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All Blog Posts With Tag: christian faith
John Calvin's proof for existence of Satan
In the Institutes of the Christian Religion I.14.17, John Calvin argues that the devil (or satan) and demons must exist in the world, because there must exist an agent that mediates between the goodness of god and the evil happenings in the world, such […]
Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768—1834), the father of modern theology and liberal Protestantism was one of the first theologians to write that is it is not possible for people to be eternally blessed (in heaven) when they know that others are in eternal torment (in hell.) Before Schleiermacher theologians throughout church history […]
Schleiermacher’s Distressing Letter To His Father (September 1, 2016)
The young Friedrich Schleiermacher wrote a "distressing letter" to his father to confess that he no longer affirmed Christian doctrines that his father believed were necessary to obtain salvation: namely, vicarious atonement and the deity of Jesus Christ. The distressing letter, as Schleiermacher titled it, is an icon of de-conversion, especially […]
Barth vs Bultmann: The Myth of the Whale and the Elephant (June 6, 2015)
Karl Barth and Rudolf Bultmann were once friends, believe it or not, before theology tore their friendship apart. It is rumored that Karl Barth abandoned his Church Dogmatics due exasperation caused by rising interest in Rudolf Bultmann despite Barth triumphantly overcoming his 'friend-turned-enemy' in his magnum opus. Barth grew exasperated with Bultmann's […]
Jürgen Moltmann’s Theological Method of Curiosity (January 9, 2015)
(Revised and updated on March 29th, 2019)
What is Jürgen Moltmann's theological method? He says it is Curiosity! A curiosity for adventure and discovery into an unknown country. In the following quotation from the Jurgen Moltmann: Collected Reader, he explains that he is his own theological method, such that theology is a 'journey […]
John Calvin’s Proof for Satan’s Existence (October 22, 2012)
2019-03-29: An updated version of this article is available here: Does the Devil (or Satan) Exist? Friedrich Schleiermacher debates John Calvin
Illustration of the Devil in the Codex Gigas, Early 13th Century
John Calvin's proof for the existence of Satan in Institutes 1.14.17-18 continues to be useful, so I'm providing an extended […]
Abraham Kuyper on Hegel, Schleiermacher and Natural Theology (June 22, 2012)
Abraham Kuyper
Abraham Kuyper (1837–1920) was a Dutch Reformed Theologian and Political, and in his massive three-volume Encyclopedia of Sacred Theology, I've quoted Kuyper's assessment of Hegel and Schleiermacher in regards to Natural Revelation. Beginning with the introduction in John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, the Reformed Church has defined its epistemology […]
Friedrich Schleiermacher’s The Life of Jesus (May 30, 2012)
Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834) is arguably the most famous and influential Liberal Protestant Theologian, and the influence of his Systematic Theology Christian Faith cannot be understated. Schleiermacher's On Religion was a wild success and is still read in many universities as an excellent introduction to his ideas, which was birthed out of […]
Friedrich Schleiermacher's On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultured Despisers (1799) (online here) is a hallmark of Liberal Protestantism, and coupled with his magnum opus, Glaubenslehre (The Christian Faith) he has produced the two most significant works of Liberal Theology and he remains as the apex of the entire system even to today. Schleiermacher is also well known […]
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Friedrich Schleiermacher’s Der Christliche Glaube (Christian Faith) (October 31, 2011)
Oh, Schleiermacher! The most influential theologian of the last three hundred years, but who knows him by name? How do I begin to talk about Schleiermacher and what may I say? The place to begin is Friedrich Schleiermacher's magnum opus, "Der Christlic...
