The paper aims at showing Luther as a thinker rather than a theologian of the word. It presents therefore his thinking about language comparing it with Herder’s, Hamann’s, Humboldt’s, Hegel’s, Benjamin’s, Wittgenstein’s and Heidegger’s philosophical reflection. By underlying the dialectical role of language as mediation and manifestation of the spirit, the essay highlights the linguistic constitution not only of the human being but also of the divinity, as yet suggested by the Prologue to John’s Gospel. According to Luther, in the spoken word the spirit can indeed unify sense and sensible, as the reason can express his thinking. God itself, in his Trinitarian constitution, is always already dialogue of the Self with Itself.

Luther; Word; Spirit; Letter; Reason.

The paper aims to show that Hegel’s Lutheranism is enshrined in the founding categories of his philosophy, such as the problem of the spiritualisation of the sensible, the passage from certainty to truth and the infinity that conscience can grasp in itself. By analysing the Lutheran interpretation of the Glauben and of Eucharist, the essay demonstrates a common theme between the Lutheran faith and the philosophical hegelian discourse, i.e. the Aufhebung of the esteriority in order to reach a veritable spiritual presence. The fundamental medium in which the spiritualisation takes place is the language, whose Lutheran interpretation is inherited by Hegel also in the light of the Gospel of John.

Hegel; Luther; Eucharist; Language; Faith.

Johann Gottfried Herder’s view of the 16th-century Reformation is characterized by some ambiguity. On the one hand, he regards Luther’s revolt against the doctrinal and ritualistic orthodoxies of his time as a liberation from ‘spiritual despotism’, on the other hand he complains about the petrification of ‘formulaic theology’ even within the Lutheran tradition. Thus the challenge is there, first, to consider how far Herder is right when he emphasizes the concept of liberty. The immediate response of the church authorities to Luther’s insisting on the ‘gospel’ as the true treasure of the Christian Church seems to give Herder’s view a high degree of plausibility. The second challenge is to discuss Herder’s polemics against purely formalized teachings. Referring back to Luther’s interpretation of the biblical psalms – which is also recommended by Herder – it can be shown that Luther rather tried to direct a believer towards a very personal self-perception in relation to God. However, since Herder links the concept of religion to his key concept of ‘humanity’, he raises objections against Luther’s orientation towards a divine judgement in the hereafter and idealizes what he calls ‘the religion of Christ’ in more practical terms. In comparison with Herder, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing takes a more open stance towards the plurality of religions when it comes to reflect on the question what theological ideas Luther would be advocating ‘today’.

Spriritual despotism; Liberty; Humanity; Biblical psalms; Final judgement.

The article discusses Schelling’s interpretation of the Reformation. Schelling deals with Luther in his whole work, but since 1800 he has worked out an understanding of Luther and his Reformation as an imperfect project. With it he uses the idea of enlightenment and liberal thinkers about the ‘imperfect reformation’. In difference to others Schelling sees the fulfillment of the reformation in his own philosophy and his concept of a philosophical religion.

Reformation; German Idealism; Philosophy of Religion; History of modern Theology.

Hegel claims that he is a Lutheran thinker. Our contribution aims to clarify the significance of such a statement. In his writings, Hegel praises Luther’s decisive historical action, his translation of the Bible into German, and his theological and ethical ideas. The essential terms of his interpretation are those of spiritual freedom and interiority. Throughout this reading of a Christian theologist by a systematical philosopher, it would seem that Hegel not only preserves the important elements of the reformer’s thought, but also meditates, like Luther, upon the mystery of the Word of the Cross, and of the kenosis. The Lutheran heritage is, thus, obvious. Nevertheless, Hegel systematically renews that which he borrows, and is more often than not closer to St. Augustine’s view.

Hegel; Luther; Augustin; Philosophy; Religion.

The atheist philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer is not readily associated with theological discussions. Nevertheless, his works are replete with positive references to numerous theologians such as Augustine, Meister Eckhart and, interestingly, Martin Luther. Any positive influence of the theologian of the Reformation who emphasized literalism, fideism and unmerited grace with the atheist, pessimistic and misanthropic sage of Frankfurt seems somewhat of a far stretch. If we take Schopenhauer’s positive references to Luther seriously, we can find three areas in which Luther’s theology might have impacted positively on Schopenhauer. First, Luther’s understanding of the bondage of the will which necessitates external assistance seems to resonate with the way Schopenhauer understands the soteriological potential of knowledge to quell the will to life. Second, Luther’s removal of a hermeneutic assistant in reading the bible – such as the Catholic Church – comes close to how Schopenhauer thinks the truth of pessimism is crystal clear to anyone uninfluenced by academic, philosophical optimism. Third, Luther’s way of rendering all human works null in acquiring grace is similar to how Schopenhauer believes that the will itself lacks any soteriological principle.

Schopenhauer; Luther; Bondage of the Will; Hermeneutics; Salvation.

The paper focuses on Nietzsche’s confrontation with Luther relying on an essay written by the Lutheran theologian Emanuel Hirsch. Nietzsche’s evaluation of Luther is not unambiguous, because the sharp tirades against Luther in his maturity follow the appreciation of the Reformation in his youth. Nietzsche’s critique deals however less with the doctrinal elements of Luther’s thinking and more with the political and cultural consequences of his position. The paper aims to show that beyond the apparently negative opinion, Nietzsche holds a constant dialogue with Luther, as proved by Nietzsche’s thinking about the theme of the Death of God.

Nietzsche; Martin Luther; Reformation; Renaissance; Death of God.

The paper aims to shed some light on a specific issue related to the Lutheran heritage, i.e. the question of translation, which presents in the German culture between 18th and 19th century an exceptional vitality, both with regard to the production of translations and to the philosophical debate on their problematic status. This essay is based in particular on an aspect of the Hegelian thinking. Despite the fact that Hegel invokes Luther as a linguistic model for his attempt to make philosophy speak German, in the Lectures on Fine Art, by claiming the possibility of a sort of universal translation of poetry no matter its background or original language, he seems to be quite sensitive to the problem of translation. In order to comprehend this position, the paper focuses first on the way Hegel analyses concretely some translations by Schlegel and Humboldt, which shows a more complex and philosophical refined attitude on this topic; secondly, it aims at contextualizing this assertion in the culture of its time.

Luther; Translation; Hegel; Lectures on Fine Art; Poetry.