Friedrich Schleiermacher, The Father Of Liberalism

Theological liberalism emerged in the 1800's heavily influenced by the Enlightenment which began in the 1700's.  The Enlightenment elevated human reason as the ultimate authority and placed man at the center of all things.  Liberalism has had a great influence on the church and society over the last few centuries.  

German theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834) is known as the father of theological liberalism.  Schleiermacher was strongly influenced by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804).  Kant separated things into the noumenal realm (outside the mind) and the phenomenal realm (inside the mind).  The noumenal realm referred to the thing in itself while the phenomenal realm referred to the thing as it appears.  Kant believed things in the noumenal realm (what exists outside the mind) cannot be known about, we can only know that it exists.  Kant believed we could only know things in the phenomenal realm, that is things as they appear.  

Friedrich Schleiermacher took the philosophy of Immanuel Kant and applied it to theology.  Schleiermacher located God in the noumenal realm where he could not be known.  He believed God could only be known through the phenomenal realm, that is only as he appears to someone.  Schleiermacher believed one could not actually know God, but could only know his experience of God.  

So for Schleiermacher theology was not the study of God but the study of one's experience of God.  It is not God revealing himself to humanity in the Bible but humanity experiencing "God consciousness."  Scripture was no longer the ultimate authority, it was now replaced by human experience.  For Schleiermacher the Bible was no longer the Word of God revealed to us because God could not be known.  Instead the Bible was just men writing down their experiences of God.  

The Bible was no longer the inspired, inerrant, authoritative Word of God.  It was no longer considered truth from God, it was nothing more than the writing of mere men.  The historical accounts and miracle claims of the Bible were now rejected.  In Liberalism the Bible was no longer the ultimate authority.  It was now replaced by human reason, experience, and imagination.