Miller 1 Krystal Miller Tuesday December 11, 2012 An Inconsistency with Schleiermacher's Lack of Emphasis on Church Dogma and

Piety Friedrich Schleiermacher, a prominent German Christian theologian, emphasizes the importance of piety in order to achieve a closer relationship with God. Schleiermacher believes that direct experience in missionary work would open up ones self-consciousness, or awareness of self, since that feeling of transformation within by doing something out of duty to God evokes this type of change deep within us. Schleiermacher would later go on to argue that pietism is not complete if it does not change you within. However, one major flaw in Schleiermacher's argument is the fact that he dismisses the importance of the Old Testament. Although Schleiermacher agrees on the importance of Jesus Christ in Christian teachings as well as in obtaining this feeling of transformation during an act of pietism, the deed of repeatedly denying the Christian Dogma as irrelevant in missionary work is not accurate since the historical Jesus presented to us in Old Testament Scripture is directly correlated to this feeling Schleiermacher is talking about in doing works of piety. A huge feature in Christianity is for its followers to continue the path of Christ. There is no way that a person can follow the teachings of Christ without understanding His experiences and life portraits. Thus, Schleiermacher's outright denial of the criticality of the Old Testament in obtaining a close relationship with God through following the works of Christ is not only invalid, but inaccurate. This research paper will serve to convince the reader that Schleiermacher's claim that the Old Testament is insignificant in understanding piety is not only false, but will also prove the magnitude of Scripture through the teachings of theologian Karl Barth.

Miller 2 I will first support my thesis by acknowledging Schleiermachers theory of feeling through community service and the piety a person has to humanity and especially the church, which is essential in understanding Schleiermacher's flaw in his principal theological teaching. Schleiermacher regards humanity as an organism of such moral agents who are not only vessels of reason but unrepeatable symbols of it and organs of its productivity (Niebuhr 96). With this said, according to Schleiermacher, humans are called by God to be agents of unity among the community. However, he argues that it is in the church and free society that the inner individuality of the single person assumes a more significant part (130). Thus, Schleiermacher would say that as a part of our human nature, our inherent morality would point us to the direction of serving our community, but especially to the church and for the benefit of all. This natural role humans have to serve the community leads to pietism because by serving others, we are essentially serving God. Schleiermacher conceives the church to be the final community of personal individuality, for the religious is the highest grade of feeling (131) and so therefore, if we were to serve for the good of the church, we would achieve a higher awareness into our selfconsciousness and this is accomplished through feeling. This feeling that Schleiermacher talks about is the unity of the self for which even the sum of the worlds influences upon the individual can account (123) and so when a person experiences feeling through helping others in the community this person also experiences a unity of the self. Not only that, but also according to Schleiermacher, a closer relationship with God. The reason that there is a closer relationship with God is because as the expression of an immediate existence-relationship, feeling arises out of the self in its totality (121). Simply speaking, when we commit to piety towards the community of the church, we are transcending our entire being outside of our self. An example of this feeling is when a person decides to

Miller 3 volunteer at a soup kitchen during the thanksgiving holidays. This act alone for this individual is overwhelming enough, and this person becomes deeply moved by his or her act of kindness. Adding to this overwhelming sensation is a young girl who this person serves the last daily helping of mashed potatoes. Drowned in happiness, the young child tells the volunteer that she is greatly thankful for all that he or she has done to help the needy during the holiday season. The volunteer immediately begins to transcend outside his- or her-self due to this random feeling that has overtaken the physical being. This feeling of appreciation and love for serving humanity is exactly what Schleiermacher is saying of the way in which we become closer to God. Schleiermacher would continue to add: But the feeling of absolute dependence, which is the content of pious feeling, refers to that absolutely original having-been-posited-in-a-particular-way to which there is no responding freedom. Feeling of this order indicates more than the sheer happened-ness of the self; it symbolizes the life-unity within which the reciprocal moments of suffering and doing transpire It is not a mystical or acosmic state of mind but the consciousness of the unity of the self that is given within experience rather than derived from it (123). In short, this feeling sensed by someone during an act of good change towards his or her community is much higher than the self because this feeling of doing good and serving others is something so overpowering that the person undergoes an out-of-body experience. The reason why there is a unity in self is because the person has empathized with the feelings of the sufferer. Thus, the feeling that the person senses is essentially a reaction towards doing good in his or

Miller 4 her community. Thus, the unity of the self-derives from the person believing he or she has a purpose to fulfilfor community service through the grace of God. The person feels like he or she has accomplished a piety towards God and that by successfully performing a duty to God, his or her natural role as agents of change is executed. Serving humanity for the sake of following the teachings of the church and doing right by others are a major part of forming a positive relationship with the Creator. Schleiermacher designates this inner and underivable selfhood that stands within the person, in a co-inhering polarity with the community; and the mode through which this inner givenness of the self achieves expression and enters into consciousness is feeling (121). In other words, there is a magnetic field between us and the community. There is a natural pull for us to serve the community as God intends. Schleiermacher explains that feeling is the original expression of an immediate existence-relationship (121) which means that once we experience feeling through missionary work we begin to see ourselves as serving a purpose. The reason that a person has such a propensity to serve the community and engage in piety is because, Schleiermacher says: The ethical agent never stands over against the state or any other of these forms as though it were an alien and autonomous entity. On the contrary, he bears a responsibility for it that is consonant with his own moral sense; since the individual and corporate persons participate in each other, there can be no sharp distinction between private and public responsibility, and neither one can claim a higher or different morality from the other (118).

Miller 5 With this said, it is clear to Schleiermacher that it is ones natural piety to act as an agent of change in ones community. Schleiermacher construed the individual as an end-in-himself and an agent who participates in a number of social orders: the family, the nation and state, the institutions of learning, the church, and free associations (129). It would therefore be immoral to go against serving humanity because each person carries an enormous obligation to minister to the community of God. Schleiermacher acknowledges the existence of Jesus Christ and also acknowledges Christ as a superior role model for humans in regards to morality: For Schleiermacher, Jesus is the mediator par excellence who knows that the finite can only imperfectly become a bearer of the infinite and must undergo death in this cosmic process. In worship, the Christian reflects and continues the ministries and missions that Jesus began. When Christians similarly attempt to express the infinite with finite means, their aim is to continue Christs ministry (VanderWilt 297-298). This quote also suggests that for Schleiermacher, Christians have a piety to serve Christ. Through following Christ, the church community will become closer to God. However, the main problem I have with Schleiermacher is that he accepts Christ as important but yet denies the weight of the life and experiences of Christ. Christs experiences are important because they serve as a basic standard of Christian teaching. Christianity and its Dogma are founded on the basis of discipleship through Christ, and for Schleiermacher to accept Christ and accept his teachings and correlate these with piety, and yet repudiate Christian Dogma

Miller 6 is nonsense. Christian Dogma is founded on the teachings of Christ and so therefore, to refuse Dogma is to refuse Christ. Schleiermacher is being contradictory and a massive hypocrite. Schleiermacher shares his thoughts on the Christian Dogma by comparing it with the Christian Christmas tradition. He writes, The Christmas gathering of family and friends is too restricted, too much defined by a single social and emotional level of life, to be the Christian community as it exists historically (Niebuhr 69). Schleiermacher is criticizing Scripture by saying that it has left the daily life of its followers as rigid. This rigidness, Schleiermacher would argue, prevents people from experiencing feeling when performing an act of community service because they would see the act as something like a chore. A persons mood affects the way in which they are able to execute. Consequently the temper or mood in that Schleiermacher so carefully portrays is in danger of being smug (69). Thus, if a person thinks of piety as a chore or obligation simply because it is tradition, that is hazardous; simply because according to Schleiermacher, Mood is, the permanence of religious feeling (125). Simply speaking, mood affects experiencing feeling because in order to undergo an out-of-body experience to reach God, there must be a mood or a sense from the individual that is rooted in happiness and appreciation. Schleiermacher's explanation concerning the lack of feeling that is necessary in obtaining a closer relationship with God during pietism is understandable; still, he misses the point completely by ignoring the fact that the Christian Dogma is not all bad. In fact, the Old Testament is fundamental in understanding piety because it taught us about Jesus Christ and much of what we know about Him, especially regarding His cultural background and material condition. This background about Christ is significant because it influenced many of His teachings and the way that He viewed the world.

Miller 7 Schleiermacher is not only criticizing the Old Testament for its rigidity but also for being too admirable with Judaism: He argued against the canonical standing of the OT on the grounds that it expresses Jewish, not Christian, religion. For him this conclusion was the unavoidable result of the advancing critical scholarship that was undermining the christological exegesis used to defend the churchs claim to the OT against the synagogues counter-claim to its sole rightful possession (Capetz 297). This is comical simply because many of the teachings of the Church have origins from the Hebrew Bible. In fact, it is a well-known truth that Jesus Christ was a Jew. A contradiction in Schleiermachers claim is his belief that Jesusa Jewis an important figure in grasping piety. It is clear that Schleiermacher has some negative feelings towards anything Jew (And yet he accepts Christ?). Paul E. Capetz went on to say that Surprisingly, there has been very little scholarship devoted to Schleiermachers stance toward the OT (297). This finding is not shocking since Schleiermacher is known to contradict himself, especially when it came to religious devotion, Christ, and the Gospelwhich are all intertwined and sourced from the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament Scripture. What is odd about Schleiermacher is that he does agree on the premise that the Christian church and its teachings on Christ must have derived from somewhereand suggests a historical source. He writes: If we consider the actual appearance of the Christian church, if we view its entire subsequent course, it will occur to no one to posit that activity as only a purely inward one...And so we shall be able to follow no other rule than this: everything

Miller 8 that appears in Christs individuality as a life-moment appears as a deed and an action, and it must be able to be apprehended in its historical connection in a purely human way; but nevertheless, we conceive it as the expression or effect of God which was internal (Schleiermacher, Life of Jesus 34). It is funny that Schleiermacher cannot admit that this historical source he mentions that Christianity might have may possibly be Biblical. In fact, the teachings of the Christian church have its origins primarily in the Old Testament. Why is it so difficult for Schleiermacher to accept this? It is clear that he denounces the Church Dogma, and its rigidity is one reason why. But Schleiermacher also mentions another. He says that there are contradictions in the Old Testament in regards to the historical dates of events. Schleiermacher explains: Now we have another difficulty. There are only very few places in our Gospels where the time difference between the one and the other event is given. Wherever that then is missing, one has actually no gauge for the intervals of time and consequently also no gauge for the whole, so that we could then maintain that the public ministry of Christ had occupied such and such a space of time (41). There may not be actual dates for every single piece of evidence given in the Old Testament, but that should not be enough reason for Schleiermacher to completely deny the importance of the Old Testament in understanding piety and its role that it has for us as a community of God; especially considering that Old Testament Scripture, piety, and Christ are so closely intertwined. Swiss theologian Karl Barth says that Christianity is an historical religion (Jenson 13). He continues, The attempt to understand how Jesus Christ, a past event, can be the decisive reality in our present life is the chief problem of modern theology. To be sure the fact that we are

Miller 9 found by God through His action in history is no new discovery of modern times (13). Barths acceptance that Christianity has a historical source is in accordance with Schleiermacher. But what separates Barth from Schleiermacher is Barths admittance of the importance of the Gospel in understanding Jesus Christ and, as consequence, our piety to him. Barth explains, The Gospel has always proclaimed that this reality is Jesus, crucified under Pontius Pilate (13). In addition, unlike Schleiermacher, by agreeing with the Gospel, he is also asserting that God is at work with us through human history because through Old Testament Scripture, we are able to understand the relation between God and his people, and the covenant he made with them, which is to offer his Son into the world to save them from sin. This is further confirmed when Barth teaches, as do all Christian theologians, that Gods covenant with man is fulfilled in Jesus Christ (131). Barth, like Schleiermacher accepts the role that Jesus Christ has on influencing the messages of the Christian church. He says that the Christian Doctrine is the attempt, undertaken as a responsibility of the church, to summarize the gospel of Jesus Christ as the content of the churchs preaching (Barth, Learning Jesus Christ 17), which highlights the fact that Christianity is derived from Scripture. If Scripture is the foundation of Christianity, tell me how it is possible that Schleiermacher will encourage piety, a basic obligation in Christianity and accept Christ but yet reject Scripture? Theologian Andy Alexis-Baker continues with summarizing Barths claim on the importance of Christ in Scripture by adding that, Jesus life, death and resurrection thus define human being as a creature who hears and obeys Gods Word. Jesus provides a moral geographical space within which creaturely existence finds its meaning and telos (428). In essence, Jesus earthly experiences in life as written in Scripture are significant since it explains our moral code. Barth confirms in his own words the relevancy of

Miller 10 the Gospel in understanding the historical Jesus as and his function as a moral guide to all humanity: In the history of Jesus, we have to do with the reality which underlies and precedes all other reality as the first and eternal Word of God, that in this history we have actually to do with the ground and sphere, the atmosphere of the being of every man, whether they lived thousands of years before or after Jesus (428). With this said, how can one ignore Scripture? Especially if the Gospel and Church tradition are our gateway in understanding the role in which we have us humans in serving God? To understand the relevancy of piety in Christian tradition, it is best to understand the role of Jesus Christ. Piety is defined as an obligation, thus it is necessary to understand to whom we must be pious. Christian tradition describes Jesus Christ as an important example of what is expected of us. Without being obligated to us, God places himself under obligation to us in his Son Jesus Christ (Molnar 71), so therefore God brought Christ into this world as a spiritual example for humans. Barth explains that because God has sent his Son as an example, Through the gifts and operation of the Holy Spirit our direct participation in Jesus Christ is brought about so that we can live within the life of God (Healy 290). In other words, according to Barth, we must be pious to the teachings of Christ. Community service is important because when we engage in good works towards the community, we are directly following Christ's example on earth. Thus, we become Christ-like and form a closer relationship to God. Barth continues, We now come to

Miller 11 the man who is responsible to this commanding God. Here again we must begin by stating that this is the question answered in Jesus Christ. One cannot emphasize enough that in him true man as well as true God is present and manifest (Barth, Christian Life 19). So, according to Barth, Christ is exceptionally important in piety because it is through him that we are able to become closer to God. Barths assessment between piety and Dogma are in line with Schleiermacher's reasoning which states a connection between piety and Christ. But unlike Schleiermacher, Barth agrees with the importance of the teachings of the church in addition to its teachings. Barth professes, The church is thus constituted by the work of the Word and the Holy Spirit. It is the earthly-historical form of existence of Jesus Christ himself, without whom it would be merely a dead body, merely a natural society. And it is the historical form of the work of the Holy Spirit, too, and as such, and only as such, is it the historical form of the faith (290). In summary, the church is heavily influenced by Scripture because it itself influenced the role in which we, as humans have, in service to God. The church therefore responded to this obligation and has emphasized Christian followers to be pious to the works of Christ. Barth agrees on the significance of the Gospels as evidence to our pious duty as followers of Christ. According to Nicholas M. Healys account of Barths teachings, he writes: Our partnership is confirmed by the gospels descriptions of Jesus Christ, according to which the appointment, calling and commissioning or sending of the apostles is integral to the identity of Jesus Christ himself as narrated in the Gospels. The relation between Christ and the apostles is thus the Gospel narrative

Miller 12 version of the Pauline concept of the body of Christ. And while Barth rules out any notion of a continuing incarnation in the church, the churchs action is not being understood merely as a response to a legacy or endowment set up by Jesus 2,000 years ago. It is a genuine and ongoing history of action in and for the world in correspondence to Christs own hidden being (291). All in all, Christianity is heavily influenced by the Gospels. It is through the gospels that we are aware of Christ and his teachings. It is also through the Gospels that we are conscious of our purpose in lifeas servants of God through following Christ. Barth proceeds: What would we know of the covenant of grace, and of man as Gods partner in its history, if we knew nothing of Jesus Christ? In him the history begins and proceeds. He or she through him makes man a partner in this covenant. Together with him, as one whom God has set as his side and exalted to be his brother, man is this partner of God. He is so in order to serve God by serving Jesus Christ. In his history God acts exemplarily and fruitfully on and to all men. So each man as suchor knows him not at allhas a part in his history and without it would have no history of his own. He could know of his history as human (indistinction from purely natural) history apart from his share in the history of Jesus Christ (Barth, Christian Life 20). This quote reiterates the idea that all of Christianityits teachings and valuesare all derived from Scripture. Christian tradition encourages its followers to live a life through Christ as seen in Scripture. Gods truth is the secret meaning of history, piety and experience: yet the moment we focus on these in themselves we ignore the truth of Gods electing grace attested in scripture

Miller 13 we ignore the very reality that alone gives meaning to our lives (Molnar 75). Therefore, it is highly contradictory that Schleiermacher would claim that as followers as Christ, we must be pious to reach God, and still he continues to reject the ideas of the Church. To be pious is to live through the Church and its teachings, so it is incorrect to call Schleiermacher a true Christian if he is going against the rules of the church and Old Testament Scripture. Thankfully, I am not the only one who sees a major discrepancy between Schleiermacher's proposal and his beliefs. Gerhard Spiegler writes, Schleiermacher denies any dependence of his dogmatics on speculative philosophy, while it is quite evident that a relationship indeed exists; and to some extent is not even precluded by Schleiermacher himself. We are thus left by and large with the puzzling fact that such a keenly critical and analytical mind as Schleiermacher's should have been so blind at this point. Schleiermachers reluctance or maybe even inability to elucidate his own position more clearly at this point, while insisting with all his might on the dependence of the dogmatics or religion from speculative philosophy, contributes to the puzzlement of his students (134). What is so sad about Schleiermacher is that even his students noticed his extreme claims and were confused by it. Spiegler and Schleiermacher's students should be confused, because Schleiermacher is confusing. Schleiermacher claims that Dogma should be separated from Jesus Christ and piety; however, this is so strange because it is impossible. There is no way that Scripture and the teachings of the Church are mutually separate from piety and Christ. It is through the Church tradition and through Scripture that we know of God and his promise thanks

Miller 14 to the Old Testament, that he will send his Son, Jesus Christ, as a moral example for humanity. Thus, it is absolute nonsense that Schleiermacher would discredit the role of Scripture. Spiegler also comments on Schleiermacher's theory of religious feeling: There is nothing within the Christian faith, as a specific modification of religious feeling, which necessitates a conflict with the speculative formal exploration of reality...The ground of religious feeling is the relationship between God and the real world, whether primarily formal or primarily material in character, can necessarily be in conflict with the reality of God-consciousness, at least not in principle (143). Accordingly, Spiegler accounts that there is nothing in Christian scripture that mentions the feeling we get during an act of missionary work towards our community. This may be true, but what I like about Schleiermacher is that he recognizes the sensation that is given to us by God when we follow through with actions that are beneficial to ones community. Religious feeling is an emotion that is important because like Schleiermacher has pointed out, it is a modifier to piety. The good feeling that we get when we help others is what pushes us to continue in the footsteps of Christ. This quote also suggests that Spiegler does not believe that through this religious feeling, we transcend out of ourselves and reach God since God is already a part of his creation. While I do agree with Spiegler that God is already embedded in nature, I do believe with Schleiermacher that when we commit an act of piety to God and to the church, that we do become closer to God. Although this cannot be proved scientifically, by engaging in missionary work, we become closer to God because we are following the examples that Christ has given us in the Scriptures.

Miller 15 In summary, Schleiermacher is full of contradictions. His belief that the Old Testament is insignificant is rubbish especially if he accepts the teachings of Christ and regards him as a moral example of piety. Thus, the main problem encountered with Schleiermacher is the fact that he rejects the historical Jesus as an important element in missionary work towards Gods community. The Old Testament is exceptionally fundamental in the teachings of Christianity because it serves as a guide for which we are to follow. Karl Barth closed the gap between Schleiermacher's inconsistencies by admitting the significance of the Gospel and its relationship with piety. Despite the conflicting statements proposed by Schleiermacher, his theory that piety is entangled with religious feeling is agreeable because this sensation gives us enough incentive to continue with the teachings of the Church and to live a life as Christ.

Works Cited

Alexis-Baker, Andy. Theology is Ethics: How Karl Barth Sees the Good Life. Scottish Journal of Theology.4 (2011): 425-438. Print.

Barth, Karl. Learning Jesus Christ Through the Heidelberg Catechism. Trans. Shirley C. Guthrie. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdman, 1964. Print.

Barth, Karl. The Christian Life: Church Dogmatics IV.4 Lecture Fragments. Trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdman, 1981. Print.

Capetz, Paul E. Friedrich Schleiermacher on the Old Testament. United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities.3 (2009): 297-326. Print.

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Healy, Nicholas M. Karl Barths Ecclesiology Reconsidered. Scottish Journal of Theology.3 (2004): 287-299. Print.

Jenson, Robert W. Alpha and Omega: A Study in the Theology of Karl Barth. New York: Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1963. Print.

Molnar, Paul D. Thy word is truth: the role of faith in reading scripture theologically with Karl Barth. Scottish Journal of Theology.1 (2010): 70-92. Print.

Schleiermacher, Friedrich. The Life of Jesus. Trans. S, Maclean Gilmour. Intro. Jack C. Verheyden. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975. Print.

Spiegler, Gerhard. The Eternal Covenant: Schleiermacher's Experiment in Cultural Theology. New York: Harper & Row, 1967. Print.

VanderWilt, Jeffery. Why Worship?: Schleiermacher Speaks to the Question. Scottish Journal of Theology.3 (2003):286-307. Print.