18th c. (publications 1760–1781)

The Beginnings of Historical Criticism of the Bible: Reimarus, Semler, and Lessing

Germany was shaken by the posthumous publication of parts of Hermann Samuel Reimarus's (1694–1767) Apology for the Rational Worshippers of God. The work questioned the historicity of the gospel miracles and spurred biblical scholars toward critical study of Scripture. Deists had raised this question earlier.

Johann Salomo Semler of Halle became one of the pioneers of the historical-critical method. Johann August Ernesti worked on the grammatical and philological side of interpretation. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing came out with The Education of the Human Race.