Paul Tillich's Argument Essay

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: Paul Tillich was a German-American existentialist philosopher who coined the phrase “ultimate concern” (Hopper, 1968). Faith, according to Tillich was the “ultimate concern.” He stated that it must be “ultimate” in order for a believer to be truly faithful. Tillich said, “To concern oneself with the created and transitory is to put one’s faith in something that will change and cease to be” (Kelsey, 1967). When one becomes concerned about something the individual puts emphasis on the “thing” and makes it an idol. Tillich said that everyone has an ultimate concern, but not everyone has the same ultimate concern.What is an ultimate concern? People have different concerns ranging from education, careers, things in life, their marriage, health, …show more content…

How a person lives their life in regards to the ultimate concern makes it their idol. Ultimate concern demands total surrender by the person and promises total fulfillment even if all other claims have to be subjected to it or rejected in its name (Morrison, 2011).Tillich had much to say on the subject of “faith.” He developed his apologetics to provide a convincing argument for faith in God by saying that faith differs from common understanding. Tillich stated, “There is hardly a word in the religious language. Both theoretical and popular, which is subject to more misunderstandings, distortions, and questionable definitions than the word faith” (Morrison, 2011).Tillich stated in his argument that although faith can change; losing one’s faith is illogical. This transition to the illogical would occur due to the fact that one’s ultimate concern, which cannot change, has now changed and the person is no longer has an ultimate concern (Feser, 2011). Losing your faith is the same as losing your ultimate concern which one cannot possible do. Tillich takes the faith argument further bt clarifying the difference between faith and …show more content…

A Christian should only be concerned with God; therefore they should only have faith in God (Morrison, 2011).There will always be doubt no matter what we endeavor to believe. Doubt is necessary when one is ultimately concerned because one can never know whether the content of one’s concern is truly ultimate. One will always have a feeling that life may have no meaning and nothing is ultimate; this is where hope comes in and saves the day (Hopper, 1968).God to Tillich was “the” ultimate concern because nothing could point beyond Him. God was not a “being” because it would insist there was a beginning or creation. God is the reason for the manifestation of the ultimate concern in consciousness. Tillich stated that beyond mere existence, that is to say, that God “exist” is to negate the very principle that God is a being (Morrison, 2011). God, is the only possible truly ultimate content of our faith.Tillich expressed issues with the Catholic Church and their idea of who god was and their means of worship he said bordered on

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