Paul Tillich and the Courage To Be

[50_and_Fading]

I recently finished reading Paul Tillich’s Courage to Be – which is a wonderful read for anyone who has any interest in the concept/possibility of Christian Existentialism – and the concluding line, in particular, expresses or summarizes his thesis in a way that I find really intriguing and beautiful, and I think I’ll be trying to plumb its depths for quite a while. He concludes with the statement that “[t]he courage to be is rooted in the God who appears when God has disappeared in the anxiety of doubt.” I think it is a relatively famous statement of his in philosophical circles, but for me it was new and really powerful when I read it.

I find it a beautiful expression of the concept of Christian Existentialism, and the mysterious and otherly manner of revelation of the God who is love and being itself. The God who appears – time and time again – after our human attempts to define him and understand him and contain him (or escape him) dissipate into the anxiety and meaninglessness that lays at the heart of our grasping. Tillich speaks of faith as taking residence in “the situation on the boundary of man’s possibilities.” I find that a really moving and powerful description of human faith for the post modern world (or the post-post-modern, whatever label they use now).

I think of the transition of our understanding of God from the Old Testament to the New Testament. I think of Augustin and Acquinas reconciling classical and/or later philosophical systems with the Christian faith. I think, ultimately and with awe, of the anxiety of our Lord in Gethsemene, sweating blood, and the despair that our Lord expressed on the Cross, “my God, my God – why have You forsaken me?”

This is my first post on Catholic Answers. It is nearly identical to a post I started on a different Catholic blog, but there wasn’t much response there. Given that CA has a Philosophy forum, though, I thought I’d see if I get more responses/insight here. Anyway, I thought there might be some out there who share this interest and might find this worth hearing and diving into.

It is a great read for those with a philosophical interest or bent. Yes, I know Tillich had his personal issues and developed his philosophical understanding of faith from within the context of his Lutheran tradition, so I’m not really looking to get into that kind of discussion. I just think there is truth and beauty in this little book that can be useful to all Christians, and even non-believers, and am very interested in anyone else’s take/riff on Tillich or the notion or content of a Christian Existentialism.

Pax,

50

 

[Charlemagne_III]

I’ve always had some difficulty grasping Tillich. Partly it may be his writing style. Partly it may be his attempt to break new theological ground and the difficulty he had breaking it.

He’s very negative regarding traditional theology as I recall, and he thinks it is the main reason for the growth of modern atheism. I do believed he missed that mark by a mile. I believe the growth of modern atheism is rooted more than anywhere else in the fragmentation of Christianity into thousands of sects, which has watered down and confused for many their understanding of the Gospel. He was, I believe, a Lutheran, and the very sect he belonged to began that modern collapse of the relationship between religion and reason. Even Luther could see that reason without God is a whore. So when the Gospel message got blasted into a thousand opposing versions it was inevitable that reason would be seducing men into the hapless and hopeless charms of atheism.

 

[KyrieEleison17]

I think you are seeking a more specific audience. Perhaps Tillich has followers that have formed discussion circles on the internet?

It’s hard for us to gauge the implications of Tillich here since we aren’t all going to be familiar with him and -from what you have produced- difficult to produce anything like a judgement or criticism, whether more or less for or against, in praise or in blame.