Abstract
In the preface to this book the editor announced that it took ten years before it was finally completed. Yet, it was worth the wait. The book has four sections; the first is a brief introduction and the second provides the historical, philosophical, and cultural contexts. The essay on Prussia during Schleiermacher’s time is especially informative. The third section is by far the longest at more than 350 pages and is divided according to the five periods of Schleiermacher’s life. Each period begins with an overview of Schleiermacher’s life and serves to introduce his writings, lectures, letters, and sermons. The two most important parts are devoted to Schleiermacher’s two periods in Berlin: the earlier one between 1796 and1802 and the later one from 1809 until his death in 1834. During the earlier period, Schleiermacher wrote Die Reden Über die Religion (1799) and in the essay devoted to it Joachim Ringleben clarifies Schleiermacher’s inclination towards mysticism and defends his pantheistic tendencies. More importantly, he explains that Schleiermacher believed that religion was something that was neither a “thought” nor a “feeling” but was an “intuition” (“Anschauung”) (109). This is something that is both passive and active and is an indication of Schleiermacher’s “dialectical” thinking. Andreas Arndt is the right person to explain what Schleiermacher means by “dialectic” as he was the editor of the volume devoted to Schleiermacher’s lectures on the topic. “Dialectic” is intended to produce “real knowledge” (reale Wissen) (258, 269) and is designed to bridge the gap between philosophical idealism and realism. The study of hermeneutics is often and correctly associated with Schleiermacher but what is less well known is how he expanded the study from its singular focus on the Bible to a general study of understanding texts. That Schleiermacher lectured on hermeneutics nine times is an indication of the importance he assigned to it. Dietz Lange builds upon the important work done by Manfred Frank and he does so by stressing the role that speech plays in Schleiermacher’s conception of hermeneutics. Hermeneutics is the attempt to understand a text by engaging in a discussion with it and by placing it in its historical context. The essay on Schleiermacher’s main theological work, the Christliche Glaube (Glaubenslehre), has two parts and is the longest of the section (34 pages). The first part is an introduction in which Claus-Dieter Osthövener explains the origin of Schleiermacher’s writing on dogmatics and connects it to the lectures on this topic which he gave 13 times. Osthövener clarifies that Schleiermacher’s use of the term “feeling” (“Gefühl”) differs from its normal use. Thus, when Schleiermacher insists that the essence of piety is the feeling of “simple dependence” (schecthin Abhängigkeit) he means not just the passive dependence upon God but also the active feeling of God’s presence (353‒55). Another point that is clarified is Schleiermacher’s insistence on the importance of the religious community. In contrast to many who emphasize the importance of the individual in Protestant theology, Schleiermacher insists that religion should be communal. In the second part, Osthövener discusses Schleiermacher’s notion of the church, the conception of sin, and the idea that God’s love is a manifestation of grace.
This book contains essays on Schleiermacher’s other writings: on the Monologen, the Weihnachtsfeier, and on his translation of Plato’s dialogues. There are short essays on Schleiermacher’s psychology, aesthetics, and ethics, and one on Schleiermacher as preacher, political thinker, and academic. There are essays devoted to church history, church statistics, church politics, and one on his family and friends. This book is truly encyclopedic; if there is a complaint, it is that the essays are often too brief. For example, there are only five pages devoted to his lectures on the state (290‒95).
The fourth section covers the reception of Schleiermacher’s work from his lifetime to the present. While Schleiermacher had numerous students and advocates, he also had a number of critics. The decades after his death saw dwindling of interest until around 1900 and the beginning of a Schleiermacher renaissance. Rudolf Otto contributed to it by publishing an edition of the Reden in 1899 and Ernst Troeltsch added to it with his own contributions and with his influence on others, notably Otto Lempp, Hermann Mulert, and Hermann Süskind. Schleiermacher was subjected to severe criticism in the 1930s by Karl Barth and Emil Brunner, but since the 1960s Schleiermacher’s star has risen. Not only is the Schleiermacher Kritische Ausgabe being completed by the publishing firm Walter de Gruyter, but there have also been numerous books and conferences devoted to Schleiermacher and his works. Then, there is this impressive volume which anyone with an interest in Schleiermacher will find rewarding—regardless whether the individual is a Schleiermacher specialist or a graduate student. To repeat: this book was well worth the wait.