Catholic Dictionary
Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.
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BEING IN TIME
A term in the philosophy of Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) to redefine man as Dasein in Zeitlichkeit, i.e., "being in temporality." On these premises human beings have no stable essence or nature. Rather they are constantly changing with the passage of time. Heideggerian philosophy has been applied to both the Gospels and to Catholic Church documents. When applied to the Gospels, their real meaning can be found only by stripping the story of Christ's life of its time-conditioned mythology. Applied to Church documents, Heigeggerianism calls for a reappraisal in modern terms of every Catholic doctrine from the past.
