Nietzsche

One of the influential books in Nietzsche's college days was David Strauss's "The Life of Jesus Critically Examined", in which Strauss argues that the miracles in the Bible were merely mythical re-tellings of ordinary events. One critic called it "The Iscariotism of our days," to which Strauss replied, calling the criticism "the offspring of the legitimate marriage between theological ignorance and religious intolerance, blessed by a sleep-walking philosophy." Another critic more memorably tagged the book as being "the most pestilential book ever vomited out of the jaws of hell." Now, that is truly an intolerant tone! Nietzsche's friend, Deussen, was thoroughly convinced by Strauss's arguments. Nietzsche, interestingly enough, was more reserved, telling his friend, "There is a serious consequence - if you give up Christ, you will have to give up God too."

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Sources

Ronald Hayman, "Nietzsche: A Critical Life"

Wikipedia: David Strauss