Abstract

This study explored eight Christian German reflections of die Schuldfrage in relation to their life histories. To do so, this study employed German philosopher Karl Jaspers' concept of metaphysische Schuld as a theoretical framework to better understand participants’ reflections of three topics: 1) die Schuldfrage as a concept in relation to key life history events that informed their reflections thereon, 2) the theological dealings required to reconcile die Schuldfrage, and 3) any observations regarding the potential relationship between die Schuldfrage and Flüchtlingskriese. Participants’ life history interviews were conducted over field research in Berlin, Germany, and analyzed in two stages: I) using Amadeo Giorgi’s empirical phenomenology to bracket participants’ experiences of die Schuldfrage from their reflections of them, and II) applying Jaspers’ concept of metaphysische Schuld to stage I to identify thematic and structural overlap and disagreement.