#37 It's all Paul's fault

People can't stop referencing Tillich. Not that I suppose you have this particular problem, unless you hang around religious studies scholars/Unitarian theologians/existential philosophers. Of course, if you're reading this there's a good chance this is a regular occurrence for you. Right, so Tillich comes up and often. And for good reason - this man is brilliant and one of the theological scholars for whom I have the most respect. He regularly combines two fields of knowledge, either of which one their own represent an extremely challenging area of thought. The dialogue he creates between protestant theology and existential philosophy takes the merely difficult to new levels of intellectual sophistication. Yum.

This is my second complete Tillich book. I've yet to read The Courage to Be, though I have read his autobiographical My Search For Absolutes. The Shaking of the Foundations is vital and raw, a response to the evil he saw manifest in the world at the end of WWII. There is a lot of struggle evident in his words, and much coming to terms with the darker side of religious belief. I recommend Tillich highly, unless you have a hate-on for Christian references (his chosen symbol system). His answer to suffering is that in which he finds deliverance - which isn't to say that everyone calls their hope by the same name, to each their own. I like to think I've understood him enough to say that he would agree.