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Work #1030 · Mature

Brief Outline of Theology as a Field of Study

Friedrich Schleiermacher
1811 (first edition); substantially revised 1830 (second edition) · German
Theological-methodological treatise · Liberal Protestant theology / nineteenth-century German theology

Theology as a positive science — Schleiermacher's methodological treatise organising the field into philosophical, historical, and practical theology

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute Brief Outline of Theology as a Field of Study (Mature)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Active
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency Personal
Observer · Moral Authority Reason
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Discrete

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

Brief Outline of Theology as a Field of Study

The historical time of Christian theological-academic development; the present moment of nineteenth-century German university reform.

Space

Brief Outline of Theology as a Field of Study

The University of Berlin where Schleiermacher taught; the German theological-academic establishment.

Matter

Brief Outline of Theology as a Field of Study

The institutional materiality of the seminary, the curriculum, the academic discipline.

Observer

Brief Outline of Theology as a Field of Study

The theological scholar; the ecclesial leader the work aims to form.

Energy

Brief Outline of Theology as a Field of Study

The institutional-intellectual energies of academic theology.

Information

Brief Outline of Theology as a Field of Study

The systematic catalogue of theological sub-disciplines.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

Brief Outline of Theology as a Field of Study

The work's framing of theology as oriented toward ecclesial leadership has been variously assessed — defenders see it as properly attending to theology's practical end, critics see it as compromising theological scholarship's independence. Modern theological education has substantially adopted Schleiermacher's tripartite division (sometimes without acknowledging the source).