The Nature Of Faith In Paul Tillich's What Faith Is?

In my opinion Paul Tillich makes the most valid point regarding the nature of religious beliefs as defined by him in “What faith is?” Religious beliefs have faith as its underlying principle. Tillich defines faith as “the state of being ultimately concerned and that the dynamics of faith are the dynamics of man’s ultimate concern” (Tillich1). Man has many concerns which encompass his day to day survival, however; unlike other creatures his concerns include matters that are social, political and spiritual in nature. Man’s quest to find answers to these concerns that transcend matters of day to day physical existence is addressed in the realm of spirituality which Tillich and other Theologians define as faith.

According to Tillich when faith becomes an “ultimate concern” it requires all other things be sacrificed. The first major quotation from Tillich’s text that will serve as the basis for my analysis is “If it claims ultimacy it

Romans 12:3 says “For by the grace given to me I ask every one of you not to think of yourself more highly than you should think, rather to think of yourself with sober judgment on the measure of faith that God has assigned each of you”. This is why whatever a person’s conviction of future events is based on, this is what they fashion their present actions in life upon in the attempt to make their current beliefs become a future reality. The way people lead their lives is again explained by the Biblical text that states “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” – Hebrews 11:1. A person’s actions that are currently evident by the life they live reflect their belief in the future in things not seen. Tillich’s argument that everyone has faith can be broadly interpreted to mean that everything one does or happens to one happens for a reason thus making the proverb “everything happens for a reason”