Schleiermacher on Angels — Comprehensive Study Notes

Appendix One: Regarding Angels

• Purpose and scope

  • The notion of angels is indigenous to Old Testament narratives and has carried over into the New Testament, but it is not, in Schleiermacher’s view, a component of genuine Christian doctrine. It can appear in Christian language without obligating belief in their actual existence. The claim is not that angels are impossible or contradicted by faith, but that Christianity has not been built on a fixed, doctrinal assertion about angels.
  • Consequently, angels may appear in religious language while not functioning as a doctrinal commitment about reality.

• Historical and cosmological background

  • The biblical material on angels is likely intertwined with legend and mythic cosmologies. Narratives about Abraham, Lot, Jacob, Moses, Gideon, Samson display a flow in which God and the angels of the Lord are interchanged or understood through theophany rather than as discrete beings in a fully developed angelology.
  • Poetry in the Psalms and prophetic literature often treats any bearer of divine command as an “angel,” leading to variation in whether a particular being is considered an angel.
  • The appearance of spiritual beings has historically been explained through pre-scientific cosmologies: beings conceived as inhabiting a plurality of heavenly bodies or as occupying spaces between worlds.
  • Schleiermacher argues that earlier cosmologies were attempts to satisfy a longing to understand spirit’s sovereignty over matter, and that such explanations may not map neatly onto the biblical concept of angels.
  • The Jewish tradition tended to imagine a heavenly court with a Supreme Being and servants acting on God’s bidding; this represents one among several possible models that people have used to understand divine communication and governance.
  • He stresses that one cannot simply derive the biblical notion of angels from these broader cosmologies; doing so would import concepts alien to the biblical frame.

• Multiple sources and types of spiritual beings

  • It is likely that the modern concept of angels is not limited to a single “world-body” but comprises beings associated with various types of spiritual life, some of which may appear to take on temporary physical forms.
  • The space between worlds and the possible relations between spirit and bodies are not sufficiently known to deny the truth of such notions outright, though their biblical grounding is not straightforward.
  • The general tendency to imagine angels as otherworldly agents stems from a desire to understand divine command and governance, not from a settled biblical anthropology.

• New Testament and early Christian usage

  • In the New Testament, angels appear in poetically framed narratives surrounding Christ’s birth and the forerunner’s annunciation, and in some infancy narratives that were retained from outside the core Gospel tradition. These appearances are not uniformly didactic or theologically binding.
  • The “strengthening” angel in Gethsemane (Luke 22:43) is cited as a case with ambiguous witness status; in some other episodes (Salvation, Resurrection, Ascension, Cornelius, Peter’s escape), it is not always clear whether a real angel or a human agent is involved.
  • In Acts, angels appear intermittently, but after certain key moments they seem to recede from the principal Gospel narrative framework.
  • The phrases “angel of the Lord” and “Spirit” alternate in some Gospel settings, reflecting the fluidity of angelic language in early Christian usage.
  • Hebrews and related New Testament writings use terms like “thrones” and “principalities,” but Schleiermacher argues these are rhetorical or exegetical devices rather than explicit doctrinal propositions about actual angelic beings.
  • Christ is described as “much superior” to angels in certain passages, but this does not entail a robust, independent angelology in the Gospel tradition; rather, it emphasizes Christ’s sovereignty over the angelic hosts as understood in early Christian proclamation.
  • The texts do not provide clear, dogmatic teaching about angels; rather, they reflect common cultural and literary ways of speaking about heavenly beings.

• The Reformation and confessional context

  • The Protestant confessions rarely embed angels as a central doctrinal topic; their use in hymns and liturgical language shows familiarity but not doctrinal emphasis.
  • Schleiermacher notes that if the Reformers spoke of angels, it was not because they intended to commit to a robust angelology; their piety did not hinge on angels as theological content.
  • The church’s stance on angels in confessional writing tends to emphasize attitude toward angels rather than substantive doctrine about their existence or activity.

• Schleiermacher’s analytic stance on angels (the core doctrinal takeaway)

  • The central doctrinal claim is modest: the question of whether angels exist should not dictate how one acts; and contemporary Christian expectation is that revelations of angelic existence should not be anticipated.
  • Trust in angelic protection is to be treated with skepticism for several reasons:
  • Reliance on angels could undercut the Scriptural call to spiritual armor and to act under God’s natural providence.
  • External protection by angels could imply an unnecessary disruption of the interconnectedness of nature and could nurture childish or vain consolation about God’s preference for angelic intervention.
  • It could foster pride by supposing a hierarchy of beings exists primarily to serve humans.
  • The Lutheran confessional tradition has sometimes allowed for intercession of angels but not for their active (protreptic) engagement in human affairs; Schleiermacher critiques this as lacking robust biblical warrant and as an act of accommodation rather than doctrinal assertion.
  • Modern experience and scientific understanding have moved beyond the older cosmologies, making direct appeals to angelic intervention increasingly implausible as a basis for piety or ethical guidance.
  • The church has, historically, rejected veneration of angels; it would be the worst form of veneration to place angelic beings above or beyond responsible human care for one’s own and others’ welfare.

• Practical and liturgical implications

  • Because angels do not provide a reliable or necessary framework for Christian life, any private devotion or philosophical reflection should avoid constructing a belief in angelic influence as a basis for moral action.
  • Private use of angels should be limited to sensory representations of higher protection, rather than to directing conscious human activity.
  • In liturgy, the imagery of God surrounded by pure and innocent spirits has long served as a symbolic or devotional device, but it does not warrant a claim of ontological angels among the living and acting order.
  • Schleiermacher thus suggests a cautious, non-dogmatic approach: use angelic language sparingly and primarily as a rhetorical or traditional motif rather than as a doctrinal assertion about reality.

• Summary of the doctrinal stance

  • Angels are a historical and literary motif in biblical and confessional contexts, not a central article of faith.
  • The existence of angels should not drive Christian praxis or theology; faith should ground action, not angelic mediation.
  • The modern stance is to interpret angelic references as culturally embedded language that reflects older ways of thinking about divine action, not as proof of a live metaphysical economy of angelic beings.

• Key theological principles connected to the discussion

  • The priority of Christ’s lordship over all creation, including any angelic orders.
  • The sufficiency of divine providence and natural order for guiding ethical conduct and spiritual formation.
  • A hermeneutic of suspicion toward extra-biblical cosmologies when they would distort biblical teachings or practical piety.

• Editorial notes and references (summary of the marginal and footnote material)

  • Marginal note by Steudel is cited to contextualize why angels appear in this discussion rather than after the second doctrinal point; the cosmological framing is identified as the underlying reason. 1, ext{ Steudel remark ( cosmological)}
  • Footnote 2 (Sage) and Footnote 3 (Reinhard) are invoked to situate the discussion within broader dogmatics and to compare the biblical data with other systematic treatments. 2,3
  • Editorial note: Cf. §43n7 references a cross-reference to other sections to illuminate how the discussion about celestial beings connects to the wider doctrinal system. 4,43 ext{n}7
  • Luke 22:43 is cited as the Gospel narrative mentioning an angel who strengthens Jesus in Gethsemane. 5, ext{ Luke } 22:43
  • Passages in Matthew (27, 25:31; 18:10; 26:53) are noted as possibly referring to angels or to human agents; these are treated as ambiguous in terms of teaching doctrine. 6, 7, 8, 9
  • The issue of appearances of angels in New Testament contexts is distinguished from their doctrinal status, particularly in Hebrews (Colossians 1:16; Heb 1:4ff). 8,9
  • The Apology and Schmalkaldic Articles provide historical Lutheran references on angels, showing that the mere existence of angels was not to be treated as a dogmatic edifice; these sources warn against invoking angels for ritual or doctrinal purposes. 10

• Note on LaTeX formatting used here

  • Key doctrinal formulas expressed in a compact way for study reminders:
  • The doctrinal premise: ext{AngelsExist}
    ightarrow ext{NoInfluenceOnAction}
  • Contemporary expectation: ext{RevelationOfAngels}
    ightarrow ext{NoLongerExpected}
  • In-depth discussion preserves narrative nuance and avoids turning theological points into rigid propositions without textual warrant.

• Connections to broader themes in Schleiermacher’s philosophy

  • Emphasis on the historical and cultural formation of religious language (how terms like “angel” arise in different contexts).
  • A hermeneutic commitment to reading biblical texts within their own frames rather than importing later cosmological models.
  • A caution against privileging extraordinary explanations (angelic intervention) over ordinary divine providence and ethical responsibility.

• Potential exam-focused takeaways

  • Angels in Schleiermacher are a language and tradition issue, not a central doctrine.
  • Doctrinal stance: angels should not govern how one lives; no expectation of angelic revelations today.
  • Practical stance: avoid veneration of angels; keep piety focused on God, Christ, and ethical action in daily life.