1793–1831

The anthropocentric turn: Kant, Hegel and Schleiermacher's christology of God-consciousness

According to Berkhof, in the 18th century christology turned from theocentric (starting from the Logos) to anthropocentric – starting from the historical Jesus; a distinction was drawn between the historical Jesus and the "theological Christ" of the creeds. For Kant (Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone, 1793) Christ is the idea of a morally perfect humanity, and it is faith in the ideal that saves; for Hegel the incarnation expresses the unity of God and humanity. Schleiermacher in The Christian Faith (1821–1822, 2nd ed. 1830) rejected the classical doctrine of two natures as illogical: Jesus differs from other people only by "the constant potency of his God-consciousness", explicable only by the presence of God in him. His redemptive work is the communication of this God-consciousness to others; Schleiermacher describes Christ's work in terms of the three offices, and considers the resurrection, ascension and second coming unnecessary for Christian consciousness.