The Precarious Status of Resurrection in Friedrich Schleiermacher's Glaubenslehre

Abstract:  The Glaubenslehre provides the context for this exploration of Schleiermacher's understanding of Christ's resurrection in relation to redemption, the nature-system and eschatology. In spite of Schleiermacher's affirmation of the historicity of Christ's resurrection, he proceeds to empty the resurrection of redemptive significance, thereby maintaining consistency with a nature-system that implicitly disallows miracles, and resulting in an eschatology in which the resurrection of individual believers is posited in severe tension with the consummation of the church. Thus, the weight of Schleiermacher's consistent argumentation regarding redemption, the nature-system and eschatology suggests that there is no room for resurrection in the Glaubenslehre in relation to either Christ or individual believers.