Beyond Christ and System: Paul Tillich and the New Encounter of Religions

Abstract

It is nearly thirty-four years since Paul Tillich (1886-1965) died, but he continues to be acknowledged as a theologian of considerable stature and influence in the twentieth- century theological scene. His mature thought is expressed in the three volumes of his Systematic Theology, 1951-1963, developed in the form of a system which stands in the tradition of German Idealists. Tillich's purpose in his Systematic Theology has been to answer the questions of the "modern mind" through a correlation with the answers given in the revelation of Jesus as the Christ. In an age which suspects the value of totalising systems such as Tillich's Systematic Theology, this study claims that his thought can be of continuing significance. This claim is based on the argument that, in the course of writing the last volume of the system, his thought underwent a significant transformation. Central to this transformation was, following World War I, Tillich's acceptance that the "Protestant era" had come to an end and the impact that religious pluralism in the fifties had on his thought. He called the post-war period the "post-Protestant era." In a series of lectures he delivered from 1958 to 1965 he interpreted the post-war situation in terms of the "encounter of religions". This study examines the events and issues which were foundational to Tillich's understanding of the "post-Protestant era" and religious pluralism. Through a study of his published and unpublished lectures on the "encounter of religions," it is shown that his analysis and understanding of the post-war era became fundamental to some notable and significant shifts in his thought. The shifts in his thought can be clearly discerned when compared with the ideas in his Systematic Theology. However, the significance of such changes is that they also mark a continuation of his thought which is being developed in a new direction beyond the confines of his system and its christocentricism. This study attempts to present a new perspective on his thought and reveals a different Tillich to that which is seen in his Systematic Theology. This is of considerable relevance in a post-Tillichian era.