The Eternal Covenant: Schleiermacher on God and Natural Science

Daniel James Pedersen

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The Eternal Covenant

Schleiermacher on God and Natural Science

Daniel James Pedersen

Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2017

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This book is in the series

Volume 181 | Theologische Bibliothek Töpelmann

About this book

Schleiermacher’s readers have long been familiar with his proposal for an ‘eternal covenant’ between theology and natural science. Yet there is disagreement both about what this ‘covenant’ amounts to, why Schleiermacher proposed it, and how he meant it to be persuasive. In The Eternal Covenant, Pedersen argues, contrary to received wisdom, that the ‘eternal covenant’ is not first a methodological or political proposal but is, rather, the end result of a complex case from the doctrine of God, the notion of a world, and an account of divine action. With his compound case against miracles, Schleiermacher secures the in-principle explicability of everything in the world through natural causes. However, his case is not only negative. Far from a mere concession, the eternal covenant is an argument for what Schleiermacher calls, ‘the essential identity of ethics and natural philosophy.’ Indeed, because the nature system is both intended for love and wisely ordered, the world is a supremely beautiful divine artwork and is, therefore, the absolute self-revelation of God. Schleiermacher’s case is a challenging alternative to reigning accounts of God, nature, divine action, and the relationship between religion and science.

Author / Editor information

Daniel James Pedersen, Austin, TX, U.S.A.

Reviews

"That said, Pedersen's book is to be highly recommended for its exposition of different aspects of Schleiermacher's knowledge of the natural sciences through the works Pedersen's research has identified as bis source material. lt is very eloquently written and compellingly argued. And it is to be applauded greatly for championing the eternal contract between the Christian faith and scientific research not only in its historical context but as an alternative account of God, divine action, and the natural world in contemporary discussions."
Anette Hagan in: The Journal of Theological Studies 69/2 (2018), 824-826

"Bei den von P. (Pedersen's) aufschlussreich behandelten Themen ist für die Zukunft internationaler wissenschaftsaustausch sehr zu wünschen."
Anne Käfer in: Theologische Literaturzeitung 144 (2019), 492

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	VII
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	IX
Abbreviations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	XI
Chapter 1 Introduction: The Eternal Covenant Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	1
Chapter 2 The Science of Schleiermacher’s World, the World of Schleiermacher’s Science: Natural Science in the early Nineteenth Century Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	19
Chapter 3 Divine Wisdom and the Order of the World: Leibniz and Schleiermacher on the Perfection of Nature Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	46
Chapter 4 The World and Miracles: Schleiermacher on the Nature System Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	69
Chapter 5 Divine Power and the Necessity of the World: Spinoza and Schleiermacher on the Perfection of Nature Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	98
Chapter 6 The Self Presentation of the Divine Essence: Schleiermacher on the World as the Artwork of God Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	127
Chapter 7 Conclusion: The Essential Identity of Ethics and Natural Philosophy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	151
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	180
Index of Names Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	184
Index of Subjects Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	185

Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

August 21, 2017

eBook ISBN:

9783110542301

Hardcover published on:

August 21, 2017

Hardcover ISBN:

9783110540802

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

Front matter:

12

Main content:

187

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110542301

eBook ISBN: 9783110542301

Hardcover ISBN: 9783110540802

Keywords for this book

Friedrich Schleiermacher; doctrine of God; divine action; natural science

Audience(s) for this book

All those interested in Theology, Religion-and-science, Philosophy of religion, Schleiermacher studies

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Walter de Gruyter GmbH
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10785 Berlin
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The Eternal Covenant

Overview

About this book

Author / Editor information

Reviews

Topics

Table of contents

Bibliographic data