The Similarities Between Frankl's Logotherapy and Luther's Concepts of Vocation and the Theology of the Cross

Abstract

SUMMARY This paper focuses on the similarities between Viktor Frankl's Logotherapy and Martin Luther's concepts of Vocation and the Theology of the Cross. The search for meaning for Frankl finds its expression in the vocation toward the neighbor of Luther. It is this relationship with the neighbor which provides both the arena for becoming a self and also for finding meaning in the outreach to the neighbor. The subject of suffering and the “tragic triad” also has relationships with Luther's theology of the cross in its movement through suffering to meaning.