Source: “The Death of Supernaturalism: The Case For Process Naturalism”, Copyright © 2025 by Chad Bahl, First Edition.
This topic explores how Friedrich Schleiermacher, often called the Father of Modern Theology, sought to preserve Christian faith against the intellectual onslaught of the Enlightenment. By examining the skeptical philosophies of Immanuel Kant and David Hume, the author illustrates a period where traditional religious authority was being replaced by a strict reliance on reason and empirical evidence. Schleiermacher countered this by redefining religion not as a set of dogmas or moral rules, but as Gefühl, an "immediate self-consciousness" or a feeling of absolute dependence on the infinite. This pivot allowed him to bridge the gap between mind and body, providing a naturalistic framework for faith that minimized the need for supernatural intervention or miracles. Ultimately, the source portrays Schleiermacher as a pivotal figure who modernized theology by grounding it in human experience while remaining rooted in his Reformed heritage.
The Schleiermacher Synthesis.pdf
The Schleiermacher Synthesis.pptx
Saving_Faith_from_the_Cultured_Despisers.m4a
The Enlightenment (1685–1815) was not merely an intellectual era; it was a tectonic shift that threatened to swallow the religious impulse whole. For the sophisticated mind of the 18th century, traditional theism was increasingly viewed as a "self-inflicted immaturity"—a phrase coined by Immanuel Kant to describe humanity’s liberation from the need for external authority. As reason and scientific empiricism ascended, faith was dismissed as an anti-intellectual crutch, a collection of superstitions destined for the dustbin of history.
Into this crisis stepped Friedrich Schleiermacher, a man who had spent his youth sneaking banned Kantian texts into his strict Moravian school. Schleiermacher recognized that if religion were to survive the scrutiny of the modern age, it could no longer rely on supernatural "rule-givers" or dogmatic proofs. He launched a rescue mission to bridge the chasm between the cold rigor of the Enlightenment and the warmth of the spiritual life, earning him the title "The Father of Modern Theology." Here are five radical ideas through which he saved faith for the modern mind.
For the critics of the Enlightenment, religion was either a "Knowing" (a set of rigid, often illogical dogmas) or a "Doing" (a checklist of moral obligations). Kant himself had relegated God to a mere footnote of morality, while David Hume’s radical empiricism left no room for the divine at all.