본 논문은 슐라이어마허 사상에 강하게 내재한 실천 신학적 요소를기도에 대한 그의 설교와 신학적 저술을 중심으로 재구성하는 것을 목적으로 한다. 경건주의 영향 아래 있던 그의 초기 설교는 참 기도를 각개인의 영성에서 나오는 것으로 묘사한다. 하지만 그의 후기 사상에서는 기도가 참 교회를 구성하는6개의 표지 중 하나로 이해되면서, 기도가 하나님 나라의 역사적 실현을 위한 공동체적이고 종말론적 영성으로 제시된다. 참 기도에 대한 슐라이어마허의 정의가 변화하였음에도,초기 설교에서부터 후기『신앙론』에 이르기까지 기도의 대상으로서 신은 철저하게 비신인동형론적으로 제시된다. 그 결과 그의 신학에서 중보기도와 감사기도의 비중은 감소하였고, 대신 영적 정화를 위한 수행으로서 기도의 중요성이 강조 되었다. 즉, 예수 그리스도의 겟세마네 기도가 보여주듯 참 기도는 하나님 나라에 대한 교회의 믿음을 통해 개인의 불안, 걱정, 욕망을 승화시킴으로써 세계를 다스리는 신적 인과율에 참여하는 것이다. 이로써 슐라이어마허는 기도를 개인주의적 영성이아닌 신학적, 공동체적, 역사적, 윤리적 영성으로 변모시켰으며, 심리적변화를 기도의 주요 효과로 설명함으로써 인간학적으로 기도의 신학적의미를 탐구하는 초석을 놓게 되었다. 그렇지만 영적 정화를 지나치게 강조하는 그의 경향은 기도를 근대 부르주아 영성으로 만들 위험도 내포하고 있다.
Shortly before his death in 1968, Karl Barth, who is often referred to as being a severe critic of Friedrich Schleiermacher, critically reviewed his previous approach to this theological genius, suggesting a future generation of theology to revisit him with special focus on the practical dimension of his thought. Barth writes: Is Schleiermacher’s enterprise concerned necessarily, intrinsically, and authentically with a Christian theology oriented toward worship,preaching, instruction, and pastoral care? Does it only accidentally,extrinsically, and inauthentically wear a dress of a philosophy accommodated to the person of his time? It is clear that in that case regardless of details I would at least have to entertain the possibility of affirming the enterprise.... Up to now I have supposed that Schleiermacher cannot be understood in this way, thus finding myself materially at odds with him.
As Barth points out, one may find that Schleiermacher’s understanding of theology is fundamentally practical while placing its concern for the lived experience of God in the context of Christian community . Indeed, Schleiermacher’s theological works and his beautiful sermons demonstrate that his concern for practice and ministry is never a secondary one ancillary to his theological and philosophical works.
In this regard, this essay will re-examine the practical dimension of Schleiermacher’s thought with special attention to his theology of prayer. More specifically, I will investigate the way in which Schleiermacher reinterprets the language and logic of the doctrine of prayer within his theological system on the one hand, and the way in which he presents prayer in Jesus’ name as a distinctive form of modern piety on the other. Despite his intense concern on prayer, strangely enough, few scholars have paid enough attention to its importance for his theology, and it is hard to find any descent systematic and comprehensive research on this topic. By contrast, I will examine his theology of prayer by demonstrating its connectedness to his key theological motifs and by tracing how his view of prayer develops within his various academic and pastoral works. In order to fulfill these objectives, this paper consists of three sections:in the first section, I will explain the place of Schleiermacher’s theology of prayer within a more comprehensive context of his theological system, focusing on his magisterial treatise on Christianity,the Christian Faith. In the second section, I will discuss his understanding of God as the addressee of prayer by contextualizing his view of prayer in relation to his doctrine of God. In the third section,finally, I will investigate Schleiermacher’s theology of prayer,presented in the Christian Faith and his sermons, showing that he lays a modern foundation for conceiving of prayer as a purifying process of one’s soul.