New Perspectives on an Old Debate: Friedrich Schleiermacher's Essay on Election

This article analyses Schleiermacher's essay on election, which has not received the attention it deserves. I argue that it presents a significant advance in the debate about unconditional grace and the relation between redemption and predestination. While Schleiermacher defends the Augustinian-Calvinist view of election, he criticizes the ideas of double predestination and eternal damnation (for the unbelievers). Thus, he wants to provide a new basis for Lutherans and Calvinists to settle or, at least, reconsider their longstanding controversy over the matter. After the publication of the essay in 1819, Schleiermacher's doctrine of election remained unchanged, except for minor modifications.