Heidegger, Luther and the Problem of Sin

Abstract

Heidegger’s Christian origin had a decisive influence on his philosophical thinking, as he himself admits. For some time he was even considered as a Christian thinker. In Marburg, inspired by the biblical theologian R. Bultmann, he applies his philosophical interest to Protestantism. He participates in meetings and seminars on the problems of Protestant theology. A particular expression of his interest in Protestant theology is noted in the presentation of a lecture on The Problem of Sin in Luther during the Bible Exegesis Seminary at Bultmann’s. Among others, he was also inspired by Protestant theology in his work Being and Time. His concept of sin described there is essentially different from Luther’s concept. Probably under the influence of the Protestant understanding of faith and the experience of faith in the early Christianity, Heidegger turns away from Catholicism, what he expresses in a letter to his friend Engelbert Krebs, although he never officially leaves the church.