Paul Tillich On Faith And Symbols

2138 Words9 Pages
Paul Tillich Theologian, philosopher, psychologist, socially concerned When I had to do a re-think on my choice of theologians, I remembered the name of Paul Tillich. Not much more. So I went to look at who he was and found immediately a man whom one could describe as an intellectually towering philosophical and theological figure from the twentieth century. In this essay I will first cover some important ideas in Tillich’s philosophy on faith and then his concept of symbols, areas important to Tillich and his contribution to the ontological argument. I will also briefly mention Tillich’s practical involvement in the implementation of his ideas in a social context, namely in Alcoholics Anonymous. I found that Tillich alone could have been a philosopher of rank, or solely a famous theologian. His insights into the field of psychology can in many ways be weighed against the ideas of Carl Jung. Tillich’s social pathos included taking part in the workings of Alcoholics Anonymous. Born in 1886 in Starzeddel, Germany, his early years seemed to point him in the direction he was to later take. At twelve years of age he attended the Humanistic Gymnasium in Konigsberg, and attended three different universities, received his doctorate in philosophy and his licentiate degree in theology. Finally he was ordained in the Lutheran Church of the Prussian Union. He then joined the German army as a chaplain and received the Iron Cross. Over the next years, Tillich became both Professor of Theology and Professor of Philosophy at several different universities in Germany. A socialist, he founded a religious socialist circle, and then in 1925 joined the Social Democratic Party. He moved to the United States in 1933 after forced political dismissal from his universities in Germany. He became professor at what was to become his “home base” in Union Theological Seminary, perhaps one of
Open Document