Introduction Friedrich Schleiermacher's On Religion: Speeches to its Cultured Despisers led to his description of "the Father of Modern Theology." The first two speeches, "Defence" and "The Nature of Religion" both use established concepts to oppose orthodoxy and establish a new method of theological thought that influences theology to modern times. Paul Tillich and Karl Rahner are also influential, both supporting the vital and intimate relationship between the divine and the human. Furthermore, this essential interrelationship and theology's focus on it are supported by various Christian philosophical/theological thinkers, including Langdon Gilkey, Martin Luther, John Calvin and Blaise Pascal. Body: Q1. Friedrich Schleiermacher has often been called "the father of Modern Theology". On the basis of the first two speeches of "On Religion: Speeches to its cultured despisers", is that title rightly accorded him or not? Why? The first two speeches of On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultured Despisers distinguish Schleiermacher as the father of Protestant Liberal Theology, at the very least (Schleiermacher 1996, xiv, xi). The First Speech is "Defence" (Schleiermacher 1996, 1-25) and the Second Speech is "The Nature of Religion" (Schleiermacher 1996, 26-118). Reacting to the orthodoxy, enlightened rationality and detachment, and neoclassical ideals of his time (Schleiermacher 1996, xiv, xvi), Schleiermacher used some established concepts to articulate a newer, liberal approach
Question 3. 3.(TCO 2) Who was the German theologian who argued in The Idea of the Holy that religions emerge when people experience that aspect of reality which is essentially mysterious? (Points : 4)
The source is valuable as it offers the opinion of a key figure of the German Reformation. It could be argued that due
1. Which early theorist of religion said the following: “The criticism of religion disillusions man, so that he will think, act, and fashion his reality like a man who has discarded his illusions and regained his senses, so that he will move around himself as his own true sun”?
This understanding of Schleiermacher’s religion will become important in our later discussion of the value of Christianity.
Michael J. Himes, in his book Doing the Truth in Love, describes theology as a way of “talking about God.” Talking about God brings many questions to mind: how do people talk about God when God is a mystery? How do people converse about what they do not know for sure? Many may think theology is inherited and even theologians talk about what they have learned from doctrines and the history they have been taught. Even though theologians know very little about God aside from what they studied, they still know it is important to talk about God. As Himes states, “God is simply too important to us not to talk about.” Although theologians are still figuring out the mysteries of God, they attempt to put forth their opinions and ideas about God in order to inspire people to find their own theology.
Rauschenbusch believes that theology has “lost its contact with the synoptic thought of Jesus” (133). While
During the Nazi German era, which took place from 1933 until 1945, Christianity played a very important role in the rise of Hitler’s regime. The Christian churches greatly influenced not only the formation of the Nazi regime, but also the German folk. The most influential churches were the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Church. Even though Christianity itself faced a state of decline in the early 1930s, the higher clergy of the Christian churches in Germany still managed to make a significant impact. The amount of influence that the churches exerted can be measured not only through the impact of their resistance towards the Nazis, but conversely through the resistance carried out by
In this paper, I am going to share my ideas of theology. I believe that one of the biggest mistakes I made in the past was that I was afraid of being rejected, so I wrote a theology paper and tried to give the previous COM what I thought they wanted to hear instead of what was truly inside of me. Fortunately for me, even though I was not given a green light in order to see the Eccleastical Council, I was licensed to preach and this gave me time
This paper seeks to compare two theologians, one male, one female, one Trinitarian and one mythological, Thomas F. Torrance and Sallie McFague.
argued from various perspectives or disciplines that man is a by nature a religious being. Karl
Known as the father of modern liberal theology, Friedrich Schleiermacher was a German theologian, philosopher and biblical scholar who focused his attention on the nature of religious experience from the viewpoint of the individual and human nature itself (Mariña 3). Influenced by German Romanticism, Schleiermacher attempted to reconcile the criticisms of the Enlightenment with traditional Protestant Christianity (Crouter 261). By doing so, he abandoned the pietistic Moravian theology that had failed to satisfy his increasing doubts and he adopted the rational spirit of Christian Wolff and Johann Salomo Semler. He then became acquainted with the techniques of historical criticism of the New Testament and of Johann Augustus Eberhard, from whom he acquired a love of the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. As a result, he began applying ideas from the Greek philosophers to a reconstruction of Immanuel Kant’s system (Mariña 3). On this basis, this essay articulate Friedrich Schleiermacher’s understanding of religion and its relationship to Christianity as described in Speech I: Defense and Speech II: The Nature of Religion of his work On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultured Despisers. The essay will explore Schleiermacher’s rejection of various views of religion held by the despisers, explain his identification of the true religion with feeling and describe his view of the relationship between religion and Christianity.
Henry, M. (2003). I am the truth: toward a philosophy of Christianity. Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press.
Religious tolerance of the Roman Catholic Church was swaying as a boat would in a storm as wild as the controversies of the Church. With Government being choked by the roots of the Church many Theologians, people who study the concepts of God wanted to reform their fate to where it was maintaining a true faith in God. With Religion being the center of Government, people tried to come up with ideas to keep God in charge. Martin Luther religious a German friar already chipped at the corruptions of the Church. Reject several teachings and practices such as calming that redemption from sin shouldn’t be paid with coin, created the start of new ways of thinking. With the new philosophy of rationalism being born in the 17th-18th century, the religion of reason became a center of thinking for philosophers, expose all myths, superstitions and traditions During the age of Enlightenment, John Locke an English
The father of liberal theology, Schleiermacher, made “passivity” the most important qualifier. He took the concept a step further and proposed that the “essence of religion is the feeling of absolute dependence” and this approach was supported by scholars such as Rudolf Otto, who defined religious experience as “wholly other”.
A religion can be seen as a unified system of beliefs and practices which are relative to sacred things and beliefs (Giddens 1972, p.224). It can shape ones thoughts and feelings and gives people a sense of hope and something to believe in. All three main sociologist writers Karl Marx, Max Weber and Emile Durkheim offer different perspectives on religion and how important it is to society. Some of the theorists chose to have a positive view whilst others argue the unimportance of religion. This essay attempts to discover which theorist has the most accurate perspective of religion in modern times. This is done by firstly explaining the basic ideas regarding to religion put forward by Marx, Weber and Durkheim. Then both Marx's and