David Komline: Schleiermacher, Sabellius, and Inter-Trinitarian Equality

This paper examines the complex relationship between Friedrich Schleiermacher and Sabellius. At the end of the first edition of The Christian Faith, Schleiermacher argued that Christian doctrines of the Trinity have been inherently subordinationst and that, as a result, “the true method of representing the doctrine of the Trinity has not yet been hit upon or achieved in the common Symbols.” The first step towards better doctrine, Scheleiermacher argued, was to ask “whether, in order to escape the so-called Sabellian heresy, too much had not been done by the opposing party,” such that “a twofold nature was assumed in the Godhead itself.” Shortly thereafter, Scheleiermacher explored this question directly in an essay, published in English translation as “On the Discrepancy between the Sabellian and Athanasian Method of Representing the Doctrine of the Trinity.” His findings then worked his way into his final, and now standard, edition of The Christian Faith. Today some still accuse Schleiermacher of being a Sabellian. That designation, however, assumes an understanding of what Sabellianism is. The paper first shows that Schleiermacher’s understanding of Sabellianism – which remained the standard interpretation through much of the nineteenth century – differs significantly from what most people today would classify as Sabellianism. Still, even assuming Schleiermacher’s definition, the paper shows that while Schleiermacher found Sabellius’s doctrine alluring, ultimately the methodological restrictions basic to his own theological system kept him from following it.