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The Theological Method Of Friedrich Schleiermacher, Jordan P. Ballard

Jordan P Ballard

Friedrich Schleiermacher is most known for is his theological method of deriving doctrine from religious experience. He believed that religious piety is to be found in the “feeling of absolute dependence”, and all subsequent doctrines must be discovered through reflection upon religious experience. In order to understand and critique Schleiermacher’s theological method, this paper will examine Schleiermacher’s theological influences, his “feeling of absolute dependence,” and a few examples from his systematic theology. This paper will argue that Schleiermacher’s theological method is ingenious but misguided because it is based on a faulty religious epistemology of human experience. What is needed instead …