Biblical theism enhanced or transformed? An evaluation of Paul Tillich's concept of God
Date
2014-08-18
Authors
Zerbst, Jeffrey Neil
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
BIBLICAL THEISM ENHANCED OR TRANSFORMED? AN EVALUATION OF PAUL
TILLICH'S CONCEPT OF GOD.
This dissertation seeks to establish whether Paul Tillich s
God-concept is theistic or not. Has Tillich transformed theism into
something else? To answer this question requires a detailed examination
of Tillich's concept of "being-itself" as a translation of
the term "God". It can be established that the concept has a place
within Christian tradition, and may be seriously considered as an
alternative description to the supranaturalistic idea of God. In
this latter conception, which still has broad acceptance today, God
is seen as a being, an object located somewhere in space. The
primitive and anthropomorphic nature of such a description of God
is criticised in this dissertation; such a conception must give way
to a more sophisticated one.
The concept of "being-itself" though, must be tested against the
nominalist objection that there are only existing beings and that
there is no category of "existence" or "being". This dissertation
shows how an idealist model for being-itself can be defended against
the objections of nominalism. However, Tillich is not an idealist
(as is amply shown) and because of this the concept of being itself
loses much of its forcefulness. For if, as Tillich insists, creator
and creation are distinct and separate from each other, then what
can the terms "being-itself" and "ground of being" mean? The term
"ground" could only mean "source", not "underlying substance". It
is argued, though, that Tillich wants the term (and, by extension,
"being-itself") to imply both meanings at once, so as to give force
to an immanentist theology without surrendering the notion of God's
transcendence. In other words, Tillich's theology is accused of a
certain ambiguity and imprecision.
Yet even if the terra "beirtg-itself" seems unsatisfactory, Tillich s
idea that God is forcefully present within the world of men is
defensible without an insistence on the term. It is argued that
the idea of Spirit can convey such nearness and, further, it is
contended that this term is the only satisfactory one to describe
God. In the dissertation it is pointed out that "Spirit can imply
a "surrounding" omnipresence as easily as it can imply an inhabiting"
omnipresence. If God is perceived as "Surrounding Spirit",
then an immanentist theism, which has a strong emphasis on religious
experience as the factor which establishes the existence of God,
can be formulated. Idealism (the model in which Spirit "inhabits"
matter) is then avoided; it is argued that this is necessary if
God's transcendence is to be maintained.
The second half of the dissertation examines the extent of Tillich's
appeal outside the boundaries of traditional theism. Does
Tillich's concept of God broaden, and thus enhance, the appeal of
theism? The answer, in the mainj is affirmative. To be sure,
Tillich's description of the awareness of the Ultimate cannot convince
the atheist of the existence of God. Yet such a description
certainly points the wav to an understanding of what such a conviction
entails.
Outside of his appeal to the atheist, it is argued that Tillich s
theology has been important in establishing Christian dialogue with
other faiths and in contributing to the debate on religious
secularity. Even if Tillich has expressed serious reservations
about the "Radical Theology" he is said to have inspired, one could
also claim a success for Tillich in this field in that he has helped
to spawn a religious school of thought which is at least vigorous
and adventurous, Radical theologians clearly state that Tillich
provided them with a mandate to explore the God-concept in an unrestricted
way, and even if the arguments of this school go beyond
what Tillich felt was acceptable, one must at least concede that
these theologians have revitalised religious thought, This
revitalisation owes much to Tillich, whose stress oil God s
immanence and our experience of him in this secular realm, has done
much to re-emphasise the immediacy of the divine presence in the
life of man.
The conclusion arrived at in this dissertation is that, despite
certain terminological imprecisions, Tillich's theology enhances
theism without transforming it. Paul Tillich, it is held, must be
seen as a theologian of the greatest consequence,