In this masterful schematic outlining the proper organization of theological studies, Schleiermacher has hit upon the perfect balance between practical and theoretical, historical and constructive, pastoral and academic. The means for maintaining this balance continues to be a difficulty for seminaries, div schools, and religion/theology departments today. Anyone studying Christian theology from any perspective--whether with the goal of entering ministry or becoming an academic theologian or scholar of religion--stands to benefit from Schleiermacher's wisdom.

Please correct typos in my review of Thandeka's book,The Embodied Self. In line two"compass" should read "compassion". In line four "rencer" should read "render". The last words in the review should read "...subjective/objective issues in psychology." Thanx. Dan Johnson

The author's goal is "to affirm unity rather than fragmentation, community rather than disruption, compass rather than aggression as the sacred site of our humanity." She sees the Protestant world standing "on the brink of a shift in consciousness that would rencer most of its (current) thinking unfounded." With her book she would "push us over the brink of the precipice, hoping that this movement beyond the confines of our flawed notions of God, self and the world will release us to a more inclusive...affirmation ...of life." Her method is to review from Kant forward how the concepts of God, self and world have been stated, debated and restated. With this recapitulation as a launching pad, she proposes a synthesis for the present era. She uses some previously unavailable materials and shows amazing familiarity with the well known writings of the 19th century German Idealists. Her intellect is awesome. At the end she paraphrases Schleiermacher who in his book "On Religion" says, ..."Our body lies in the bosom of the infinite world and every sinew and muscle of our body feels infinite life as its own." It is here, she says, that we discover life--all of it--because we are life; we embody it and it embodies us. If this concluding metaphor sounds to you like words about words about words, read "The Embodied Self" while asking yourself the question "What on earth does this mean to me?" Thandeka believes there are some down to earth implications once the distinctions and gaps in the European thought,from which so much American pulpit talk is derived, are identified and clarified. Thandeka makes pattern and path through a spectrum of philosophy that didn't make sense to me when I was in college in the nineteen forties. In her 120 pages of straightforward writing present college and graduate students will, I believe, find a dependable road map through some pretty confusing territory. Ministers who are still growing intellectually may applaud her brinksmanship. Students of the history of psychology will see where "The Embodied Self" brushes against their field. To the author's credit she does not turn aside from her stated goal, although it would be fun to see what she would say about her topic if she approached it from the history of the mind/body and subjective/objectives in psychology. /s/ Dan Johnson, PhD Stanford, 1959

What a shame that this book has gone out of print! While Forstman's reading of Schleiermacher relies a bit too heavily on the (I think) misguided notion that Schleiermacher's primary influence was Romanticism, overall the book provides a good, solid, well-researched look at the interaction between Schleiermacher and the Early Romantics (who were his friends and even roommates in the very early 19th century). Forstman does a good job with the geneaology, expertly connecting some of Schleiermacher's more significant contributions to theology, philosophy, and hermeneutics with Romanticism. Anyone who is interested in Schleiermacher and/or German Romanticism will enjoy this book.

The author pathetically debates meaningless questions such as the "soul", etc. This work has no place in a truly educated person's library.

... This book is a must read in order to understand the birth of liberal Protestant theology. Schleiermacher is a brilliant reaction to Kant's rational religion, with his theology of experience. One should read this in order to make sure your theology has heart.

However, Schleiermacher's solutions are wanting. In the 4th speech, he proposes that true religion can be found in small groups that are led by folks who have a closer connection to the divine than the members. In other words, let's go gather ourselves around some guru. Schleiermacher does not intend this, but in principle this idea does not exclude cases like the Branch Davidians, Hitler, etc. The later Schleiermacher of the Glaubenslehre is more self-conscious about theology's need to be continuous with tradition, while moving forward.

Read this book, then go read Barth's Word of God and the Word of Man.

This book, written by Schleiermacher in 1799 at the height of his involvement with the early German Romantics, was considered one of the most provocative and intriguing reads of its day. It continues to be read today because it retains that provocative and intriguing character. In an attempt to respond to Enlightenment critiques of religion, Schleiermacher creates an entirely novel manner of thinking and speaking about religion. In this book it is possible to see the beginnings of his creative and controversial move to ground religion, not in metaphysics or morals, but rather in feeling (or what he later will call immediate self-consciousness). The ripples of this move are still apparent in Protestant theology today. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in tracing the development of modern theology back to its roots. The Crouter translation is particularly good, and it expertly renders the 18th-century language into fluid, clear prose.

This is a seminal work, all right -- and it set the stage for twentieth-century liberal "Protestantism." Readers of this work should be sure to read J. Gresham Machen's _Christianity and Liberalism_ for a sound doctrinal "take" on Schleiermacher's whole approach.

Its no coincidence that Schleiermacher is called the 'father of modern theology.' This classic in systematic theology is indispensible to any theology student tho wants to understand liberal theology. The Christian faith is distinctly Christological in nature. Schleiermacher, because of his Moravian upbringing, has great reverance for Christ (unlike some of the modern theologians who were to follow). Another distinguishing characteristic of the Christian Faith is Schleiermacher's idea of "religion as feeling." For Schleiermacher, feeling was what authenticated religion. Another distiguishing feature is Schleiermacher's opinion of other faiths and Christianity's relation to those faiths. He has quite a progressive notion of religious pluralism for a nineteenth century theologian. In short, no theology scholar should be without this monumental work. As an accomponiment, I suggest you purchase Schleiermacher's "On Religion: Speeches to its Cultured Despisers," which is another book that gave birth to liberal theology. Schleiermacher truly was the greatest theologian between Martin Luther and Karl Barth.