Paul Tillich was one of the few Americans to influence
the development of Continental philosophy during the twentieth century.
He was a leading moral philosopher throughout much of the 1940s and 50s.
His life-long goal was to reconcile modern philosophical movements with
the Christian faith.
Reinhold Niebuhr wrote:
Paul Tillich was a giant among us. His influence extended beyond theological
students and circles to include many form other disciplines…. He combined
theological with philosophical and psychological learning, and also,
he combined religious insights with an understanding and appreciation
of the arts. Thus he displayed to the American communities of learning
and culture, the wholeness of religious philosophy and of the political
and social dimensions of human existence.
– New York Times Book Review; Niebuhr, 1965
Biography
Paul Johannes Tillich (pronounced “til-ik”) was born
20 August 1886 in Starzeddel, Prussia, now known as Brandenburg, Germany.
His father was a Protestant pastor and the district superintendent for
the Prussian Protestant Church.
Studying at Konigsberg, Berlin, Tubingen (Tuebingen),
and Breslan (Breslau), Tillich received his doctorate in philosophy from
the University of Breslan in 1911. A year later, at Halle-Whittenberg,
Tillich received his theology certificate as a pastor within the Protestant
Church.
From 1914 through 1918, Tillich served in the German
army as a chaplain. He was deeply affected by the loss of faith he witnessed
among soldiers — and the German people. For his work with German soldiers,
Tillich was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class.
Following the war, Tillich accepted the post of privat-dozent
of theology at the University of Berlin. He then taught in Marburg, Dresden,
and Leipzig. During the 1920s, Tillich wrote a number of impressive works
on both theology and philosophy. Tillich embraced the Protestant religion
and Christian faith in general. His philosophical works were primarily
of theological origin, reflecting his upbringing and education. By 1929,
Tillich as was a full professor of philosophy at Frankfurt-am-Main.
In 1933, following the rise of Hitler, Tillich was removed
from his teaching post. He was one of the earliest non-Jewish academics
to be targeted by the Third Reich for opposing Hitler’s rise to power.
Tillich had openly opposed all the Nazi’s represented and feared what might
happen in Europe. He relocated to the United States of America, where he
became a naturalized citizen in 1940.
From 1933 through 1955, Tillich was a professor of theology
at Union Theological Seminary, in New York City. Reinhold
Niebuhr, a fellow theologian and philosopher, helped Tillich secure his initial post at the seminary. While teaching at Union Theological Seminary, Tillich wrote and lectured on issues of alienation and modernity. This conern with alienation and metaphysics aligned him more closely with Continental philosophers than the analytic traditions of American philosophy, but Tillich also served as a bridge between these approaches.
Tillich was ahead of many other theologians in anticipating
a shift in American religious practices. While the Christian faith has
steadily declined in Europe since World War II, faith followed a different
path in America thanks to the Civil Rights movement and a willingness by
some denominations to liberalize. Tillich, like Niebuhr, helped provide
American Protestants a humanistic theology, with rigorous scholarship to
support his philosophical approach.
He retired in 1955, but quickly assumed a professorship
at Harvard University. Tillich remained at Harvard until 1962, then he
accepted the Nuveen Chair of Theology at the University of Chicago’s Divinity
School.
Tillich died 22 October 1965, but his influence on American
Protestant faith continues. He also retains a following in both theological
and philosophical academic disciplines. More than a dozen of his works
have been published posthumously.
Union Theological Seminary honored Tillich by creating
a chair in his name.
Chronology
| 1886 August 20 | Born in Starzeddel, Kreis Guben, Prussia (Brandenburg Germany) to Johannes and Mathilde Tillich. |
| 1904–1908 | Studies at various universities: Berlin, Tubingen (Tuebingen), Halle, Breslan (Breslau) |
| 1911 | Doctorate in Philosophy from Breslan (Breslau) |
| 1912 | Ordained within the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Protestant) with Licentiat of Theology from University of Halle |
| 1914–1918 | Chaplain within the German army during World War I. |
| 1919–1924 | Privat-dozent at University of Berlin |
| 1924 | Marries Hannah Werner |
| 1924–1925 | Professor of theology at University of Marburg |
| 1925–1929 | Professor of theology at University of Dresden |
| 1928–1929 | Concurrent post at the University of Leipzig |
| 1929–1933 | Professor of philosophy at Frankfurt-am-Main |
| 1933 | Romoved from professorship, flees Germany to New York |
| 1933–1955 | Professor at Union Theological Seminar, NYC |
| 1940 | Gains United States citizenship. |
| 1955–1962 | Professor at Harvard University |
| 1962–1965 | Nuveen Chair of Theology at University of Chicago, School of Divinity |
| 1965 October 22 | Dies. |
Works
- The Protestant Era, 1948
- Shaking of the Foundations, Sermons: 1948
- The Courage to Be, 1952
- The New Being, Sermons: 1955
- Love, Power, and Justice, 1954
- Biblical Religion and the Search for Ultimate Reality, 1955
- Dynamics of Faith, 1957
- Systematic Theology, three volumes: 1951-1963
- Morality and Beyond, 1963
Commentaries
Tillich advanced the concept of the “Protestant Principle”
and aimed at a correlation of the questions arising out of the human condition
and the divine answers drawn from the symbolism of Christian revelation.
Die religiose Lage der Gegenwart, translated into English as The Religious Situation.
Tillich proposed that religion is the ultimate concern
overriding all human activities. Only by searching for a relationship with
God could an individual discover the internal courage to be — as opposed
to the ultimate choice, not being.
Tillich suggested that religion could be a “unifying
center” for existence.
Quotes
Coming soon…
Bibliography
Johnson, Anne Jannette; Contemporary Authors (New York: Thompson-Gale, 2003)