Terrence Tice has revised his earlier translation of this epoch-making work by the nineteenth-century theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834). In this volume, Schleiermacher lays out what Christian theology is and how the work of theology can be seen as a whole. This new edition features extensive critical notes by the translator, based on his lifetime of study, and an editor's postscript that provides an overview and interpretation of the main sections of the work.

Description: This book is about the meanings of Christmas. It makes for a fine Christmas present--written in popular, poetic style--and is a literary classic. This little dialogue shared by women, men and children on Christmas Eve is the jewel in the crown of Schleiermacher's theological writings. It features celebrations among close friends in a traditionally decorated home--stories told by four women, doctrinal interpretations offered by four men. All these events are shared in dialogue, accompanied by singing, activities, and expressions of two young children, and exchange of homemade gifts. Beautifully written and full of evocative images, it is in effect a drama, lending itself to being read aloud. For the first time the two original German editions (1806 and 1826) can be handily compared, though without interrupting smooth reading of the final edition from start to finish. It will serve as a brief piece for reflection by students from high school through graduate school. Endorsements: ""In this updated translation, we see Schleiermacher's relational sensibility in vivid color, the characters breathing with joy and life as they each contribute to what amounts to a discourse on Christian love. Tice's expertise as a translator makes the reading smooth and accessible, and his introduction and critical notes provide helpful references and commentary for readers looking for further depth. This edition is surely to become the standard, placing us in debt to Tice once again."" --Thomas E. Reynolds Emmanuel College, University of Toronto ""Schleiermacher's Christmas Eve is perhaps the best text to use in introducing the great theologian's thought to students at every level. In it, most of the major themes distinctive to him are presented in an accessible and engaging way. Terrence Tice's able translation is quite readable, the introduction and notes extremely helpful. To have this gem in print and readably available is itself a cause for celebration."" --Ted Vial Iliff School of Theology ""Schleiermacher's Christmas Eve Celebration is a lovely contribution to the literature of Christmas and of Christian joy. Terrence N. Tice's modern rendering of the text makes it available again to contemporary readers, with excellent critical commentary and an insightful introduction that sets the work in the context of Schleiermacher's life and thought. Tice's wonderful addition to Schleiermacher's works in English promises to capture a wide readership for this theologically rich and deeply moving Christmas meditation."" --Christine Helmer Northwestern University About the Contributor(s): Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834) is widely reputed to be the father of modern theology. This means that the results of his intensive historical-critical examinations of Christian Scripture and tradition either have positively influenced or have had to be contended with by a very wide range of thinkers Schleiermacher served as a pastor during his entire adult life. He was cofounder of the University of Berlin, established its famous theology department, and taught both theology and philosophy there. Terrence N. Tice, the translator, is a world-renowned interpreter of Schleiermacher's life and works. He is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Michigan and now teaches at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. He has already translated numerous works by Schleiermacher. His newly revised editions of several other major works by Schleiermacher are to appear shortly, including a first-time presentation of all three editions (1799, 1806, 1921) of On Religion (Cascade Books).

Theology "Abingdon Pillars of Theology" is a series for the college and seminary classroom designed to help students grasp the basic and necessary facts, influence, and significance of major theologians. Written by major scholars, these books outline the context, methodology, organizing principles, method, primary contributions, and major writings of people who have shaped theology as we know it today. Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768 1834) is the father of modern theology. In an implicit dialogue with the reader, Terrence Tice demonstrates that Schleiermacher is also very much our contemporary struggling with the same questions we do today: What has God done for us all in Christ? and How should I respond?

"Schleiermacher defined the task of Christian theology as that of explaining the fact of 'the Word made flesh' AND the experience of it. This timely and enjoyable book is a most welcome and vitally important contribution to the contemporary Schleiermacher renaissance."

Iain G.Nicol, Professor Emeritus Systematic Theology, Knox College, Toronto School of Theology, University of Toronto "A unique book that presents the fruit of a lifetime's intensive engagement with the sources. Readers will especially welcome the author's insights on translating Schleiermacher's precise but conceptually elusive vocabulary into modern English. Indeed, it would not be too much to say that Tice has made Schleiermacher's own voice audible to a new generation." Dawn DeVries, John Newton Thomas Professor of Systematic Theology, Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education "Building on his own command of Schleiermacher's work, Terrence Tice distills decades of research into a clear and compact introduction. The book s thoughtful interpretation will engender knowledge--and even love--of Schleiermacher in readers. In addition readers will find the index a helpful and necessary companion to the English translations of Schleiermacher s works." Christine Helmer, Senior Scholar in Theology, Harvard Divinity School

"A must-read for newcomers to theology's history and a tonic for all those willing to encounter Schleiermacher again, for the first time--a reliable, balanced overview of Schleiermacher's life, times, main theological themes, and distinctive idiom, presented in clear and lively terms and at quite modest length." James O. Duke, Professor of the History of Christianity and the History of Christian Thought, Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University

"Terrence Tice, the dean of American Schleiermacher scholarship, has written a wonderfully accessible and intelligible introduction to Schleiermacher's thought."

David E. Klemm, Professor of Theology and Ethics, Department of Religious Studies, University of Iowa

Terrence N. Tice, Th.D., Ph.D. is a noted Schleiermacher authority and Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Michigan."

This volume illuminates why Friedrich Schleiermacher is hailed as the father of modern theology. Terrence Tice generates a dialogue between Schleiermacher, readers, and himself by examining one of Schleiermacher's Christmas sermons and commenting on the relationship between God, the human condition, and Jesus as the Redeemer of humankind that is at the center of Schleiermacher's work. Following this, the major themes of his thought and the reception of the theologian since his lifetime are traced out in detail.

Description: No one is so intimately acquainted with Schleiermacher's Christian Ethics material or with the 1821-1822 first edition of his companion volume, Christian Faith, than Hermann Peiter. The present volume is a collection of Peiter's nineteen essays and thirty reviews. Extensive English summaries are offered for all this material, and an English version for four of the essays. Professor Peiter's summary of this volume reads as follows: ""This book treats of praxis in the Christian life and of Christian responsibility for the world we have in common. The following, however, forms a background for these considerations. Schleiermacher reminds his Christian brethren, who often deck themselves out with alien, borrowed plumes from morals and metaphysics, of their actual theme, that of religion, which he also designates as a kind or mode of faith. Like Luther, he also turns against both the practical misconception that considers faith itself to be a good work and the theoretical misconception that faith is a product of thinking, a theory. Whether a practitioner thinks to give thanks for one's own work or whether a theoretician hopes to find final fulfillment and justification in one's range of metaphysical ideas amounts to the same thing. Faith is the courage to be (Paul Tillich). For Schleiermacher, to want to have speculation (thus, metaphysics) and praxis without religion is the nonsalutary intention of Prometheus, who faintheartedly stole what he could have expected to possess in restful security. If taken seriously, the 'gods'-to use that pagan expression for once-are that nature to which a human being belongs. Each human being is their possession. When one steals what the gods have, one steals oneself, can thank oneself for a robbery. For a gift that is stolen, one cannot possibly be thankful. Only a pure gift awakens true joy. A human being has the chance to receive the gift that one is or is not (in case it is stolen) not from a thief but from religion. Thanks to one's birth, both physical and spiritual, one gains oneself and has oneself. To steal means to take away, to depreciate. In contrast, whoever has oneself from elsewhere is no longer extracted from oneself or from the one to whom one belongs."" Endorsements: ""This remarkable volume is a most welcome contribution to a conversation about life and faith that has been going on in the academy and in the church for two centuries, to a considerable extent due to Schleiermacher. Christian Ethics according to Schleiermacher distills great insights from Hermann Peiter's lifetime of work on this towering figure in the history of theology. Terrence Tice deserves our thanks for being midwife to the birth of this volume, offering exact summaries and providing English translations side-by-side with the German."" --James M. Brandt, author of All Things New: Reform of Church and Society in Schleiermacher's Christian Ethics ""This highly engaging, timely contribution introduces Hermann Peiter's magisterial work on Schleiermacher's Christian ethics. In essays luminously summarized or translated by the noted Schleiermacher scholar Terrence N. Tice, Peiter here insightfully explores Schleiermacher's thesis that Christian teaching regarding faith (Glaubenslehre) and life (Sittenlehre) are expressive of communion with God in Christ, experienced in community."" --Allen G. Jorgenson, author of Awe and Expectation: On Being Stewards of the Gospel ""As a combined discipline regarding faith-doctrine and ethics, Schleiermacher's theology of Christian piety has tended not to be studied with adequately systematic care. Thus, the father of modern theology's positions have been chiefly understood in terms of faith, but ignored in terms of action in every part of life. Peiter's thoroughgoing studies on Schleiermacher's theology aptly correlate faith and action with constant references to situations of contemporary life."" --John S. Park, author of Theological Ethics of Friedrich