Wolfhart Pannenberg

The fifth and final discussion of Schleiermacher that focuses on his theology. The final two sections of the exposition by Schleiermacher offer to me the impression that he either lacks interest or is tired. I do not mind. If we look upon his work to this point, he has made some of the most creative breakthroughs that continue to inspire theologians today, even if they find themselves in disagreement. He shifted philosophical theology from it discussion of natural theology to the philosophy of religion. He also shifted philosophical theology from the various proofs for the existence of God to a consideration of philosophical anthropology. The significance of these efforts is that he has attempted to persuade us that humanity is intrinsically religious, which means that we depend upon openness to the experience of the Eternal for authentic living. He tries to show that Christianity is a particular mode of this experience of the Eternal. Theology has integrity as it accurately p...

The Christian Faith, Sections 20-31             In these sections, Schleiermacher will discuss his view of the method of dogmatics. We can see the Christ centered approach to theology when he says that we can define orthodoxy as adherence to the essence of Christianity, Jesus the Redeemer. Properly understood, I think most people who are Christians would agree with this. He has kept it simple. He also defends the idea that theologians will have their individuality in how they reflect upon these matters, something for which I hope we will have respect as well. [1] We need to have a degree of generosity as theologians work through the difficult matters of their task.             What do you think keeps one within the thought of Christianity? I might suggest a simple statement in Acts 2:42: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the break...

Over the years, Friedrich Schleiermacher has become something like a friend. I know him only through his writings, and a little biography, but that has been enough to feel some kindred feeling with him. In Acts 17:28 we read, “In him we live and move and have our being,” a quote from a Greek poet that I think summarizes quite well the sense that Schleiermacher for religion. In this too long essay, I intend to explore On Religion: Speeches to its Cultured Despisers (1800) and The Christian Faith (1830), Sections 1-19. These parts of his writings are influential and controversial. Scholars will make the statement that one can mark the beginning of Protestant liberal theology with Speeches and its end with Barth when he wrote Romans (1922). His The Christian Faith set a pattern for modern theological reflection that continues to influence theologians today. Speeches is one of the classics in Christian theology. Jack Forstman, in a Forward he wrote to a translation of the book, d...