The Courage to Be

Customer Reviews:

More than the courage to live.......2007-08-06

This is a short book full of ideas and concepts that should be immediately familiar to, and have great meaning for, anybody who has experienced an existential crisis and the associated despair. Phrases like "ultimately concerned" and "naked anxiety", which feature prominently here, do capture, however imperfectly, the chaos of thoughts and emotions that go through any human for whom life and the whole universe become meaningless.
What Tillich understands, and is able to articulate better than most, is just how difficult it is to be a finite creature, an animal, who nonetheless has a taste of the divine, and who therefore must live for meaning. This is what gives rise to faith, and faith provides the courage to be, to transcend both life and death.
I'm not sure if Tillich's definition of God as the "ground of being" will be palatable to readers, either Christian or not. Tillich himself has the courage to admit that ancient Stoicism is a viable alternative to Christianity. In my own opinion, Christian existentialism is a robust and serious belief system, one that can provide spiritual seekers a source of meaning that may be more life-affirming than the sterile philosophy of secular humanism and the impenetrable whirl of Eastern mysticism. For this reason I give this book the full five stars.

COMMENT ON BASIC IDEA.......2007-05-02

TILLICH'S BASIC IDEAS OF GOD AND THE GOD-ABOVE-GOD ARE NOT CLEAR IN THE COURAGE TO BE SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE HE STATES AS THE ESSENTIAL FUNCTION OF CHRISTIAN CLERGY KEEPING PEOPLE FROM REALIZING THE NATURE OF "GOD" FOR WHICH PURPOSE HE IDENTIFIES THE "GOD-ABOVE-GOD" THE NATURE OF "GOD" IS
THE GREAT MACHINE WHICH IN ALBERT EINSTEIN'S VIEW FOR EXAMPLE OBVIATES HUMAN FREEDOM. THAT IS: THE UNIVERSE IS MACHINE GOVERNED BY FIXED LAW; WE ARE ALL PARTS OF THE UNIVERSE, NO MORE FREE THAN A ROCK TO HAVE FREEDOM FROM, SAY, GRAVITY. TILLICH SAYS THAT TO REALLY GRASP THIS IS
BEYOND HUMAN ENDURANCE. IF ONE IS A SERIOUS STUDENT OF THE BIBLE, ONE CAN SEE THAT THE "GOD" OF TILLICH IS PRESENTED TO THE JEWS, BUT WITH A SET OF ILLUSIONS, AS CHOSEN, THE NEED FOR AN ENEMY TO DEFINE AS OTHER THAN AS THE "GOD" OF TILLICH THE NATURE OF THE JEWISH INDIVIDUAL, THE LONG-TERM ETHIC OF GHE GOOD DEFINED AS WHAT IS BEST FOR JEWS THROUGH CENTURIES. EINSTEIN CALLED THE JEWISH GOD (THE "GOD" OF TILLICH) AS THE
NEGATION OF SUPERSTITION AND WITH IMAGINARY CHARACTERISTICS ADDED.
THE "GOD-ABOVE-GOD" IS AN INTELLECTIZED JUSTIFICATION FOR IGNORING OR NOT PERMITTING OTHERS TO COMPREHEND THE MECHANICAL NATURE OF REALITY. TO IGNORE INVOLVES RISK. A MAN WHO IGNORES THE MECHANISTIC NATURE OF CAUSE AND EFFECT IN FAVOR OF COURAGE, HOPE, ROMANTICISM OR WHATEVER EXERCISES EITHER HIS IGNORANCE OR HIS COURAGE.

Contains Key Spiritual Insights Grounded in Existentialist Thought.......2006-11-24

Tillich gathers strands from stoicism, theistic existentialism, dialectical thought and fideism in an attempt to weave a unifying belief-system. I don't think he completely succeeds in doing that. However, he does manage to express some spiritual insights. And it is in the mining these spiritual gems that makes the book a worthwhile read.

Many reviewers have voiced the opinion that Tillich's writing style is very difficult to read. I do not necessarily agree with this assessment. Tillich employs paradoxical language in an attempt to explain that which is beyond all words. At times, his writing is dry. But it is not terribly difficult to follow.

Here are some of the insights that I have gathered from the reading of this book:

- The human predicament is the estrangement of one's existence from one's essential being. This estrangement is sin.

- God is understood as "being" itself. And "being" is a "creative process."

- There's a dialectical tension between being and nonbeing. And "the courage to be" is the power of being to will itself, to overcome the threat of nonbeing.

- "Courage needs the power of being, a power transcending the nonbeing" pg. 155

- Existential angst takes on three distinct forms: 1) the anxiety of fate and death, 2) the anxiety of emptiness and meaninglessness and 3) the anxiety of guilt and condemnation.

Tillich discusses at length the sociological implications of these three forms of "anxieties" as they played out in history.

At the heart of Tillich's discussion is the dialectical tension that exists between the individual and the group of which the individual is a part. Both the individual and the group are affirmed and denied. By affirming the self, the individual denies the group; by affirming the group, the individual denies himself. How does one overcome this conflict? By "the courage to be," and the "courage to be" is none other than faith itself.

"The 'courage to be' is the courage to accept oneself as accepted in spite of being unacceptable." pg. 164 This is Tillich's interpretation of the doctrine of "justification by faith."

I found Tillich's discussion of death to be very interesting:

"The courage to die is also the test of the courage to be. A self-affirmation which omits taking the affirmation of one's death into itself tries to escape the test of courage, the facing of nonbeing in the most radical way." pg. 169

We must learn to embrace death by taking death into ourselves. And it is with this acceptance that we affirm the "courage to be." It is only by dying, by dying to the self, that we are reborn to eternal life. Faith defined as the "courage to be" is where we derive the power of God, who is being itself.

Here are some examples of Tillich's paradoxical statements or aphorisms:

- "He who participates in God participates in eternity. But in order to participate in him you must be accepted by him and you must have accepted his acceptance of you." pg. 170

- "The courage to be is an expression of faith and what "faith" means must be understood through the courage to be." pg. 172

- "Faith is not an opinion but a state. It is the state of being grasped by the power of being, which transcends everything that is, and in which everything that is, participates." pg. 173

The major criticism that I have of Tillich's thought as represented in this book is that he failed to link the "courage to be" or faith with love. Ultimately love is the power of being. And God is not only being itself but also love. They are inseparable.

Worth trudging through Tillich's heavy jargon.......2006-11-20

Technically, this book is difficult to read and often hard to understand. The book feels like an awkward translation by Tillich of his own stream of conscienceness. But, that should not deter you in any way.

Once you feel comfortable with the language the book really opens up as you get a feel for Tillich's rhetorical skill. The arguments are well made and are very fun to wrestle with. He speaks on Courage in it's different forms, their manifestations in history and politics, and it's place in our modern lives.

I found this book to be a very interesting (and helpful) perspective on how we arrived at the point we are in live today, both individually and collectively. Far from being an anachronism Tillich's famous book is as enlightening now as it was in the 1950's.

Wordy and Dated.......2006-10-16

Originally published in 1952, The Courage to Be by Paul Tillich is a compilation of the Terry Lectures delivered by the author in the same year. Tillich is a well known mid-twentieth century German-American liberal theologian. The following comments pertain to the 2000 re-release by Yale University Press

The lectures discuss the issue of courage and, are largely a response to some of the bleak existentialist philosophy prevalent at the time. I found the aspects of the text discussing existentialism to be the most interesting. To the appropriate liberal academic audience in the early 1950's these lectures might have sounded majestic. Tillich weaves a broad story touching on a range of philosophical, political, historic and scientific themes. Fifty years later it feels dated and superficial; some of the themes e.g. existentialism, Freudism and Marxism are now somewhat passé and may be of limited interest to many modern readers.

This is not to say that the work is without value, I find that Tillich is always effective at conveying the majesty of God. Tillich was by all accounts a capable intellect, however, his ability as a communicator is limited; his use of language while occasionally poetic is often wordy and vacuous, while his argumentation can be sublime, it is frequently speculative and specious.

The Courage to Be is probably only of interest to Tillich fans.

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Excellent Introductory Anthology
A worthy collection of Tillich
Premium Timeless Existential Theology

The Essential Tillich
Paul Tillich
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
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ASIN: 0226803430

Book Description

"With this volume, Paul Tillich joins the ranks of the great Christian theologians such as Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas. . . .This volume, compiled by a noted minister and scholar, offers to the theological student, church worker, or, indeed, any serious reader struggling with the existential question, a tantalizing and illuminating introduction to perhaps the greatest mind of twentieth-century Protestant theology."—Booklist

"Church testifies to the power Tillich provides him for his pastoral work, his intellectual formulation and his personal life. He projects, quite properly, that the 'essential' Tillich can do the same for others. . . ."—Christian Century

"This book summarizes in Tillich's own words much of the best of his thought, still highly relevant today."—Library Journal

"[Church] helps Tillich speak to an audience unfamiliar with the breadth and depth of his thought."—Religious Studies Review

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Introductory Anthology.......2007-04-05

For someone with no background or prior knowledge of Tillich or existential theology this is an excellent first step. Divided into multiple sections concerning the different aspects of Tillich's thought, with multiple excerpts from his many works to give an overview of his position. Primarily concerned with Tillich's more overtly theological thought, this volume does leave out much of his writing on the arts and politics, though likely for good reason. An overview of Tillich's opinions about socialism, though influenced by his theology and interesting for someone interested in his life, is not likely to be foremost among the interests of someone looking to read Tillich. If it is, then this book will help point you in the right direction for your next purchase.

A worthy collection of Tillich.......2005-10-20

This is an interesting collection of the writings of Tillich. It breaks down Tillich into more easily digestible pieces. Tillich is not an easy read. Educated in German schools deeply influenced by liberal theology of the nineteenth century and philosophical schools reacting to the breakdown of Enlightenment thinking, Tillich sought to make theology a relevant subject in the academy. Much of his writing is primarily geared toward other academics, philosophers in particular. Many seminarians have difficulty with Tillich, both in making real-world connections as well as traversing the language -- Tillich invents his own terminology and develops his own linguistic methods of discussing theological issues.

Tillich is sometimes mistaken for being an atheist, since he makes the radical claim that God does not exist -- however, this shows the redefinitions and subtle aspects at work in Tillich's writing. Only finite things can be spoken of as 'existing'; God, not being finite, does not 'exist' in the way that any created thing exists. God becomes for Tillich the Ground of Being, that from which all existing things come and in which all in existence have their being.

Tillich was profoundly influenced by his experiences in the first world war, where he served as a chaplain in the trench warfare. Unlike theologians such as Barth, he initially had a young man's bravado and support for the war, until the grim realities set in. This experience would never leave Tillich, and he continued to strive all his life to craft a systematic theology that would on the one hand address the concerns of culture but at the same time resist traditional pitfalls of theology-of-culture that make it less universal, and too much a human construct.

Tillich's development of Christology, with Christ as the New Being, is very significant, the way for Tillich's more general philosophical theology to find a grounding in Christianity. Tillich had a long fascination with other religions, Buddhism in particular, and was charged by some critics of relegating Christianity to a secondary status. Like many of Tillich's theological ideas, there is a tension apparent in his Christological development that exists between different traditional methods of dealing with the issue historically, philosophically and theologically.

The selections here come from many of Tillich's works - 'The New Being', 'The Courage To Be', 'Dynamics of Faith', 'History of Religions', and 'Systematic Theology', among others. All of the fundamental concepts of Tillich - the ground of being, the ultimate concern, the idea of history of religions as a primary source of theology, etc. - are here in Tillich's own words, with careful arrangement and a bit of commentary by F. Forrester Church.

This is a good, one-volume introduction to Tillich for those who wish to seek deeper insights into one of the major theologians of our times. This is useful for individual study, for group and bible study groups, for beginning theology classes, and for those ministers and other seminary graduates who would like a one-volume text with which to refamiliarise themselves.

Premium Timeless Existential Theology.......2000-06-21

Having studied religious/philosophical discourse for decades, I was electrified intellectually and spiritually by the brilliance of existential thought in every selection in this anthology! Not for casual review or the beginning contemplative, the demand for a complex conceptual imagination, a consuming passion for Being, and plasticity of one's most cherished personal beliefs is required. This is an excellent introduction to Tillich's depth and style. Positively transforming!

Love, Power, and Justice: Ontological Analysis and Ethical Applications (Galaxy Books)

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Interesting and exciting blend of philosophy and theology
Tillich Weighs in on Love

Love, Power, and Justice: Ontological Analysis and Ethical Applications (Galaxy Books)
Paul Tillich
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0195002229

Book Description

This book presents Paul Tillich at his very best--brief, clear, stimulating, provocative. Speaking with understanding and force, he makes a basic analysis of love, power, and justice, all concepts fundamental in the mutual relations of people, of social groups, and of humankind to God. His concern is to penetrate to the essential, or ontological foundation of the meaning of each of these words and thus save them from the vague talk, idealism, cynicism, and sentimentality with which they are usually treated. The basic unity of love, power, and justice is affirmed and described in terms that are fresh and compelling.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting and exciting blend of philosophy and theology.......2004-01-05

Calvin O. Schrag (emeritus, Purdue University), while a graduate student at Harvard in the 1950s, was Paul Tillich's assistant. He humorously observed that Tillich was considered by some narrow-minded academics to be a "thinker, not a philosopher." _Love, Power, and Justice_, now celebrating its 50th birthday from original publication, is a short volume that integrates Tillich's passions in philosophy, especially existential thought, and Christian theology. The result is in an exciting synthesis of strands of 20th century thought.

I had long desired to do a careful read of this text, so I assigned it to my Ethics class. We went through it, chapter by chapter, and discussed the relevance of each of the volume's three major concepts to our core course concepts: philosophy, critical thinking, freedom, responsibility, and political justice. I believe that the text served its purpose quite well, and would use it again in a course. Teaching it gave me a deeper insight into the mind of Tillich as well as the important ethical concepts of love, power, and justice.

Tillich Weighs in on Love.......2003-01-07

This preeminent 20th century Christian theologian argues in this small book that love, power and justice all imply an ontology and must be understood in aspects of being itself. It is in this book that he famously defines love as "the drive toward the unity of the separated" (25). He also refers to love as the moving power of life and believes all love includes qualities of eros and agape.

Tillich does not believe that one can speak of self-love in anything more than a metaphorical sense. After all, if love is the drive toward the reunion of the separated, it is difficult to speak meaningfully of self-love.

Book Description

In this volume, the second of his three-volume reinterpretation of Christian theology, Paul Tillich comes to grips with the central idea of his system—the doctrine of the Christ. Man's predicament is described as the state of "estrangement" from himself, from his world, and from the divine ground of his self and his world. This situation drives man to the quest for a new state of things, in which reconciliation and reunion conquer estrangement. This is the quest for the Christ.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent.......2007-01-04

Tillich plumbs the depths of Christology and a uniquely Christian existentialism. Like Berdyaev, Tillich sees humankind as free and able to act creatively. This work is readable, but academic. I enjoyed reading it very much.

Tillichian Christology.......2004-09-20

In Tillich's first volume of this series, he discusses the sources of theology as he sees them - scripture (both text and the events behind the text), the overall church history and tradition, and the wider traditions and history of religion in the world. Tillich has a problem with seeing experience as a source, but rather prefers this to be seen more appropriately as the medium through which the sources are understood and analysed. Tillich introduces norms and the rational character of systematic theology - Tillich is in many ways writing for philosophers who have discounted the validity of theology in the modern world; by emphasising the aspects of reason and logic in his system, he carries more weight in that community. Tillich also develops his famous Method of Correlation, a dialectical system of engagement between the temporal situation and the eternal in an ongoing process.

Tillich explores the various aspects and relationship of reason and revelation, including ways of trying to make sense in a rational manner of revelations, including what constitutes final revelation. From here, Tillich proceeds with his ontological constructions - one of the keys to Tillich's overall theology is contained here, in which God is the `ground of being'. Some have accused Tillich of being an existential atheist, because they have heard that Tillich claims that God does not exist - while it is true that, for Tillich, God does not exist, it is not true that there is no God; Tillich defines the term `existence' as being `that which is created', and as God is not a created being, God cannot exist. Rather, God is something greater, something deeper - the ground of being. God also becomes the only appropriate `ultimate concern' (another key element in Tillich's theology) - that concept is developed in that volume as well.

While one could read the second volume without benefit of the first volume, it could be tricky. Volume two is primarily Tillich's Christology. Tillich has a small section that relates the second volume to the first, and restatements some major points from the first volume, but very quickly jumps into the concepts of existence/existentialism and Christian theology, developing from there concepts of sin and human estrangement (setting the stage for Christ and salvation/redemption in the new being of Christ). For Tillich, the central question of the age is one of meaning, and Christ is meaningful, as a New Being, who has a uniqueness and a universality, but not in typical Christian theological ways.

Tillich, in his three-volume series on Systematic Theology, addresses the overall problem of meaning and meaninglessness in modern times. Written in the middle of the twentieth century, Tillich's theology is greatly influenced by the intellectual developments of the late nineteenth/early twentieth century philosophies, including such schools of thought as phenomenology (Husserl, Heidegger, etc.) as well as existentialism, and in particular issues such as `the death of God' philosophical/theological speculations. Tillich's theology is also significantly influenced by (as are the intellectual developments of which he was part) larger historical events such as the first and second world wars. Tillich, a native of Germany, saw meaninglessness first-hand in the trench warfare of the first world war, in which he served as a chaplain. He also saw problems in the rise of the Nazi party, not just for political and cultural issues, but also theological issues (such as the idolatry of the state over God).

Tillich, spirited out of Germany during the rise of the Nazi power, spent the remainder of his career teaching in universities and seminaries in the United States. This second volume of his major work in Systematic Theology was produced in 1957, while he was teaching in the United States - it is dedicated to his friends at Union Theological Seminary, where he first taught after leaving Germany.

Tillich's theology is continued in two other volumes, the first volume produced in 1950, and the third volume in 1963, a few years before Tillich's death in 1965. Taken together, the three volumes represent a major theological force in the twentieth century, and one that is bound to continue to have impact for generations to come.

Review of Volume II.......2001-12-25

There isn't much more that I can say besides WOW! Paul Tillich uses a modern existential analysis of the human condition, and then a radical reinterpretation of the Christian tradition to understand and conquer the bleak condition of existential estrangement.

In this volume, Tillich examines the conditions of existence and the feature of Christianity which makes it distinctive among religions: the Christ. Explaining that all religions are meant to diagnose the human condition and to provide ways to reunite man with his essential being. He shows how sin, guilt, and pride are marks of the estrangement of man from his essential self and how religion has consistently and traditionally explained this facet of his existence.

However, he then begins his reinterpretation of the Christ event as the "bearer of New Being," where Christ is the model for all to reunite themselves with their essence - to exist without being overcome by estrangement.

In the book, Tillich uses an easy-to-read and uncomplicated prose to explain his ideas. No where near as complex as other thinkers, but easily as intelligent and dense, Tillich's Systematic Theology is the best attempt at a systematic reinterpretation of the Christian message I've ever read, and is a must-read for anyone interested in a discernible and acceptable rendtion of the Christian story in the world today.

The 20th c. classic in Protestant liberal theology.......2000-11-16

Paul Tillich's ~Systematic Theology~ is one of the most important theological works of the 20th century, and the theological system par excellence of liberal Protestant Christianity. In his day, Tillich was held in high esteem not only among theologians, but by experts in many different fields for his incredible breadth of knowledge, his insight into culture, and his humanity.

'Liberal Protestantism' sought to reconcile the gospel and the Christian faith with contemporary cultural ideas, rather then set the two up against each other. Religion is, for Tillich, the best of culture. (An alternative view, for example, is that of Karl Barth, who saw the gospel as fundamentally a critique of culture - as the Word speaking from outside ~to~ the world, not within the world). So, for Tillich, there should be signs of God everywhere, not just in Christianity, and religion and culture and closely connected.

God, for Tillich, is not therefore the anthropomorphized God of the Old Testament, who has a personality and creates and destroys and judges in an almost arbitrary fashion. Instead, Tillich sees God as 'the ground of being'. God is the very fundament on which rests everything that is. God is the Abyss.

The problem with man, for Tillich, is his 'finitude'. Man's life is finite, his body makes him finite, his capacities are finite, yet he craves to transcend these, to be unlimited, to be God. This is impossible; rather one should accept one's finitude courageously. This is what Jesus did singularly and perfectly - he never sinned, because he always accepted the finite nature of his being; he faced death courageously. Tillich's christology is therefore a 'spirit christology' (Jesus was led by the spirit) rather than a 'logos christology' (Jesus was God incarnate, the Word made flesh).

The last important thing is that Tillich makes use of his famous 'theory of correlation'. This is how the 3 volumes of his ~Systematic Theology~ are set up. According to this theory, things in culture are correlated with the theology; theology provides the 'answers' to the 'questions' posed by culture. So his five sections (divided among the 3 volumes) are called: 'Reason and Revelation', 'Being and God', 'Existence and the Christ', 'Life and the Spirit', 'History and the Kingdom of God'.

Tillich's writing is for the most part easy enough to read for the layperson - just don't get bothered by particular tricky bits. I would recommend it to anyone interested in theology; it has influenced a generation of theologians.

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Excellent Guide to Recurrent Ideas in Theology

Many Rich Insights.

Brilliant and scholarly, but a bit dry.

Tillich's Most Accessible Work

A wonderful, if somewhat subjective history!

History of Christian Thought (Touchstone Books)
Paul Tillich
Manufacturer: Touchstone
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Binding: Paperback

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The Courage to Be

Systematic Theology, vol. 1

Systematic Theology, vol. 2: Existence and the Christ

Dynamics of Faith (Perennial Classics)

Biblical Religion and the Search for Ultimate Reality

ASIN: 0671214268

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Guide to Recurrent Ideas in Theology.......2005-10-26

Whether or not one agrees with Tillich's theological-philosophical position or his liberal-Lutheran tendencies, his overview and analysis of Christian theology here offered is an excellent introduction or refresher. With precision and clarity he connects various movements and strains of thought which one might otherwise consider unrelated, or, more importantly, unimportant to oneself. Ultimately, the book (consistent with Tillich's existentialist leanings) attempts to point to theology's inherent purpose--personal application. He does so in this book with impeccable scholarly and intellectual skill.

Many Rich Insights........2005-01-11

This is an extraordinary set of lectures by the great theologian and cultural analyst. While hewing to the main intention of presenting a history of Christian thought, the lectures necessarily encompass a history of Western thought in general from Greco-Roman times to the present, given that specifically church-sponsored Christian thought developed and must necessarily develop in close, thoughtful, and fervent dialogue with significant trends of thought, feeling, imagination, and morality in the larger cultural environment. Each section of this book is stimulating and rich in insight. Your future reading (or past reading, for that matter) on any topic he covers in these lectures will surely profit from attending to what he writes. Tillich has a knack for getting simply to the root of any matter.

One important implication of the lectures given by Tillich on ancient and medieval Christian thought and policy is this: though they may differ as to what they draw from that tradition, that tradition belongs to all Christians.

Brilliant and scholarly, but a bit dry........2002-01-12

These lectures clearly reveal Paul Tillich as one of the greatest, most brilliant, theologians of the 20th century. The book summarizes and critiques the entire history of Christian thought (with special emphasis on German theologians). Tillich's appraisals of others are completely fair. His own insights that he shares along the way are those of a devout and brilliant liberal Christian. He summarizes his approach as follows: "Theology must see both sides, man's essential nature, wonderfully and symbolically expressed in the paradise story, and man's existential condition, under sin, guilt, and death."

I have only one reservation. This may well be Tillich's most accessible work, as one reviewer states. But that speaks more to the difficulty of Tillich's other works than to the ease of working through this treatise. It is brilliant, it is beautiful, but it is tough going. I had to reread many passages two or three times to understand them (and a few I simply had to give up on). The book is absolutely worth the effort, but for anyone looking for a somewhat simpler (but excellent) introduction to Christian thought, I would recommend Alister McCrath's "Christian Theology, an Introduction."

Tillich's Most Accessible Work.......1999-12-21

Paul Tillich was perhaps the most important and influential 20th Century theologian writing in English. His books, however, are tough slogging--especially for those who haven't read all the many continental philosophers and theologians with whom Tillich was arguing. This book, which consists of transcriptions of lectures Tillich gave on the history of Christian thought, is, besides being a wonderful introduction to the subject matter, the best possible introduction to Tillich's own thinking. Wonderfully accessible, engaging and lively, this book is thoroughly readable. If only more of his lectures on other topics were available!

A wonderful, if somewhat subjective history!.......1998-02-12

Paul Tillich is one of the most influential theologians of the twentieth century. This book, a study of the history of Christian thought, is an excellent introduction to the developement of Christian thought. However, because Tillich is a theologian in his own right, he approaches the thought of others from his own theological contruciton. However, he is still fare to all his predecessors. Furthermore, the book is well written from the point of view of both academician and lay person. Both will find it insightful and useful.

Eros Toward the World: Paul Tillich and the Theology of the Erotic

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Eros Toward the World: Paul Tillich and the Theology of the Erotic
Alexander C. Irwin
Manufacturer: Wipf & Stock Publishers
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ASIN: 1592444768

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Bubblegum Theology At Its Saccharine Worst
Paul is all things to all people
Remarkable and still contemporary statement on Ultimate Concern
Malarkey
Powerful Analysis of the Spiritual Experience

Dynamics of Faith (Perennial Classics)
Paul Tillich
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
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ASIN: 0060937130
Release Date: 2001-10-16

Book Description

One of the greatest books ever written on the subject, Dynamics of Faithis a primer in the philosophy of religion. Paul Tillich, a leading theologian of the twentieth century, explores the idea of faith in all its dimensions, while defining the concept in the process.

This graceful and accessible volume contains a new introduction by Marion Pauck, Tillich's biographer.

Customer Reviews:

Bubblegum Theology At Its Saccharine Worst .......2007-08-19

Tillich starts off trying to entice you into his REDEFINITION of faith as "the state of having an ultimate concern". He then proceeds to fabricate thereon his muddled semantic garden of pontifications (he doesn't present arguments, he just proclaims) in which there can be no real conflicts - how nice. Instead of simply calling his concept "ultimate concern" or something else, he would rather usurp the much sexier word "faith". Blithely junking the usual and traditional notion of faith having to do with a conviction that a thing or statement unproven by evidence is true and substituting his own, he can easily get by with claiming that there is no conflict between faith (i.e., ultimate concern) and reason, or between faith and science, or between faith and anything really. Thus he, as Sam Harris points out in his cogent book "The End Of Faith", merely hides all the nasty problems and religious conflicts under his new but confusing jungle of semantic nonsense.

Somehow his constructs make him write verbage like "God is the symbol for God", or "If `existence' refers to something which can be found within the whole of reality, no divine being exists" - heavy man! - or that something can be "beyond finite and infinity". Actually he employs the word "beyond" a lot.

Tillich semantic tricks only make him irrelevant in the real world of real moral problems and conflicts. It's bubble gum theology for the must-feel-good. It's sweet to chew on and makes nice bubbles, and who among his flower children is going to exhale enough to bust any.

Paul is all things to all people .......2007-08-11

Since I only read two books by Tillich, this one plus "The Courage to Be", it may be somewhat risky to comment upon his ideas. This review should therefore be seen as preliminary. It's really a review of both books, although most of the contents covered are found in "The Dynamics of Faith". For those entirely new to the subject, Tillich was a Christian theologian, usually regarded as very liberal and existentialist. He was German, but fled Germany after the Nazi take-over in 1933, becoming a US citizen in 1940.

Tillich does ask interesting questions and make intruiging observations. The key sentence in "The Dynamics of Faith" is: "Faith is the state of being ultimately concerned". Since every human is ultimately concerned about something, this means that all humans have faith. The existence of faith cannot be disproven, since all attempts to do so are circular. To "disprove" faith, one must assume that there isn't anything to be ultimately concerned about. But this is in itself an ultimate statement. Besides, the philosopher who frantically attempts to prove that everything is meaningless is also ultimately concerned about something, namely the truth of his nihilism. Thus, faith is as self-evident as the Cartesian "Cogito, ergo sum".

Tillich's point, of course, is that all humans assume that there is something higher than themselves, transcending our everyday existence, something of cosmic importance. And this is not simply an abstract idea. All humans actively seek self-transcendence. All humans have faith, even the atheists. Tillich also makes an observation familiar to readers of C.S. Lewis: All humans operate on the assumption that there are universal moral laws, transcending the individual. Even more curiously, humans seemingly create moral laws that are impossible to live up to, and then feel guilty and condemned when they fail. How is this possible?

Naturally, to Tillich this all points to the existence of God. But it is here that his reasoning becomes problematic. There are myriad different conceptions of God. There are also many different opinions on morality. What religion is the true one? And what morality should we live by? Tillich cannot really answer these questions. His conception of God is strikingly similar to that found in certain forms of Hinduism. Tillich's God is really Brahman, the nameless and formless Being beyond all Being (and Non-Being). All religions are reflections of this God, but all religions are purely symbolic. Even Jesus Christ is simply a symbol. But how can we know which symbols are true, "true" in the sense of expressing the truth about God? Tillich never really answers this question. At one point, he seems to be suggesting that we don't know which faith is the true one. All faith therefore entails a risk, the risk of being wrong. At other times, Tillich says that the liberal form of Protestant Christianity is the highest religion, and that the Cross is a more authentic symbol than the symbols of other religions. However, he never explains why this is the case.

Sometimes, I get the impression that Tillich is somewhat disingenous. He defines "God" in such an abstract and nebulous manner, that any "ultimate concern" becomes "God". He also defines God as "being-itself" (perhaps Being-in-itself would be a better term). Thus, everything that exists, is God, simply by definition. By defining God in this manner, Tillich makes it impossible to falsify the idea of God. And by making Christianity symbolic, Tillich makes it impossible to falsify Christianity as well! This sounds like an attempt to save Christianity from being exposed by atheism, by making the Christian concepts completely evasive - a constantly moving target. Paul Tillich's God is all things to all people. But isn't such a God really a nullity?

But perhaps this is a rash criticism of "The Dynamics of Faith" and "The Courage to Be". Still, one wonders what solutions Tillich has to the existential problems he has raised. He doesn't believe in the traditional scenario, where a resurrected Jesus will return one day and set up a Millenium. Nor does he believe in the immortality of the soul. Indeed, he seems to regard the immortal soul as a bad idea, even symbolically speaking! In the end, he can only tell us to be courageously self-assertive in the face of Non-Being, go on living despite our feelings of meaninglessness and guilt, and risk being wrong.

This, of course, could have been said by any atheist of an existentialist bent. Which makes you wonder why "God" is needed as part of the equation at all. Even apart from it not being a very comforting answer...

Remarkable and still contemporary statement on Ultimate Concern.......2007-05-16

Many years ago, about 35, I was talking on the phone to a friend who told me "God is love." This shocked and surprised me so much that I had to get off the phone. The idea was new to me, a child of atheist parents. Now I find that Paul Tillich in his book, "Dynamics of Faith," writes of the ultimate concern (God) in terms of love. Imagine that I was so unknowing and ignorant, in a way lost, and presently continue in my discoveries of God. And of love.

Paul Tillich is someone who will help a reader on the way to know and learn about what God is and who he is to mankind. This includes who he is to the individual man or woman. I have started at the end of the book to work my way to introduce the reader of this review to Paul Tillich's wonderful book.

First, who was Paul Tillich. This from the Encyclopedia Brittanica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite (the Brittanica designed for the computer):

German-born U.S. theologian and philosopher whose discussions of God and faith illuminated and bound together the realms of traditional Christianity and modern culture. Some of his books, notably The Courage to Be (1952) and Dynamics of Faith (1957), reached a large public audience not usually concerned with religious matters. The three-volume Systematic Theology (1951-63) was the culmination of his rigorous examination of faith.

The writer is a man with a powerful way with words, imaginative gift of communicating theological ideas, and a teacher with a strong mind. His writing will strengthen the reader's mind and provide means to approach ideas. He says there is "...the healing power of the state of the ultimate concern." In the last chapter, "The Life of Faith," he goes on, "The concern of faith is identical with the desire of love: reunion with that to which one belongs and from which one is estranged. In the great commandment of the Old Testament, confirmed by Jesus, the object of ultimate concern, and the object of unconditional love, is God." This is a book for people who like ideas. We are, each of us, being reconciled to our ultimate concern throughout our lives. This is the dynamic.

Published in 1957 by Harper & Brothers Publishers of New York, this one of a series of books planned and edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen, is a first edition. I do not know what it is worth as such, perhaps a few dollars more than a new copy. I found mine in my Church library, an Episcopal Church. The book is a statement in favor of the Protestant way of faith. He is unabashed in his favor for this way of religion. It is even an argument for Protestantism. Catholics will find this an informative and useful book, even one required as reading in many seminaries. A woman friend who attended Nashota House told me she had to read it when she was a seminary student, though the seminary is Protestant it is part of the Episcopal Church catholic tradition.

The other books in this series by the publisher are part of what was called World Perspectives. I cannot speak to the other works, but this work remains contemporaneous, as you could guess by what I have written so far. Editors in that series: Niels Bohr, Richard Courant, Hu Shih, Ernest Jackh, Robert M. MacIver, J. Robert Oppenheimer, I.I. Rabi, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Alexander Sachs. Many of these names I know, but then these are more of my parent's generation in some ways than mine (I was born after the Second World War). But though unchurched in their lifetime, my parents were educated people, if just by their own devices: intellectuals and artists.

You'll find the book takes off right at the beginning. The first chapter is titled, "What Faith Is," and the first sentence goes: "Faith is the state of being ultimately concerned: the dynamics of faith are the dynamics of man's ultimate concern. Man, like every living being, is concerned about many things, above all about those which condition his very existence, such as food and shelter." Not the first to say it, nor the most important, I will add my voice to others and declare the writer writes so very well. It is a pleasure to read for the writing is so good.

This remarkable and brilliant book, I cannot go without praising it again, talks about courage. Paul Tillich finds courage an important ingredient to faith, the kind he explains and extols. He says it is in doubt that we find faith, for faith without doubt is static. We are all with some doubts, and from doubt we grow faith and renew our faith in the ultimate concern.

Not so long a book, but 127 pages, I think a reader will find it edifying. Edifying is a good word for this work. We are destined to have faith, for the writer says we are a species with a spiritual nature and desire. ""Faith sees in a concrete piece of reality the ultimate ground and meaning of all reality. No piece of reality is excluded from the possibility of becoming a bearer of the holy; and almost every kind of reality has actually been considered as holy by acts of faith in groups and individuals"-- a graceful book.

--Peter Menkin, Easter 2007

Malarkey .......2007-05-08

This is a work of new-age pseudo-philosophy, not an actual philosophical examination of religious faith. Those interested in a good book on the genuine subject should not be fooled by the title. In this book Tillich seeks to redefine the concept of faith in an effort to liberate those beleaguered in their Christianity by the weighty intellectual challenges put to it by the facts of the modern era. In doing so he cuts faith's ties with practically every concrete element of the Christian religion and inflates the remainder with his own speculations; belief in the more important New Testament miracles, the anthropomorphic characteristics of the Christian God, the intervention of God in human affairs, etc, are all trimmed off in favor of a quasi-mystical "concern" for "the infinite." According to Tillich, everyone who is ultimately concerned with the meaning of life has "faith." Rejecting the Christian God is itself an affirmation of the "divinity" symbolized by the word "God," namely, the "ultimate ground of reality." Faith isn't subject to epistemological criticism because it's not knowledge - it's "concern." But don't expect any Spinozistic coherance, while the cardinal issues of theodicy strike Tillich as things that can be circumvented via the abandonment of the traditional notions of faith, he has no objections to outright logical circularity or terminological horsefeathers when it comes to presenting his own ideas. The "infinite content of man's ultimate concern" is unknowable in its infinity, yet we can talk about it, and relate to it via symbolism. The book is jam-packed with sophisms like that. While once or twice Tillich makes a point that would be cogent if it were extracted from its surroundings, most of the time the discerning reader will have to fight the urge to snap the book closed in disgust and wonder at how this man ever garnered the intellectual renown he did writing books as poor and muddled as this.

Powerful Analysis of the Spiritual Experience.......2007-04-19

What is so valuable about this book is its power to clarify and organize the various issues surrounding the spiritual experience. Here are some of Tillich's ideas:

Faith as Ultimate Concern. Faith is the centered movement of the whole personality toward our ultimate concern, which is God. That concern alone gives life ultimate meaning and significance.

God. God is not a being, acting in time and space, dwelling in a special place, affecting the course of events and being affected by them like any other being in the universe. Such literalism deprives God of ultimacy. It draws him down to the level of the finite and conditional. There are two elements in the notion of God:
1. Our personal experience of the holy, an awareness of the presence of the divine.
2. The acceptance of the symbols. All the qualities we attribute to God--such as power, love, justice--are symbols taken from our daily experience, and are not information about what God did or will do. If faith calls God "almighty," it uses the human experience of power in order to symbolize the content of its infinite concern, but it does not describe a highest being who can do as he pleases. God is a symbol of God.

Discussions about the existence or nonexistence of God are meaningless. The right question is which of the innumerable symbols of faith are most adequate to the meaning of faith, or which symbols of ultimacy express the ultimate without idolatrous elements.

Symbols. The holy can never be experienced or expressed directly but can only be experienced and expressed symbolically, through words, rituals, and objects. The symbol is not holy itself, but it points to the holy. Symbols cannot be invented; they grow out of the individual or collective unconscious and cannot function without being accepted by the unconscious dimension of our being. They grow when the situation is ripe for them, and they die when the situation changes.

Myths. Myths are symbols of faith combined in stories about divine-human encounters. The fundamental creation of every religious community is a myth that functions as the symbolic expression of ultimate concern. Myth cannot be replaced by philosophy or by an independent code of morals. It keeps faith alive.

Atheism. Atheism can only mean the attempt to remove any ultimate concern--to remain unconcerned about the meaning of one's existence. Indifference toward the ultimate question is the only imaginable form of atheism. Perhaps no one can be an atheist.

Idolatrous Faith. Making a nation or success one's ultimate concern is idolatry, as is making Jesus or the God of the Old Testament an ultimate concern. Idolatry elevates finite realities to the rank of ultimacy.

Risk, Doubt, Courage. There is always a risk that what one has considered a matter of ultimate concern will prove to be a matter of preliminary and transitory concern. If one becomes aware that one has devoted one's life to an idolatrous concern, the meaning of one's life breaks down; the reaction is despair. We always risk making this mistake. A consequence of the risk of faith is doubt. To affirm our faith in spite of our doubt requires courage.

Community. Only as a member of a community of faith (even if in isolation or expulsion) can man actualize his faith. The community creates the language of symbol and myth, which cannot be fully understood outside of the community. Without symbol and myth, there is no act of faith, no religious experience.

Creeds. Every community of faith tries to formulate the content of its faith in a creed. The purpose of the creed is to protect members of the community from idolatrous concern, which destroys the center of the personality. However, a community's creed must never exclude the presence of doubt. The community of faith that demands unquestioning surrender to its creed as formulated by the religious authorities has become static. The fight against the idolatrous implication of this kind of static faith was waged first by Protestantism and then, when Protestantism itself became static, by the Enlightenment.

Protestant Principle. No creedal expression of the ultimate concern of the community--whether in liturgy, doctrine, or ethical precept--is ultimate. Rather, its function is to point to the ultimate which is beyond all of them. No church or person is infallible. No church has the right to put itself in the place of the ultimate. Its truth is judged by the ultimate. No truth or faith can be rejected, no matter what form it may appear in the history of faith, and no truth of faith is ultimate except the one that no man possesses it. This is the "Protestant principle."

What Faith Is Not. Faith is not intellectual; it is not belief; and it is not a matter of will. Faith has no connection with theoretical knowledge, whether it is a knowledge on the basis of immediate, prescientific or scientific evidence, or whether it is on the basis of trust in authorities who themselves are dependent on direct or indirect evidence. Faith is not belief, which is knowledge with a low degree of probability. Faith is not a matter of will. No arguments for belief, no command to believe, and no will to believe can create faith.

Types of Faith. Every faith is either an ontological or moral type of faith. The ontological type of faith is concerned with the sense of the presence of the holy here and now. There are three types of ontological faith: sacramental faith, mystical faith, and humanism. Moral types of faith are characterized the idea of the law. Again there are three types of moral faith: Juristic (developed in Talmudic Judaism and Islam), conventional (most prominent in Confucianist China), and ethical (represented by the Jewish prophets). As Protestantism developed, it became more and more a representative of the moral type of ultimate concern. In this way it lost many of the ritual traditions of the Catholic churches, as well as a full understanding of the presence of the holy in sacramental and mystical experiences.

Reason. There can be no conflict between reason and faith as ultimate concern. Reason conflicts with faith only when the faith is idolatrous.

Scientific Truth. Scientific truth and the truth of faith belong to different dimensions of meaning. Science has no right and no power to interfere with faith. Nor can theologians use the latest physical or biological or psychological discoveries to confirm faith.

Historical Truth. Faith cannot be shaken or confirmed by historical research. Whether Moses actually existed or whether the New Testament miracle stories actually happened or whether the presently used edition of the Koran is identical with the original text are questions of historical truth, not of the truth of faith.

Philosophical Truth. Philosophical truth consists in true concepts concerning the ultimate; the truth of faith consists in true symbols concerning the ultimate.

Conventional Faith. Many people have a conventional faith, a traditional attitude without tensions. Their faith is dead. They have no doubt and need no courage to practice this faith. But their faith can come alive again through contact with religious symbols.

Integration of the Personality. The integration of the personality can be brought about only by faith. The life of faith can be the way of discipline which regulates the daily life; it can be the way of meditation and contemplation; or it can be the way of concentration on ordinary work, on a special aim or on another human being.

Faith, Love, and Action. Faith implies love, which is the desire to be reunited with the divine. The immediate expression of love is action. Faith implies love and is the expression of love in action. While it is true that no human action can produce reunion with God, there is no faith without love and no love without works.

Religious Tolerance. All religions try to express the same ultimate concern; they conflict only about the proper expression of this ultimate concern. Most communities of faith are tolerant of each other. Some important exceptions, however, are the Roman Church's assertion that it alone possesses the truth and Protestant fundamentalism's disdain of all other forms of Christianity and religion.

The Psyche As Sacrament: A Comparative Study of C.G. Jung and Paul Tillich (Studies in Jungian Psychology)

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The Psyche As Sacrament: A Comparative Study of C.G. Jung and Paul Tillich (Studies in Jungian Psychology)
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Theology of Culture (Galaxy Books)
Paul Tillich
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Flawed but a worthwhile read
The Ground of Being and Ultimate Concern
reminder
You'll need lots of time to absorb this one!

Systematic Theology, vol. 1
Paul Tillich
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This is the first part of Paul Tillich's three-volume Systematic Theology, one of the most profound statements of the Christian message ever composed and the summation and definitive presentation of the theology of the most influential and creative American theologian of the twentieth century.

In this path-breaking volume Tillich presents the basic method and statement of his system—his famous "correlation" of man's deepest questions with theological answers. Here the focus is on the concepts of being and reason. Tillich shows how the quest for revelation is integral to reason itself. In the same way a description of the inner tensions of being leads to the recognition that the quest for God is implied in finite being.

Here also Tillich defines his thought in relation to philosophy and the Bible and sets forth his famous doctrine of God as the "Ground of Being." Thus God is understood not as a being existing beside other beings, but as being-itself or the power of being in everything. God cannot be made into an object; religious knowledge is, therefore, necessarily symbolic.

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Flawed but a worthwhile read.......2006-01-24

Paul Tillich - Systematic Theology, 3/5 stars

I had spent the previous two years away from any theological reading as I decided at that point that their was little knowledge to actually be gained through an understanding of 'theology'. This book had sat on my shelf for several years without any of its pages read, originally purchased after numerous proddings by (mostly Protestant) clergy who never ceased to extoll the virtues of Tillich's work.

First, I did find Tillich's doctrine of the symbolic nature of our understanding of God to be appealing. God is not simply another 'being' to which we describe attributes. Even if you are queasy about his specific identification of God as "the ground of being" his assertion that if you aren't free to describe God in the same way as other beings (making God subordinate to some other principle, to 'condition' God in the same way other beings are 'conditioned') at some level has to be right. Therefore, while we are free to at least say that God is 'good' or 'just' we must understand that ultimately all knowledge about God is symbolic: 'God' is the symbol for something that points well beyond those three letters. The important point as least as I understand it is that we have license to describe God not simply in contrast to human beings but in a more self contained way. While I'm not sure this was meant to stand in contrast to Aquinas' doctrine of knowing God only through the 'via negativa' it does seem more appealing in a way. Most ecclessiastical structures don't think of acquiring knowledge of the divine as simply the removal of human defects, chipping away to make the divine form like some spiritual ice sculpture and theology shouldn't be turned into a sort of junk-food sociology anyway. Point for Tillich.

Unfortunately, most of the rest of the book wasn't nearly as interesting/compelling. On the whole, it is not the fact that "Systematic Theology" is systematically weak in logic which keeps me from giving it a higher rating. Most of it is well argued. In general it was only weak in certain sections that were indicative of Tillich's *Protestantism*.

The much bigger concerns are threefold. First, Daniel C. Dennett (by way of Paul Edwards) cites Tillich's work as an example of a 'bombastic redescription of orthodoxy' that is passed off as compelling *and* innovative. The charge is definitely warranted with Tillich's work, at least with "Systematic Theology". The identification of theology as the study of man's 'ultimate concern' was interesting, well argued, ......and insinuated by countless theologians before him. In fact, I'm not sure if such an identification isn't tautologically true (at least for 'believers'). The same goes for his discussion of objective and subjective reason. The discussion tends to be 'bombastic' in the sense that Tillich uses some idiosyncratic language to describe what has been described before and in the sense of being needlessly wordy. In fact, I think this book could easily have had its length cut in half.

Second, the treatment on revelation and miracles was lacking, littered with question-begging arguments and did little to make the entire enterprise seem more appealing to the unchurched and/or doubters. Tillich states, contrary to the personal beliefs of many, that 'miracles cannot be interpreted as a supranatural interference in natural processes'. This is true supposedly because doing so would make God a contradiction: 'the manifestation of the ground of being would destroy the structure of being'. While it wasn't spelled out as to why such interference would destroy the 'structure of being' (as opposed to merely disrupt the normal strictly and statistically deterministic regularities in the universe: not exactly the same thing), there were bigger problems. Tillich rightly sees miracles as sign-events within which the 'mystery of being gives itself'. Miracles are given only to those who interpret them as sign-events. However, one of the criterion of miracles is that which is 'astonishing, unusual, shaking' without of course being 'supranatural interference'.

Then who exactly 'does' the miracle? Are miracles a by product of the universe or a 'canned' program executed at certain times in history? Saying nothing of actually violating the laws of physics, I just don't see how a 'miracle' can truly be anything other than 'supranatural interference'. Furthermore, what constitutes 'unusual' and 'shocking' is culturally dependent. Floating on thin air isn't exactly 'shocking' (as to be miraculous) now given our knowledge of electrodynamics. To some people, Houdini was 'shocking' and 'unusual', but I don't think the true believers take the Sarah Silverman line and think that "Jesus is Magic". Does the fact that something is 'shocking and unusual' in Tillich's context really tilt one in favor of labeing it a 'miracle'? This really wasn't fleshed out well.

Even worse was his discussion of tradition and revelation. Tillich spends some time discussing 'actual revelation', 'final revelation', and tradition. Tillich right claims that 'final revelation' is not an isolated event but 'presupposes a revelatory history which was a preparation for it and in which it was received'. He criticizes what he sees as an overemphasis on revelation as 'static' from evangelicals as well as church councils making pronouncements on revelatory content (er, dogma). The former's error is obvious in that it forsakes tradition and sees He then gives the example of Luther's 'justification by faith' article as the lens through which one reads back through the New Testament and thus aid to establish dogma. This lead Luther to, among other things, develop a serious dislike for the Epistle of James because of its clash with sola fide.

Yeah, but that's circular. Luther didn't grab 'sola fide' out of thin air. Romans itself is a by product of tradition, at least of written tradition. Interpretation of Romans is also a byproduct of tradition. The Gospels themselves are a by product of decades of oral tradition. As long as we're dealing with theology in which revelation is given 'in history' and illuminated by interpretation tradition has to be prior. I therefore do not see how one can follow Tillich's prescribed line and furthermore cannot see how Orthodoxy and Catholicism err in the usage of church councils to decide the most basic dogmatic issues.

Finally, Tillich leaves one with a God that could not possibly be the same being (or same being-itself, to use his language) that billions believe in, die for, spent ridiculous numbers of hours praying to, etc. For him God is 'the ground of being', 'being-itself', 'the power of being'....and other neo-Platonic labels. That in and of itself is fine. However, what is troubling is that Tillich seems to deny that God really is a person. He seems to defend this by claiming that the 'internal relationship' of the Godhead is in a way 'personal' but that God, as the ground of being, is not really 'personal'.

There are two responses to this. First, there's absolutely no way that this is consistent with what must be embraced with Christianity. Even if it weren't explicitly stated by Athanasius or other early Church fathers in discussions on the Godhead this is true by implication. Second, this cannot be right if Tillich really thinks that God is somehow synonymous with "the power of being" or what have you. The 'power of being', I would think, would be more manifest in 'higher being', being which supposedly is created in the image and likeness of God. How can such a creator not be personal if its created 'image' is personal? I think that in this regard, Tillich makes the implicit mistake that 'the really real' or the 'ground' of being has to be simple in the sense of not strictly personal. While he is not alone in this mistake, it still doesn't mean that Christianity doesn't require the exact opposite: God *is* a person. Illuminating would have been more of a direct encounter between Tillich and process thinkers, most noteably Hartshorne or Teilhard de Chardin. The latter, in fact, thinks its obvious that God, as 'being itself' or the 'Omega' must in fact be supremely 'personal', more so than we can imagine. I'm inclined to agree. As to why his very odd position is taken, I think here Tillich's obsession with wanting God to not just be a 'being among beings' gets the best of him. That need is perfectly fine (and orthodox), but it doesn't obviously follow that God cannot really be 'a person' anymore than God can be 'loving' or can 'interact' with us.

Overall, this was a worthwhile read, but just beware of the 'bombastic redescriptions' and keep in mind that God and abstract theological descriptions of Him/Her are not necessarily congruent.

The Ground of Being and Ultimate Concern.......2004-09-11

Tillich, in his three-volume series on Systematic Theology, addresses the overall problem of meaning and meaninglessness in modern times. Written in the middle of the twentieth century, Tillich's theology is greatly influenced by the intellectual developments of the late nineteenth/early twentieth century philosophies, including such schools of thought as phenomenology (Husserl, Heidegger, etc.) as well as existentialism, and in particular issues such as `the death of God' philosophical/theological speculations. Tillich's theology is also significantly influenced by (as are the intellectual developments of which he was part) larger historical events such as the first and second world wars. Tillich, a native of Germany, saw meaninglessness first-hand in the trench warfare of the first world war, in which he served as a chaplain. He also saw problems in the rise of the Nazi party, not just for political and cultural issues, but also theological issues (such as the idolatry of the state over God).

Tillich, spirited out of Germany during the rise of the Nazi power, spent the remainder of his career teaching in universities and seminaries in the United States. This first volume of his major work in Systematic Theology was produced in 1950, while he was in residence at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, drawn there by his friend and fellow theologian Reinhold Niebuhr.

In this volume, Tillich discusses the sources of theology as he sees them - scripture (both text and the events behind the text), the overall church history and tradition, and the wider traditions and history of religion in the world. Tillich has a problem with seeing experience as a source, but rather prefers this to be seen more appropriately as the medium through which the sources are understood and analysed. Tillich introduces norms and the rational character of systematic theology - Tillich is in many ways writing for philosophers who have discounted the validity of theology in the modern world; by emphasising the aspects of reason and logic in his system, he carries more weight in that community. Tillich also develops his famous Method of Correlation, a dialectical system of engagement between the temporal situation and the eternal in an ongoing process.

Tillich explores the various aspects and relationship of reason and revelation, including ways of trying to make sense in a rational manner of revelations, including what constitutes final revelation. From here, Tillich proceeds with his ontological constructions - one of the keys to Tillich's overall theology is contained here, in which God is the `ground of being'. Some have accused Tillich of being an existential atheist, because they have heard that Tillich claims that God does not exist - while it is true that, for Tillich, God does not exist, it is not true that there is no God; Tillich defines the term `existence' as being `that which is created', and as God is not a created being, God cannot exist. Rather, God is something greater, something deeper - the ground of being. God also becomes the only appropriate `ultimate concern' (another key element in Tillich's theology) - that concept is developed in this volume as well.

Tillich's theology is continued in two subsequent volumes, one produced in 1957, and the third volume in 1963, a few years before Tillich's death in 1965. Taken together, the three volumes represent a major theological force in the twentieth century, and one that is bound to continue to have impact for generations to come.

reminder.......2001-07-16

This book accepts that theology serves only for Christian church. Theology must serve the needs of all religions. So we can not accept that its function is only to serve for Christian church and must serve the needs of the church.

You'll need lots of time to absorb this one!.......1998-12-30

WOW! Used all three volumes in an upper-level seminary class. Excellent text, but extremely complex! You have to read every sentence and digest it before you bite off any more. Uses existentialism wisely while building a pretty solid theology. Great discussion on theological methods. Makes some very timely remarks for the church entering the 21st century.

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