03_modern_0206_schleiermacher

Schleiermacher, the father of liberal Protestantism, believed that one can embrace the Enlightenment and still be a Christian. He viewed religion as a feeling of absolute dependence and saw Jesus as the embodiment of this consciousness. He didn't think errors in the Bible mattered much, as some parts were more inspired than others, similar to writing poetry. He considered the Old Testament primitive and only helpful for context, while the New Testament was the most inspired. He believed that biblical criticism could determine which parts were credible. He placed the doctrine of scripture under church history in his theology. He believed that the Spirit inspires Christians of every age and that the canon is closed, but Christianity can still be rethought. He rejected the idea of a fixed, unchanging truth claim and criticized the mindset of relying solely on written texts for a relationship with God. Despite controversy, he was highly respected and influential in German society, impactin Schleiermacher is the father of liberal Protestantism. He grew up in a pietistic home at the end of the Enlightenment at the start of Romanticism. Around 1800 he published his first book and moved to Berlin. He said you can accept the Enlightenment and still be a Christian. He envisioned religion as the feeling of absolute dependence and Jesus as the ultimate embodiment of this God-consciousness. And he said if that's the case, what difference does it make if the Bible has errors in it? Similar to Grotius and Leclerc, he said some portions are more inspired than others, but he went further to say that this inspiration is just the same kind of inspiration that we get when we write a poem. And he said that the Old Testament is primitive and basically only helpful for context. The New Testament is the most inspired. And we can use biblical criticism to figure out which parts of the New Testament are credible. In his systematic theology he actually put the doctrine of scripture under church history, because it's just one example of Christians being inspired. But the Spirit creatively inspires Christians of every age, not just those guys. The canon is closed, but still we can rethink Christianity, and this allowed him to rethink even the most core doctrines of the Christian faith, such as the Trinity. Ultimately the scriptures were helpful for us because God is present with us, and the Spirit uses the scriptures to enlighten us, but not as some fixed, unchanging truth claim. That's just the dead religion of men with no relationship with God who collect a mausoleum of writings from other men who did have an experience with God as a substitute for their own experience of God. This is how he was really against that sort of mindset. And you might think this is crazy, but Berlin loved him. He had 20,000 people at his funeral, and was just an absolute legend in German society. And he has had an inestimable impact on how modern Christianity has approached the Bible.