Schleiermacher, Neo-Orthodoxy, and Dialectical Theology

Abstract This chapter begins by delineating and rejecting neo-orthodoxy as a paradigm for understanding twentieth-century theology, while granting that the category reveals something of the character of mid-century Anglophone scholarship. It then shows that, if one were to take this paradigm seriously, Schleiermacher would be best read as an ally, not an opponent. The chapter next considers dialectical theology. Focusing on the work of Karl Barth and Rudolf Bultmann in the 1920s, I show that Schleiermacher anticipates key dimensions of their theological programs, even as those programs put his thought under valuable pressure. Finally, I offer remarks on how best to approach Christian theology in the West after Schleiermacher.