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The Essential Tillich: An Anthology of the Writings of Paul Tillich
"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."â 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. . . ."â Christian Century
"This book summarizes in Tillich's own words much of the best of his thought, still highly relevant today."â Library Journal
"[Church] helps Tillich speak to an audience unfamiliar with the breadth and depth of his thought."â Religious Studies Review
"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. . . ."â Christian Century
"This book summarizes in Tillich's own words much of the best of his thought, still highly relevant today."â Library Journal
"[Church] helps Tillich speak to an audience unfamiliar with the breadth and depth of his thought."â Religious Studies Review
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1987
15 people are currently reading
308 people want to read
About the author
Paul Tillich
277 books422 followersPaul Tillich was a German-American theologian and Christian existentialist philosopher. Tillich was – along with his contemporaries Rudolf Bultmann (Germany), Karl Barth (Switzerland), and Reinhold Niebuhr (United States) – one of the four most influential Protestant theologians of the 20th century. Among the general populace, he is best known for his works The Courage to Be (1952) and Dynamics of Faith (1957), which introduced issues of theology and modern culture to a general readership. Theologically, he is best known for his major three-volume work Systematic Theology (1951–63), in which he developed his "method of correlation": an approach of exploring the symbols of Christian revelation as answers to the problems of human existence raised by contemporary existential philosophical analysis.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 22, 2017
Though my feelings about this book as a whole may be lukewarm, I still do highly recommend it to any reader being first introduced to the brilliant and compassionate mind of Paul Tillich.
I came around to Paul Tillich after finding him quoted and referenced multiple times in some books of radical and alternative theology that I enjoyed and respected. Also, since losing my belief in the supernatural nearly eighteen months ago, after over fifteen years in church ministry, one Christian friend in my life kept recommending Tillich to me after every conversation, telling me that my perspective reminded him of Tillich's.
So, here I am, post theology degree and post ministry and post belief, reading Tillich for the first time. It's a shame. This writer should be required for first year theology students. And of this writer, I'd imagine this book would be a likely first choice.
Here is an anthology of one of the intellectual giants of theology in the early and middle 20th century. His is self described as a liberal theology. He was involved in early movements of Christian Socialists. He was antifascist, calling nationalism a dangerous "quasi-religion", and fascism the radical bastard child of that already corrupted thing. But he did not actively resist in the same ways as his contemporary, Bonhoeffer. Tillich's writing is in the voice of the more established and privileged mainstream, passed across a desk in a tenured office, spoken over a lectern by an old and seasoned resident of the ivory tower. But theoretical as it may be, I found most of this book to be essential, refreshing, and sadly under-utilized in contemporary Western Christianity.
I did hear hints of the roots of Caputo's Christian brand of atheism in Tillich's description of God as "The Ground of Being" and faith as the "action of being ultimately concerned". I imagine that many of the most intelligent and interesting voices in the emerging Christianity of the early 21st Century have Tillich on their reading list. He advocates for a Christian Universalism that goes further than simply carrying all humans into heaven, to a practical Christian theology of interaction and mutual sharing with all aspects of every religion that expresses itself in justice and love. He seems quite unconcerned with anything to do with an afterlife, in fact. His eschatology is more concerned with the growth of justice in this world, not some outward justice enacted upon it.
However, as nice and liberal and reasonable as he may be, I still think that if read carefully, Tillich would still fit comfortably into most mainstream-yet-hip-and-left-leaning evangelical churches today. He may have nothing to say of hell. But he's still very insistent about most of Christianity's most important unique claims about Jesus, his divinity, and what this incarnation means in the world. His God is not to be taken as a metaphor, as Caputo's might be, or even the more accessible Peter Rollins. Tillich is most comparable in my mind to a Brian Macleran today. He is definitely firmly and unwaveringly Christian. He's just flirting with the leftmost end of orthodoxy.
As an anthology, this is a mix and sampler of Tillich's work, spanning a lot of time. It can be a little jarring to read, as it switches tones and themes dramatically. This book includes highly poetic sermons, casual addresses, autobiographical (almost diary) sharing, segments of systematic theologies, and long academic papers and theses. Topics range from the most personal to the most political, and even historical. He encourages and exhorts, he exegetes, he argues, and he pleads.
As a veteran of the first Great War, and a writer through the crisis of Naziism and World War Two, Tillich's voice is unique and powerful. However, bound so much to these events, his voice also frequently sounds like one out of time. Good portions of this book read very drily to me in their near irrelevance to our immediate world circumstances. They absolutely could be interpreted, considered, and applied to contemporary circumstances. But these more timely portions take some analysis and consideration to be truly useful and interesting to most lay readers. For this reason, and also because of his liberalism, I prefer reading the more contemporary thinkers who have been influenced by Tillich, and taken him further, than I do reading Tillich himself. Brian Macleran, Tony Campolo, and Rob Bell were interesting to me twelve years ago. I'm looking for writers that are a bit more radical now. Nevertheless, there is something very fresh and beautiful about reading these words from someone who is more of a source of this way of thinking about God and Christianity than the voices of the "emerging church" today, who can begin to feel a little reheated and processed today.
For those who love today's popular liberal theologians, I would very highly recommend Tillich as an opportunity to wake up to just how old these "new" ideas are, and to read them in a far more intellectually rigorous, radical, and vibrant form. To those more interested in the radical theologians, philosophers and post-theists writing today, I'd also recommend Tillich as an opportunity to read what your writers are reading. But I probably don't need to tell you that. I'm just a little late to the Tillich party.
I came around to Paul Tillich after finding him quoted and referenced multiple times in some books of radical and alternative theology that I enjoyed and respected. Also, since losing my belief in the supernatural nearly eighteen months ago, after over fifteen years in church ministry, one Christian friend in my life kept recommending Tillich to me after every conversation, telling me that my perspective reminded him of Tillich's.
So, here I am, post theology degree and post ministry and post belief, reading Tillich for the first time. It's a shame. This writer should be required for first year theology students. And of this writer, I'd imagine this book would be a likely first choice.
Here is an anthology of one of the intellectual giants of theology in the early and middle 20th century. His is self described as a liberal theology. He was involved in early movements of Christian Socialists. He was antifascist, calling nationalism a dangerous "quasi-religion", and fascism the radical bastard child of that already corrupted thing. But he did not actively resist in the same ways as his contemporary, Bonhoeffer. Tillich's writing is in the voice of the more established and privileged mainstream, passed across a desk in a tenured office, spoken over a lectern by an old and seasoned resident of the ivory tower. But theoretical as it may be, I found most of this book to be essential, refreshing, and sadly under-utilized in contemporary Western Christianity.
I did hear hints of the roots of Caputo's Christian brand of atheism in Tillich's description of God as "The Ground of Being" and faith as the "action of being ultimately concerned". I imagine that many of the most intelligent and interesting voices in the emerging Christianity of the early 21st Century have Tillich on their reading list. He advocates for a Christian Universalism that goes further than simply carrying all humans into heaven, to a practical Christian theology of interaction and mutual sharing with all aspects of every religion that expresses itself in justice and love. He seems quite unconcerned with anything to do with an afterlife, in fact. His eschatology is more concerned with the growth of justice in this world, not some outward justice enacted upon it.
However, as nice and liberal and reasonable as he may be, I still think that if read carefully, Tillich would still fit comfortably into most mainstream-yet-hip-and-left-leaning evangelical churches today. He may have nothing to say of hell. But he's still very insistent about most of Christianity's most important unique claims about Jesus, his divinity, and what this incarnation means in the world. His God is not to be taken as a metaphor, as Caputo's might be, or even the more accessible Peter Rollins. Tillich is most comparable in my mind to a Brian Macleran today. He is definitely firmly and unwaveringly Christian. He's just flirting with the leftmost end of orthodoxy.
As an anthology, this is a mix and sampler of Tillich's work, spanning a lot of time. It can be a little jarring to read, as it switches tones and themes dramatically. This book includes highly poetic sermons, casual addresses, autobiographical (almost diary) sharing, segments of systematic theologies, and long academic papers and theses. Topics range from the most personal to the most political, and even historical. He encourages and exhorts, he exegetes, he argues, and he pleads.
As a veteran of the first Great War, and a writer through the crisis of Naziism and World War Two, Tillich's voice is unique and powerful. However, bound so much to these events, his voice also frequently sounds like one out of time. Good portions of this book read very drily to me in their near irrelevance to our immediate world circumstances. They absolutely could be interpreted, considered, and applied to contemporary circumstances. But these more timely portions take some analysis and consideration to be truly useful and interesting to most lay readers. For this reason, and also because of his liberalism, I prefer reading the more contemporary thinkers who have been influenced by Tillich, and taken him further, than I do reading Tillich himself. Brian Macleran, Tony Campolo, and Rob Bell were interesting to me twelve years ago. I'm looking for writers that are a bit more radical now. Nevertheless, there is something very fresh and beautiful about reading these words from someone who is more of a source of this way of thinking about God and Christianity than the voices of the "emerging church" today, who can begin to feel a little reheated and processed today.
For those who love today's popular liberal theologians, I would very highly recommend Tillich as an opportunity to wake up to just how old these "new" ideas are, and to read them in a far more intellectually rigorous, radical, and vibrant form. To those more interested in the radical theologians, philosophers and post-theists writing today, I'd also recommend Tillich as an opportunity to read what your writers are reading. But I probably don't need to tell you that. I'm just a little late to the Tillich party.
August 26, 2017
This book had a profound effect upon me! By introducing me to christian doctrine, articulated intellectually, it gave new life and a broader range to my faith. Indeed, Tillich was once described as an apostle to the intelligentsia.
It is possible to use existential concepts to steer people's thinking back towards objective, collective realities such as sin, the need for transcendence and the ubiquity of suffering. Even the existence of God and the Human spirit which seem to be in need of constant re-affirmation.
Most notably, Tillich used his own words for such older truths, redefining them in a modern philosphical language and reframing them in more relevant contexts, without departing from their original meaning, sanctity or validity. To my mind, this was a brave step.
Highly recommended but not to everyone.
It is possible to use existential concepts to steer people's thinking back towards objective, collective realities such as sin, the need for transcendence and the ubiquity of suffering. Even the existence of God and the Human spirit which seem to be in need of constant re-affirmation.
Most notably, Tillich used his own words for such older truths, redefining them in a modern philosphical language and reframing them in more relevant contexts, without departing from their original meaning, sanctity or validity. To my mind, this was a brave step.
Highly recommended but not to everyone.
November 7, 2007
One reason you need this book is Chapter 20 You Are Accepted
pg 196-197
"In grace something is overcome; grace occurs "in spite of" something;grace occurs in spite of separation and estrangement.Grace is the reunion of life with life,the reconciliation with self with itself. Grace is the acceptance of that which is rejected.Grace transforms fate...it changes guilt into confidence and courage."
The ultimate concern, ground of being and the new being,etc
pg 196-197
"In grace something is overcome; grace occurs "in spite of" something;grace occurs in spite of separation and estrangement.Grace is the reunion of life with life,the reconciliation with self with itself. Grace is the acceptance of that which is rejected.Grace transforms fate...it changes guilt into confidence and courage."
The ultimate concern, ground of being and the new being,etc
September 13, 2017
A great anthology of Tillich's writing. It really takes the best from all of his key works. If you are looking to start reading Tillich, this isn't a bad place to start. Although I would still strongly recommend The New Being as your first Tillich book.
November 13, 2019
Faith altering read.
A little heady - but worth pushing through.
A little heady - but worth pushing through.
March 3, 2021
Wonderful astute thoughts on religion. I might not agree with ALL observations, but it's fun to contemplate with Paul Tillich's wonderful mind.
December 14, 2022
Not an easy read, but it contains many profound insights.
January 14, 2023
Good, easy to read intro to his writings. Like process theology's idea of God. Appreciate how these are short intros to his work and can be digested in 10-20 minute chapters of one concept.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2016
This collection of Tillich's essays and chapters from (most of) his books fit gracefully into the editor's theme divisions. The greatest gem is the Invocation: The Lost Dimension in Religion from a Saturday Evening Post mag. edition. It comes from a time (1958) when Tillich was arguably at his most vigorous stage of writing and the writing would have otherwise been lost in our internet age (I checked and it is not available online at this time). The other selections cover most of his subject matter and provide a thorough/ in depth introduction to the core of each of his books. There are limited essays from the Systematic Theology series (which I have not read). Some material from other books have been left out that I feel would need a place in this anthology, but editor F. Forrester Church obviously could not include all before this becomes a collected works. Highly recommended as a starting point or even as a substitute for some of his slightly dated books (such as Courage to Be).
May 12, 2014
This was a great book about the works of Paul Tillich, and I loved how this book covered the summaries/important sections out of the different books written by Paul Tillich, and even at the bottom of each short chapter the book title was listed. This would definitely be one of the books that I would get for my book collection, as well as the other books that the book did summaries of.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to start reading the works of Paul Tillich, because each of the chapters discusses different books in a way that helps a person to understand as well as allow them to find the books if they want to read the rest of the book after reading the specific chapter that caught their eye.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to start reading the works of Paul Tillich, because each of the chapters discusses different books in a way that helps a person to understand as well as allow them to find the books if they want to read the rest of the book after reading the specific chapter that caught their eye.
October 17, 2018
"I should like to suggest another work to you," which I have taken on, "not as a substitute for the word 'sin,' but as a useful clue in the interpretation of the word 'sin': 'separation.' . . . To be in the state of sin is to be in the state of separation. . . Grace is the reunion of life with life, the reconciliation of the self with itself. Grace is the acceptance of that which is rejected. Grace transforms fate into meaningful destiny; it changes guilt into confidence and courage. There is something triumphant in the word 'grace': in spite of the abounding of sin grace abounds much more."
From Paul Tillich, The Shaking of the Foundations (1948)
From Paul Tillich, The Shaking of the Foundations (1948)
August 17, 2007
If think that Christians are brainless sheep- think again. Prepare to be dazzled by the intense intellect of Tillich. He wrestles with all the big questions. He is a Christian philosopher who has picked up a touch of Buddhism, and was a WWII refugee.
He is one of the greatest Theologians known. This book is probably the most accessible published version of his writings. His simple words unpack to much, and he uses them in place of academic jargon- they are his own jargon in a way. Watch out for "The Ultimate" and similar.
He is one of the greatest Theologians known. This book is probably the most accessible published version of his writings. His simple words unpack to much, and he uses them in place of academic jargon- they are his own jargon in a way. Watch out for "The Ultimate" and similar.
December 31, 2013
I read this years ago and so this is a re-read for me. Tillich was such a clear, concise, no-nonsense preacher. What a gift to ministry. I so enjoyed reacquainting myself with his work. As a minister and theologian his faith in the Creator and love of creation and mankind is abundantly clear to the reader.
April 21, 2011
Tillich has some great quotes, but this book is pretty church-y and really needed a good editor. Part philosophy, part sort of incoherent ramblings that sound like philosophy, Tillich needed someone to teach him how to organize a paragraph.
September 24, 2013
Readable. I read this mainly for the pieces it contained of Tillich's major works I have not touched, among them Love, Power, and Justice and The Future of Religion. Very well-organized sections of his thought include his sermons, systematic writings, and popular book excerpts.
September 12, 2011
Sadly, I believe a great deal of this book was over my head. It was completely unlike the contemporary Christian apologetics that my friends and public debaters have recommended.
September 14, 2012
Interesting bits of wisdom are sandwiched between boring writing in these sermons and essays.
January 26, 2013
Made me think
not-going-to-read
December 31, 2013Protestant
July 13, 2014
I enjoyed reading this collection of Tillich's writings. It provided a good intro to his thoughts without being overwhelming, and I look forward to reading more of his work.
Read
November 13, 2016Hard to read, but some nuggets worth remembering.
March 27, 2008
Great overview of Tillich's most important ideas.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews