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The Essential Tillich

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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.

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.

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!

This is an anthology of the most essential thoughts of Paul Tillich. It is divided into eight sections covering eight major themes of Tillich's career, namely, "Ultimate Concern," "Symbols," "The Protestant Principle," "Addressing the Situation," "Love, Power and Justice," "The Courage to Be," "The Future of Religions," and "Living on the Boundary." The book does not carry any extra notes or commentary by the editor, but he introduces the book with a short preface. It is a very general preface, which describes Tillich's value to the Church during his lifetime, as well as describes, in the most general terms, Tillich's approach to theology. Church, the editor, also includes a plea for another like Tillich to rise up and take his place. "I have come to recognize that, now more than ever, we need a Paul Tillich to guide us through the perils of our age" (xiii).

The most important value of this book lies in Church's selection process. He has specifically chosen a topical approach in order to more fully represent Tillich's thoughts on that topic. Tillich had the ability to tailor his speech to his audience, so in this book, Church has selected a technical writing (usually from Tillich's three volume "Systematic Theology," a sermon, and usually another selection from a book or journal article he had written on that topic. This is a most helpful layout. Tillich has never been accused of writing simply, and the ability to explore his thoughts from a sermon and a systematic layout help the reader to understand his sometimes complicated thoughts. As an example, compare these two passages from the section on The Courage to Be. "Courage is the self-affirmation of being in spite of the fact of non-being. It is the act of the individual self in taking the anxiety of nonbeing upon itself by affirming itself either as part of an embracing whole or in its individual selfhood" (168). "Simply accept the fact that you are accepted. If that happens to us we experience grace" (201). The second quote is from one his sermons and gets to the point much more clearly than the previous quote, but the value in the more technical writing is that the reader gets a much more fully developed picture of what Tillich meant and how he got to that point.

The value of Paul Tillich's theology can hardly be understated. It has affected more than will admit to it. He believed that theology's task was to engage culture and answer the questions it asks. This book clearly and logically presents Tillich's writings as a commentary on themselves. This is a valuable introduction to the one known as the "ambassador to intellectuals."

This is a fantastic compilation of Tillich's work. Much of Tillich is not easy to read; F. Forrester Church does an exemplary job of matching some of Tillich's more dense or abstract writing with sermons that enable the reader to grasp the depth of Tillich's profound thoughts and beliefs. Dr. Church's eight groupings within this anthology creates a structure that is extremely helpful to a novice theologian as well as facilitating skip-around reading for someone more comfortable with the intense questing that Tillich's writings call for. I find myself photocopying sections for friends and scanning shelves for more Tillich at every bookstore I enter. Prepare yourself - this book will rock you to the core of your being.

Paul Tillich is a heavyweight in Protestant theory, like him or not. This book provides a fairly diverse array of his writings, and a small window into the mind of a prolific and well-known author. Tillich scholars themselves will have to judge how representative it is. I considered it a fair selection, and some of Tillich's writings to be more accessible than others. The selection of Tillich's writings on Socialism is very light, as the editor acknowledges. This book is probably not for the casual reader, so serious readers only need apply themselves to it. I agree with Tillich's liberal and radical proclivities, and he makes a fine argument for the complexity of religious symbolism, as well as a more progressive and inclusive perspective of other religions.