Paul Tillich’s legacy in contemporary philosophical theology is enduring, complex, and multifaceted. His work continues to resonate across theology, existential philosophy, psychology, and political ethics. To fully grasp his legacy, especially its existential and political depth, we must also account for the profound effect of his World War I experience. Let’s break it down into two parts:
I. The Contemporary Legacy of Paul Tillich’s Philosophical Theology
1.
God as the “Ground of Being”
- Tillich rejected traditional theism’s notion of a supernatural “being among beings.” Instead, he conceptualized God as Sein selbst (“Being-itself”) or the ground of being.
- This move still influences radical theology, existential theology, and non-theistic spirituality. Thinkers like John Caputo and Peter Rollins have extended his work toward a postmodern theology of uncertainty, where God is not an object of belief but the depth of experience.
2.
The Courage to Be
- His existential analysis of anxiety, finitude, and meaninglessness—articulated most famously in The Courage to Be—remains a seminal contribution.
- This concept reverberates in existential psychotherapy, spiritual care, and post-secular existential ethics. It overlaps with Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy and Rollo May’s existential psychotherapy.
3.
Theology of Culture
- Tillich argued that theology must interpret the symbols of faith in dialogue with art, literature, politics, and depth psychology.
- This makes him a forerunner of public theology, interdisciplinary theology, and the idea of a hermeneutics of secular culture—still present in figures like David Tracy and Paul Ricoeur.
4.
Systematic Theology
- His three-volume Systematic Theology continues to be studied for its ambitious integration of ontology, Christology, and symbol theory.
- Though not unchallenged, it offers a synthesis of existentialism, ontological metaphysics, and Christian mythos, something few others have accomplished with such scope.
II. The Impact of World War I on Tillich’s Theology
1.
The Trench as Existential Abyss
- Tillich served as a chaplain in the German army and was stationed at the Western Front. The horrors of trench warfare left a deep scar.
- He later reflected that the battlefield stripped away all illusions—about nationalism, divine providence, and human progress. It marked his break from naïve religiosity and the beginning of a tragic-existential theology.
2.
“God is Found in the Depth”
- In the trenches, Tillich had what he described as a religious experience of ultimate depth: that meaning arises not from avoiding despair, but from enduring and transforming it.
- This led to his concept of the “God above God”—a breakthrough moment where one surrenders even one’s traditional image of God in order to encounter what is ultimate.
3.
Solidarity with the Broken
- After the war, Tillich became politically engaged, supporting religious socialism and pacifist causes in the Weimar Republic.
- His theology thus carries a political edge: salvation is not only individual, but communal, rooted in structures of justice, freedom, and spiritual depth.
4.
A Theology of Broken Symbols
- WWI revealed for Tillich that religious symbols can break down, become empty or idolatrous. Hence his theory that symbols must be constantly reinterpreted, broken, and renewed.
- This dynamic view of religious language deeply influenced later hermeneutical theology and postmodern philosophy of religion.
Summary
Paul Tillich’s theological vision was forged in the mud and death of the trenches. This experience led him away from dogma and toward a theology rooted in existential honesty, symbolic depth, and radical reinterpretation. Today, his legacy lives on:
- In post-theistic and existential religious thought;
- In public theology that wrestles with culture and politics;
- And in depth psychology, where anxiety, finitude, and meaning remain central questions.
As Tillich might say, only in facing the abyss does the courage to be emerge—and with it, a theology that still speaks to a fragmented world.
