Theology of Peace [Paperback]

Paul Tillich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1990

This gift from one of the greatest twentieth-century Protestant theologians, Paul Tillich, is a collection of hopeful, realistic writings on peace from the years Tillich spent in America. Beginning in 1937, the book documents Tillich's pre-World War II hope of resistance to Hitler and moves to the time before his death in 1965, when Tillich preached frequently on hope. It includes his first public political speech in America, on anti-Semitism, essays on planning for peace, and criticism of the peace thought of John Foster Dulles and Pope John XXIII.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Stone (Pittsburgh Theological Seminary) has collected 12 of Tillich's essays on peace, three of which are lectures that have never before been published. Together they span the period from 1938 to his death in 1965 and include his final sermon. Taken as a whole, these essays represent Tillich's effort to think theologically about peace. Always a realist, Tillich warns against utopian dreams of peace on Earth. Striving for peace is a Christian duty, but true peace remains a religious hope only realizable in heaven. Stone gives a good, brief introduction with a short analysis of each essay and provides background and publishing history. He discusses the significance of each in historical context, in relationship to the other essays, and in relation to Tillich's other writings. A useful collection on a timely theme; recommended for academic and public libraries.
- C. Robert Nixon, M.L.S., Lafayette, Ind.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Paul Tillich (1886-1965), a renowned theologian, taught at several universities in Germany before moving to the United States. In the United States, he taught at Union Theological Seminary in New York, Harvard Divinity School, and the University of Chicago. He is best known for his major three-volume work, Systematic Theology.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press; 1st edition (September 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0664251188
• ISBN-13: 978-0664251185
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,670,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The synopisis is 100% WRONG, which is sad..., November 7, 2001

By 

alyidaho (Boise, ID USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Theology of Peace (Paperback)

I was looking at Tillich's, A Theology of Peace on Amazon and I came across this synopsis of the book, apparently from "Library Journal" whatever that is. It made this statement.

"Taken as a whole, these essays represent Tillich's effort to think theologically about peace. Always a realist, Tillich warns against utopian dreams of peace on Earth. Striving for peace is a Christian duty, but true peace remains a religious hope only realizable in heaven."

It stuck me as a particularly un-Tillich way of speaking about the issue. It surprised me that a) someone would call Tillich a "realist" and b) say that Tillich's final analysis was that true peace is a hope only "realizable in heaven." For one thing, I think the person who writes this means that Tillich remains "realistic" not necessarily a realist per se. And, correct me if I'm way off base, but I don't think Tillich would describe ideas on hope or peace as something that are only realizable in a "heaven" of the apocalyptic finality type.

For one thing, in one of Tillich's sermons, he writes on hope saying that, "Genuine hope is such only when that hope already has some presence." But more than this, I'm pretty sure Tillich would consider the more traditional concept of heaven and hell with streets of gold and a God on a throne as some kind of symbol pointing to something significant, not a literal reality, at least not as traditionally described. From everything I can tell from Tillich, his idea of the "Kingdom of God" is very much a hope for life, a hope for the transformation of the world.

I guess what I'm saying is that this quote seemed to really misrepresent the thematic "center" of what Tillich might say. Actually, I think I just found Tillician support for the point I was trying to make. As a critique of the quote above about Tillich's views on peace, I offer this direct quote from Tillich:

"There will be victories as well as defeats in these struggles. There will be progress and regressions. But in every victory, every particular progress from injustice to more justice, from suffering to more happiness, from hostility to more peace, from separation to more unity anywhere in mankind, is a manifestation of the eternal in time and space. It is, in the language of men of the Old and New Testament, the coming of the Kingdom of God.

For the Kingdom of God does not come in one dramatic event sometime in the future. It is coming here and now in every act of love, in every manifestation of truth, in every moment of joy, in every experience of the holy. The hope of the Kingdom of God is not the expectation of a perfect stage at the end of history, in which only a few in comparison with the innumerable generations of men, would participate, and the unimaginable amount of misery of all past generations would not be compensated. And it might be that those who would live in it, as "blessed animals" would long for the struggles, the victories and the defeats of the past. No! The hope of mankind lies in the here and now, whenever the eternal appears in time and history. the hope is justified; for there is always a presence and a beginning of what is seriously hoped for."

This is basically saying the OPPOSITE of what the synopsis says. Just goes to show you can never stop thinking and just take for granted what others present as truth.