Maybe you have heard the phrase, “The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it.”
Until a few months ago, I had not observed the great error contained in that phrase. However, thanks to one of the senior saints at our church, I was informed of its self-centeredness. On the occasion that someone wryly quoted that phrase in a small group Bible study, this seasoned lady kindly replied that actually if the Bible says it, that settles it.
Who is Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher? (a) A nineteenth century German theologian? (b) A pietistic pastor with a funny name? (c) The father of liberal theology? (d) Or the unknown philosopher whose views on religious experience have shaped much of evangelical theology?
How about (e) All of the above? Amazingly, Schleiermacher’s approach to theology has both influenced two hundred years of liberal theology and is still influencing evangelical thought more than two-centuries later. While most who know his name associate him with liberalism, many who do not know him are unaware at how much his brand of Christianity is being reproduced in Christendom today. For that reason, the question “Who is Friedrich Schleiermacher?” is of vital importance today.
The influence of this nineteenth-century German theologian on contemporary theology can hardly be overestimated. Although most Christians have never heard of Schleiermacher, his ideas about religion in general and Christianity in particular have trickled down to them through the theological education of their pastors, denomination leaders, favorite religious authors and college teachers. His influence is subtle but persuasive in Western Christianity. He is to Christian theology what Newton is to physics, what Freud is to psychology and what Darwin is to biology. That is to say, he may be the absolute authority, but he was the trailblazer and trendsetter, the one thinker subsequent theologians cannot ignore (Roger Olson and Stanley Grenz, 20th-Century Theology: God & The World in a Transitional Age [Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 1992], 39).
Olson and Grenz’s appraisal needs qualification but is broadly correct. Just as Freud and Darwin have set the pace for certain kinds of (secular) psychology and biology, so Schleiermacher has blazed a trail for liberal theology–the theology usually associated with mainline denominations. However, as in the case of psychology and biology, the conservative world has not been unaffected. Where Christian psychologists and biologists must interact with the secular or evolutionary theories of the day, so conservative theologians must interact with the liberal views that arose from Schleiermacher.
Yet, another qualification is needed. Schleiermacher’s theology is not just “out there.” His feelings-based, experiential form of religion has permeated conservative evangelicalism. Even in churches that confessionally affirm the inerrancy of the Bible and the objective work of salvation, many live by their feelings. They look for the next word from God to them, the next experience. Instead of walking by faith that is grounded in God’s specific promises, they walk with an ambiguous God conscience and God dependence.
Just listen to the banter of Christian radio. What Matt Papa has recently critiqued in his thoughtful series of posts on CCM is nothing but Schleiermacherianism (I know, that is mouthful). But it is true. On the other side of the “Battle for the Bible”– a battle that continues today–most evangelicals are uninformed about the pernicious battle for the Christian mind.
Instead of thinking diligently about matters of faith (2 Tim 2:7) and loving God with all their mind (Mark 12:29-30), too many simply imbibe a kind of Christianity that is replete with appeals for emotion, ethical living, imitations of Christ, and God-dependence. Because ‘God,’ ‘Scripture,’ ‘Jesus,’ ‘faith,’ and other buzz words are employed, many evangelicals think they are being biblical and growing in grace. And praise God, many are; but many more may be influenced by the spirit of Schleiermacher more than the Spirit of Christ. Over the next few days we will consider who this man is, and how an awareness of his theology may serve evangelicals by
The goal is not to commend his theology or his method, but to show how his theological method is similar to what passes as standard fare among many evangelicals today. My hope is to introduce this man and his theology, so that we will be better able to see the way his kind rationalistic Romanticism has infected the church today. I fear that unless we learn to see this hyper-subjective brand of Christianity, there will be many for whom the gospel will implode–theology will become anthropology. This happened in the past with classical liberalism, and it could again happen among evangelicals–especially among those who are emphasizing the personal, subjective experience over the sovereign act of God in salvation.
Of course, we need both, but in our day, the pendulum needs to swing back toward the objective work of Christ. I believe getting to know Friedrich Schleiermacher may be the historical figure to help us see the far-reaching dangers of experience-based Christianity. And hopefully, it will bring us back towards the unmistakably God-centered gospel where the Triune God is the Lord of salvation (Jonah 2:9).
This week, I will be running a series of posts on Schleiermacher–his life, theology, and its impact on evangelicals today. Hope you will tune in.
Soli Deo Gloria, dss
In his recent FREE online ebook, Exposing the Dark Work of Abortion, John Piper lists 15 critical ‘truths’ about abortion. As many churches celebrate life this Sunday and call an end to the genocide that is abortion, may these truths spur you on to fight the good fight of faith to protect life and proclaim eternal life whose guilt over a previous abortion leaves them scarred for life.
1. Existing fetal homicide laws make a man guilty of manslaughter if he kills the baby in a mother’s womb (except in the case of abortion).
2. Fetal surgery is performed on babies in the womb to save them while another child the same age is being legally destroyed.
3. Babies can sometimes survive on their own at 23 or 24 weeks, but abortion is legal beyond this limit.
4. Living on its own is not the criterion of human per- sonhood, as we know from the use of respirators and dialysis.
5. Size is irrelevant to human personhood, as we know from the difference between a one-week-old and a six-year-old.
6. Developed reasoning powers are not the criterion of personhood, as we know from the capacities of three- month-old babies.
7. Infants in the womb are human beings scientifically by virtue of their genetic makeup.
8. Ultrasound has given a stunning window on the womb that shows the unborn at eight weeks sucking his thumb, recoiling from pricking, responding to sound. All the organs are present, the brain is functioning, the heart is pumping, the liver is making blood cells, the kidneys are cleaning fluids, and there is a fingerprint. Virtually all abortions happen later than this date.
9. Justice dictates that when two legitimate rights conflict, the limitation of rights that does the least harm is the most just. Bearing a child for adoption does less harm than killing him.
10. Justice dictates that when either of two people must be inconvenienced or hurt to alleviate their united predicament, the one who bore the greater responsibility for the predicament should bear more of the inconvenience or hurt to alleviate it.
11. Justice dictates that a person may not coerce harm on another person by threatening voluntary harm on themselves.
12. The outcast and the disadvantaged and exploited are to be cared for in a special way, especially those with no voice of their own.
13. What is happening in the womb is the unique person-nurturing work of God, who alone has the right to give and take life.
14. There are countless clinics that offer life and hope to both mother and child (and father and parents), with care of every kind, lovingly provided by people who will meet every need they can.
15. Jesus Christ can forgive all sins, and will give all who trusts him the help they need to do everything that life requires.
God in heaven, maker of life and limb, may you be pleased to end this murderous “right” in our generation. More than that, would you make abortion so ugly, so hated, so despicable to Christian and non-Christian alike, that to endorse, support it, or seek it would be as awful as the thought of lynching a man because of his skin color. Oh Father, you have given our country equal rights according to race; might you do the same for age. Use these truths and the sermons preached this month advocating life to spur us on towards loving life, and protecting the innocent.
Soli Deo Gloria, dss
Tom Schreiner, New Testament professor at SBTS and prolific author, has some poignant words for young pastors. In his article on speaking the truth in love, he gives counsel to pastors on how to shepherd their flock with grace and truth. Pastors must speak the truth in love with Spirit-wrought patience, kindness, and endurance (cf Eph 4:15; 2 Tim 2:24). He writes,
Love recognizes that people are not changed in a day. Love takes people where they are and moves them slowly toward a deeper appreciation of truth. Love does not relish controversy, but longs to shepherd the flock so that it becomes more like Christ. Love never compromises the truth, but it does not burst onto the scene by teaching controversial doctrines. Love communicates that you want to be a pastor and a shepherd and healer and not just a teacher. Love never compels or constrains others to share your beliefs; it patiently teaches, remembering that truth dawned upon our hearts slowly and that our knowledge is still imperfect. Love does not tolerate error, but it stoops low to understand the person who is mistaken, for the one who understands why one believes a falsehood will be able to explain more deeply and sympathetically why such a view is wrong.
Well said. May I and all those who pastor be such loving servants!
Soli Deo Gloria, dss
Via Emmaus 