The Christian Faith

By Friedrich Schleiermacher

Book Overview

"The Christian Faith" is a monumental achievement in systematic theology and remains one of the most influential works in the history of modern Protestant thought. Written by Friedrich Schleiermacher, who is frequently regarded as the father of modern liberal theology, this work seeks to provide a comprehensive and coherent account of Christian doctrine based on the internal experience of the believer.

Departing from traditional dogmatic approaches, Schleiermacher centers his theological system on the "feeling of absolute dependence," which he defines as the essence of religious piety. The book is structured into two primary sections: the first explores the religious consciousness as it relates to the world and the divine, while the second focuses on the consciousness of sin and the consciousness of grace through Jesus Christ. By bridging the gap between Enlightenment rationalism and Romanticism, Schleiermacher offers a profound synthesis that addresses the nature of God, the person of Christ, and the function of the church. "The Christian Faith" is an essential text for scholars and readers interested in the evolution of theology, the philosophy of religion, and the historical development of the Christian intellectual tradition.

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1026101123
• ISBN13: 9781026101124
• Release Date: February 2026
• Publisher: Tradd Street Press
• Length: 778 Pages
• Weight: 2.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

An essential for understanding modern theology

Friedrich Schleiermacher was the founder of Protestant liberalism. His description of the divine as the feeling of "absolute dependence" set the stage for all subsequent attempts to defend the Christian religion against post-Enlightment skepticism toward the truth of religious claims. College and seminary level students will profit from reading the primary source, as opposed to secondary treatments. I use portions of the text in an upper division course in modern theology for Bible and theology majors, knowing that the effort made now will benefit them greatly when they get to seminary.

A Seminal Work in Modern Theology.

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.