Heideggerian Theologies

In light of Martin Heidegger's contextualized influence upon them, John Macquarrie, Rudolf Bultmann, Paul Tillich, and Karl Rahner engage in theologies that, in their respective tasks and scopes, venture into existential theology, following Heideggerian pathmarks toward the primordiality of being on the way to unconcealment, or ""aletheia."" By way of each pathmark, each existential theologian assumes a specific theological stance that utilizes a decidedly existential lens. While the former certainly grounds them fundamentally in a kind of theology, the latter, by way of Heideggerian influences, allows them to venture beyond any traditional theological framework with the use of philosophical suppositions and propositions. In an effort at explaining the relationship between humanity's ""being"" and God's ""Being,"" each existential theologian examines what it means to be human, not strictly in terms of theology, but as it is tied inextricably to an understanding of the philosophy of existence: the concept of what being is.

""With in-depth historical analysis of Martin Heidegger's influence on four eminent modern theologians, Hue Woodson reveals with fascinating biographical detail the diverse ways they employed Heidegger's philosophy for their own theological purposes, pursuing different 'pathmarks' from Heidegger to one of the four dimensions of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral. Woodson's well-researched, clearly written book is an indispensable guide for anyone interested in comparative investigations of various Heideggerian trajectories for contemporary constructive theology.""
--David J. Gouwens, Brite Divinity School


Hue Woodson is a PhD student in English at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he specializes in Martin Heidegger. He is currently an English teacher in Dallas I.S.D., and an Adjunct Professor of English at Mountain View College and Tarrant County College, Northwest Campus.