His philosophical grasp, his theological insight, his "exi- getical divination," his student impulse, his realistic en- terprise, all made tributary to the interests of preaching. 143 What is involved in the conception of his message. His message as related to scientific theology. His attitude with respect to the theology of the church. The theo- logical, anthropological, Christological, soteriological, ecclesiological, and eschatological content of his message 217 Analytic skill. Use of analogy and generalization. Infer- The intensity of his religious feeling. His emphasis upon the ethical significance of faith. His insight into the human soul. The apologetic subject-matter of his 1. The non-dogmatic, the declarative, the non-partisan, and fundamental qualities of his apologetic method 2. The searching analysis of his ethical method. His pre- A sketch of his life and of the processes of his development 383 CHAPTER I FRIEDRICH DANIEL ERNST SCHLEIERMACHER I SCHLEIERMACHER'S SPIRITUAL AND INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT It seems almost presumptuous to undertake, within the limits permitted, to investigate so complex a personality as that of Schleiermacher, even from the restricted point of view of the preacher. But when we consider that he is the representative and the organ of those complex influences that have so powerfully affected the religious life of the modern world, and when we recall his vast significance for the modern evangelical church, the undertaking may be sanctioned, however inadequate its success. And because of the representative character of his preaching, of its influence upon the German pulpit, and of its own intrinsic excellencies, perhaps no better selection from among German preachers, for our study, could have been made. In the realm of religion he was the representative man of his century, a man of most capacious susceptibilities and of most comprehensive genius. Perhaps no man of his time was so responsive to those intellectual, æsthetic, religious, ethical, ecclesiastical, and political influences that were at work in B |