The Shift to Modernity: Christ and the Doctrine of Creation in the Theologies of Schleiermacher and Barth / Edition 1

by Robert J. Sherman

Overview

The general goal of this book is to add one more voice to the growing chorus of opinion that the theologies of Friedrich Schleiermacher and Karl Barth may have far more in common that the many insistent assertions of the latter, or the partisans of either, would lead one to believe. While there can be no easy reconciliation of the differences which do in fact exist between these two figures, the book will argue that these differences do not always stem from irreconcilable starting points. This book will investigate one aspect of their theologies-the doctrine of Creation.

The thesis of the book asserts that both Barth and Schleiermacher take a Christological orientation to the doctrine of Creation. Approaching their theologies in this fashion allows them to solve the problem of maintaining dogmatic coherence and continuity with the Church's historic confessions while also meeting certain modern, external intellectual demands confronting those systems. To put it more sharply, this study claims that each uses Christ as the hermeneutical key for interpreting Creation, and that each does so in an effort to remain true to the faith handed down from the past while maintaining intellectual integrity in the present. This underlying connection perceptible in both Barth's and Schleiermacher's work forges one continuity between them and suggests that there may be certain fundamental similarities in their respective theologies in spite of other well-known differences.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780567028709
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	04/12/2005
Pages:	260
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

Robert J. Sherman is Professor of Christian Theology at Bangor Theological Seminary in Maine. His work has appeared in such publications as the Scottish Journal of Theology, the International Journal of Systematic Theology, and The Journal of Religion.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1	Introduction	1
	Defining Terms and the Task
Chapter 2	The Character of Schleiermacher's Christologically Oriented Doctrine of Creation	13
	On What Does One Ground a Doctrine of Creation?
	Schleiermacher's Christological Orientation
	Reconciling Faith and Science
	The Method of the Glaubenslehre
	Schleiermacher's "Organic" Method
	The Particularity of Christianity
Chapter 3	The Character of Barth's Christologically Oriented Doctrine of Creation	41
	Neo-orthodox and Neo-orthodox
	Barth's Response to Modernity
	Barth's Christological Orientation
Chapter 4	Confirmation from Barth's Doctrine of Creation	75
	Creation and Covenant
	Christian Faith and Non-Christian Worldviews
	Barth's Christological Anthropology
	Conversations with Non-Christian Anthropologies
Chapter 5	Confirmation from Barth's Doctrine of Providence and His Understanding of Evil	93
	The Christian Interpretation of History and the Natural Order
	The World Does Not Interpret Itself
	Interpreting Evil
	Understanding Evil Christologically
	Maintaining God's Omnipotence and Nature's Integrity
	The "Shadow Side" as Natural
Chapter 6	Confirmation from Schleiermacher's Doctrine of Creation	117
	Legitimating the Claim of a "Broader" Doctrine
	The Connection and Distinction between Creation and Providence
	Examining Schleiermacher's "Narrower" Doctrine
	Angels, the Devil, and Historical Progress
	Providence: The Start of the "Broader" Doctrine
Chapter 7	More Confirmation from Schleiermacher's Understanding of Miracles, Evil, and Free Will	141
	On Understanding Miracles
	On the World's Original Perfection
	Understanding Evil
	Interpreting Evil: The Influence of the Christian Telos
	Understanding Human Freedom
	Propositions [section]47, [section]48, and [section]49 and the Claims of This Book's Thesis
Chapter 8	The Completion of Schleiermacher's Christological Orientation	181
	On the Unity of God's Activity and of The Christian Faith
	Christ and the Christian Interpretation of Nature
	Christ: The Determinant and Goal of History
Chapter 9	Comparisons, Observations, and Concluding Comments on the Common Ground between Schleiermacher and Barth	201
	An Overview of the Argument of This Book and the Evidence Found
	Conclusions about Methodological Similarities
	Content Similarities: Christ as the Archetypal Human
	Content Similarities: The Fall and the Natural
	Content Similarities: On Interpreting Evil
	Content Similarities: The Divine Purpose
Appendix A	Examining Richard R. Niebuhr on Schleiermacher	223
Appendix B	Too Anthropocentric for Current Ecological Concerns?	229
	Selected Bibliography	237
	Index	241

Editorial Reviews

-Mention. Theology Digest/ Vol. 52 No. 3/ Fall 2005--Sanford Lakoff

-Mention. Theology Digest/ Vol.52 No. 3/ Fall 2005--,

Mention in Church Times 28/07/2006

From the Publisher