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Tillich

Paul Johannes Tillich (1886–1965) was a German-American theologian and philosopher whose work bridged existentialism and Christian theology. Born in Starogard in Prussia, Tillich studied theology and philosophy in Germany and taught there before fleeing the Nazi regime in 1933. He emigrated to the United States, where he held academic posts at Union Theological Seminary in New York and later taught at Harvard Divinity School and the University of Chicago. His influence extended across philosophy of religion and Protestant theology.

Tillich’s thought centers on God as the ground of being, not as a being among beings. He

Major works include The Meaning of God in Modern Thought (1934), The Courage to Be (1952), and

Tillich’s work continues to influence theology, philosophy of religion, and religious studies, particularly for readers seeking

maintained
that
religious
language
uses
symbols
that
point
to
ultimate
concerns
rather
than
offering
literal
propositions.
His
commonly
cited
formulation
that
God
is
the
“ground
of
being”
underlines
a
non-anthropomorphic
understanding
of
the
divine.
He
developed
the
method
of
correlation,
aiming
to
relate
existential
questions—meaning,
anxiety,
and
despair—to
Christian
symbols
and
doctrines
within
their
historical
and
cultural
contexts.
the
multi-volume
Systematic
Theology
(1951–63).
In
these
works
Tillich
develops
concepts
such
as
ultimate
concern,
revelation,
grace,
and
faith,
while
stressing
the
symbolic
character
of
religious
language
and
the
role
of
faith
as
a
response
to
existential
questions.
a
rigorous,
systematic
account
of
faith
that
engages
modern
philosophy
and
culture.