Jesus' Life in Dying: Friedrich Schleiermacher's Pre-Easter Reflections to the Community of the Redeemer

Schleiermachers preaching constituted a substantive part of his academic and pastoral life and provides a foray into his thought that is both accessible and inspiring. In the form of the sermon we discover Schleiermachers theology at work in the context of the worship life of the community--especially important for this progenitor of liberal theology. Schleiermachers Passion sermons are especially interesting given that contemporary interpreters of his thought generally assume that his interest in the cross is attenuated at best. Yet in these sermons we discover him thinking through his theology of community atonement history creation and Scripture in the face of the death of the Redeemer. The sermon in sum is the principal means by which the God-consciousness of the Redeemer is communicated to the community to the end that we come to believe in the One who died for the sake of the world. Jesus Life in Dying contains nine sermons preached on the topic of the cross and suffering of Jesus as well as an extended introduction by the editors locating these pastoral labors within Schleiermachers larger theological project.