Knowledge of God and Selfhood in Martin Luther’s Writings

Abstract

Although Martin Luther expressed strong reservations against the use of philosophical terminology in theology and described the Christian’s unio with Christ primarily in biblical language or with the help of metaphors and similes, he sometimes also uses basic ontological terms and philosophical question patterns to formulate his concept of being a Christian most precisely. This essay explores these approaches by Luther and shows that his understanding of the justification of the sinner is based on a coherent anthropological conception. Luther understands faith, the knowledge of God in accepting the divine Word, as a reconstitution of selfhood, since in the relation of faith the divine Word or rather the living, efficacious Christ becomes the forma that defines the self-relation of believers and orients their self-determination, thus shaping their lives.