challenged traditional views of religion.