The last God's beginning

pp. 131-162

in: Frank Schalow, Heidegger and the quest for the sacred, Berlin, Springer, 2001

Abstract

We have reached the crucial point in our inquiry where it is necessary to ask "Why Heidegger?": what has been gained by seeking in his thought a new avenue to approach theological questions? As indicated at the close of the last chapter, Heidegger plants the seeds for a postmodern theology which can restore a sense of the divine mystery, or reaffirm the religious experience of the "wholly other." By taking Heidegger's lead, we can determine that there is more than a superficial resemblance between the thought of being and the mystery of God. Indeed, his thought enables us to address what is distinctive of the divinities as much through the modality of their absence as through their presence.