Without application, theology is not useful. If Christianity is only expressed in terms that revealed truth in a different time to a different culture, then it is bankrupt. Only when the truths of Christianity are applied in the modern context will Christian theology be fruitful. However, the ultimate overarching truths of Christianity should not be hampered by some idea of the "authority" of man's subjective and emotional/spiritual experiences of God.
First and foremost, I agree with Friedrich Schleiermacher that theology must be relevant to its times. However, this is where Schleiermacher and I diverge, our personal experience and trust in our own reason should not be authoritative over Christianity theology. We must start with some solid authority. This authority is the Word of God.
God's word reveals that mankind is sinful and that everyone is bound to sin. Only through Christ is someone freed from their bondage and forgiven. This sin, and sin nature, affects man's experiences and ability to reason. Therefore, man's reason and experiences should not be looked to as the supreme authority. This is why God gave us His word, in order that we may come to know Him and have a standard for truth.
Schleiermacher's largest failure was not that he emphasized man's experience of God, but rather that he destroyed any trace of biblical authority, placing the authority of man over God. I agree with Schleiermacher's push to make people see that knowledge without experience, and a faith lived, is dead. Most of all, I am saddened by the effect Schleiermacher's theology has today. In our postmodern world, there is no view of the God who is. Modern liberal theology basically makes man god, in that man is--through his experience--the arbiter of truth.
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