A History of Christian Thought: From its Judaic and Hellenistic Origins to Existentialism
by
Paul Tillich,
Carl E. Braaten (Editor)
4.17 · Rating details · 245 ratings · 14 reviews
Previously published in two separate volumes entitled
A history of Christian thought and Perspectives on 19th and 20th century Protestant theology.
Paperback, 550 pages
Published November 15th 1972 by Touchstone
Paperback, 550 pages
Published November 15th 1972 by Touchstone
(first published January 1st 1968)
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URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Tillich
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URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Tillich
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The Concept of Dogma xxxvi
I]The Preparation for Christianity 1
A. The Kairos 1
B. The Universalism of the Roman Empire 2
C. Hellenistic Philosophy 3
1. Skepticism 3
2. The Platonic Tradition 6
3. The Stoics 7
4. Eclecticism 9
D. The Inter-Testamental Period 9
E. The Mystery Religions 13
F. The Method of the New Testament 14
II Theological Developments in the Ancient Church 17
A. The Apostolic Fathers 17
B. The Apologetic Movement 24
1. The Christian Philosophy 27
2. God and the Logos 29
C. Gnosticism 33
D. The Anti-Gnostic Fathers 37
1. The System of Authorities 38
2. The Montanist Reaction 40
3. God the Creator 41
4. The History of Salvation 43
5. Trinity and Cliristology 46
6. The Sacrament of Baptism 48
E. Neo-Platonism 50
F. Clement and Origen of Alexandria 55
1. Christianity and Philosophy 55
2. The Allegorical Method 57
3. The Doctrine of God 59
vi Contents
4. Christology 61
5. Eschatology 63
G. Dynamic and Modalistic Monarchianism 64
1. Paul of Samosata 65
2. Sabellius 66
H. The Trinitarian Controversy 68
1. Arianism 69
2. The Council of Nicaea 71
3. Athanasius and Marcellus 73
4. The Cappadocian Theologians 76
I. The Christological Problem 79
1. The Antiochean Theology 80
2. The Alexandrian Theology 84
3. The Council of Chalcedon 86
4. Leontius of Byzantium 88
J. Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite 90
K. Tertullian and Cyprian 98
'L. The Life and Thought of Augustine 103
1. The Development of Augustine 104
2. Augustine's Epistemology 111
3. The Idea of God 115
4. The Doctrine of Man 119
5. Philosophy of History 121
6. The Pelagian Controversy 122
7. The Doctrine of the Church 131
III Trends in the Middle Ages 134
A. Scholasticism, Mysticism, Biblicism 135
B. The Scholastic Method 137
C. Trends in Scholasticism 140
1. Dialectics and Tradition 140
2. Augustinianism and Aristotelianism 141
3. Thomism and Sootism 141
4. Nominalism and Realism 142
5. Pantheism and Church Doctrine 144
D. The Religious Forces 145
E. The Medieval Church 149
F. The Sacraments 154
G. Anselm of Canterbury 158
H. Abelard of Paris 167
I. Bernard of Clairvaux 172
J. Joachim of Floris 175
K. The Thirteenth Century 180
L. The Doctrines of Thomas Aquinas 192
M. William of Ockham 198
N. German Mysticism 201
0. The Pre-Reformers 203
IV Roman Catholicism from Trent to the Present 210
A. The Meaning of Counter-Reformation 210
B. The Doctrine of Authorities 211
C. The Doctrine of Sin 212
D. The Doctrine of Justification 213
E. The Sacraments 215
F. Papal Infallibility 218
C. Jansenism 221
II. Probahilism 223
1 11ccent Developments 224
V Ilir Iiiiiiigy iI Ihi Protestant Reformers 227
/\ Niiiiiiii I .iitIiii 227
I. Tho Itrukt Iiroiigii 227
2. I ,iiIlii'i ( iilirisrn of the Church 234
:i. I lh ( oiilIlit vlIIi iiiis,niis 237
I. Ilk Coidlicl wit ii tile Ivangelical Radicals 239
5. liii liii N I )O(t rules 242
a. iiie iihiical Principle 242
b. Sin and Faith 245
c. The Idea of God 247
d. The Doctrine of Christ 249
e. Church and State 251
B. Huldreich Zwingli 256
C. John Calvin 262
1. The Majesty of God 262
2. Providence and Predestination 264
3. The Christian Life 270
4. Church and State 272
5. The Authority of Scripture 274
VI The Development of Protestant Theology 276
A. The Period of Orthodoxy 276
1. Reason and Revelation 278
2. The Formal and Material Principles 280
B. Pietism 283
C. The Enlightenment 287
PART II
Introduction: Problem and Method 297
I Oscillating Emphases in Orthodoxy, Pietism,
and Rationalism 305
A. The Period of Orthodoxy 305
B. The Reaction of Pietism against Orthodoxy 311
C. The Rise of Rationalism 313
II The Enlightenment and its Problems 320
A. The Nature of Enlightenment 320
1. The Kantian Definition of Autonomy 320
2. Concepts of Reason 325
a. Universal Reason 326
b. Critical Reason 327
c. Intuitive Reason 328
d. Technical Reason 329
3. The Concept of Nature 330
4. The Concept of Harmony 332
B. The Attitude of the Enlightened Man 341
1. His Bourgeois Character 341
2. His Ideal of a Reasonable Religion 342
3. His Common-sense Morality 344
4. his Subjective Feeling 348
C. Intrinsic Conflicts of Enlightenment 349
1. Cosmic Pessimism 350
2. Cultural Vices 352
3. Personal Vices 353
4. Progress Based on Immorality 355
D. The Fulfillers and Critics of Enlightenment 356
1. Rousseau, The French Revolution, and Romanticism 356
1. Hume, The History of Religion, and Positivism 357
1. Kant, Moral Religion, and Radical Evil 360
III The Classic-Romantic Reaction against the
Enlightenment 367
A. Lessing, Historical Criticism, and the Rediscovery of Spinoza 367
B. The Synthesis of Spinoza and Kant 370
C. The Nature of Romanticism 372
1. The Infinite and Finite 372
2. The Emotional and the Aesthetic Elements in Romanticism 378
3. The Turn to the Past and the Valuation of Tradition 379
4. The Quest of Unity and Authority 382
5. The Negative and the Demonic in Romanticism 383
D. The Classical Theological Synthesis: Friedrich Schleiermacher 386
1. The Background of Schleicrmacher's Thought 388
2. His Concept of Religion as Feeling 391
3. His Positivistic Definition of Theology 398
4. His Interpretation of Christianity 405
E. The Universal Synthesis: Georg W. F. Hegel 410
1. The Greatness and the Tragic Hybris of Ilegels System 411
2. The Synthesis of God and Man (Mind and Person) 414
3. The Synthesis of Religion and Culture (Thought and Imagination) 419
1. The Synthesis of State and Church 424
Providence, History, and Theodicy 426
The Christ as Reality and Symbol 430
Eternity against Immortality 431
IV The Breakdown of the Universal Synthesis 432
A. The Split in the Hegelian School 432
1. The Historical Problem: Strauss and Baur 423
1. The Anthropological Problem: Ludwig Feuerbach 435
B. Schelling's Criticism of Hegel 437
C. The Religious Revival and Its Theological Consequences 448
1. The Nature of the European Revival 449
2. The Theology of Repristination 453
1. Natural Science and the Fight over Darwinism 454
D. Kierkegaard's Existential Theology 458
1. Kierkegaard's Criticism of Hegel 460
2. Ethical Existence and the Human Situation (Anxiety, Despair) 462
3. The Nature of Faith (The Leap and Existential Truth) 464
4. Criticism of Theology and Church 472
E. Political Radicalism and its Theological Significance 476
1. The Bourgeois Radicals 477
2. Marx's Relation to Hegel and Feuerbach 478
3. Marx's View of the Human Situation (Alienation) 480
4. Marx's Doctrine of Ideology and His Attack on Religion 481
5. Marx's Political Existentialism 484
6. The Prophetic Element in Marx 485
F. Voluntarism and the Philosophy of Life 487
1. Schopenhatier's Idea of the Will 488
2. Nietzsche's Idea of Will-To-Power 493
3. Nietzsche's Doctrine of Resentment 494
1. The "Death of God" and the New Ideal of Man 497
V New Ways of Mediation 504
A. Experience and the Biblical Message 506
1. The Erlangen School 506
2. Martin Kähler 509
B. The "Back to Kant" Movement 511
C. Adolf von Harnack 515
D. Miscellaneous Movements in Theology 520
1. The Luther-Renaissance 520
2. Biblical Realism 520
3. Radical Criticism 521
4. Rudolf Bultmann 523
5. The History-of-Religions Approach 524
6. Ernst Troeltsch 526
7. Religious Socialism 530
8. Karl Barth 535
9. Existentialism 539
Index of Names 543
Index of Subjects 547
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Jun 15, 2017Jon Stout rated it liked it
Recommends it for: essentialists and existentialists
Shelves: religion
Trying to impress a friend (a doctoral candidate in religious history), I mentioned that I was reading Paul Tillich’s A History of Christian Thought. Her answer was, “That’s fine if you’re a follower of Tillich.” I was somewhat taken aback, but I recognized that she expected a more granular and objective view of sources.
Tillich himself addresses the point, “if a systematic theologian teaches history, he cannot help but tell you what he thinks about things. He cannot simply enumerate facts in a textbook fashion.” The problem here is similar to what occurs with the history of philosophy. If you want a detailed and objective history, you probably should not read Bertrand Russell’s A History of Western Philosophy.
However the history of philosophy is central to doing philosophy, and in the same way the history of religion (in this case the history of Christian thought) is central to doing (Christian) theology. To understand events in terms of the fabric of the historical context, rather than in terms of general principles, is a discipline in itself, peculiar to the study of history.
Even so, if one wants to get acquainted with a vast subject matter, it helps to start out with an opinionated reviewer. One may later come to revise one’s opinions or to disagree. In the case of Tillich, I get to understand the sources of his thinking as well as to borrow his viewpoint on the history.
The discussion of the early church fathers was very hard for me to retain, as is much of the discussion of the medieval church. I understand it while I am reading it, but I end up with very global impressions, such as that the church fathers had to work hard to give believers what they wanted. If, for example, people needed Jesus to have the power to forgive sins or to transcend death, then the church fathers had to have a theology that placed the historical Jesus on the same level with the creator in Genesis.
When Tillich reaches the periods of the Reformation and the Enlightenment, he starts to deal more with the issues that concern us today, such as the role of authority in reaching right opinion, and the need to reconcile religious experience with scientific understanding.
As he reaches the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, we see Tillich more and more describing thinkers in categories which are important to his own theology. Tillich is himself an Existentialist, following Martin Heidegger. He comes to describe the philosophers in terms of being essentialists or existentialists, saying that it is important to incorporate both viewpoints in one’s theology (philosophy). People like Kant and Hegel are the essentialists, having an all-encompassing intellectual view of the world. A person like Schelling, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche or Feuerbach is the existentialist, who “looks at man in his predicament in time and space, and sees the conflict between what exists in time and space and what is essentially given.”
While I have engaged in sketchy history and breathtakingly vague generality, Tillich’s work has helped me to understand how opposing views are reconciled in theology, and what the prospects are for the opposing views regarding religion today. (less)
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Bob Nichols Re your opening paragraph, seemed like your friend's comment was saying, simply, that she disagreed with Tillich, whereas you interpreted the comment to mean only that Tillich was not a historian of religion.
I was at a memorial service recently and the pastor said she was a Theologian. Is there a Theologian I (historian of religious history), a Theologian II (the advocate of a point of view a la Tillich); and a Theologian III (a pastor with a church)?
At the end of your review, you said: "what is essentially given". Can you elaborate on what is meant by that phrase? (less)
Jun 16, 2017 08:19AM · flag
Jon Stout I would say theology is the theory of god and/or of religious faith, maybe you could say the theory of religious experience. I don't think theology necessarily includes history, and I wouldn't call every pastor a theologian (although maybe everyone is a theologian in the same sense that everyone is a philosopher). Everyone with a theory has a point of view, so I would go with your "Theologian II (the advocate of a point of view a la Tillich)" as what I consider a theologian.
A wonderful professor I once had said that theology is the same as philosophy of religion, except that theology is done within the circle of faith, while philosophy of religion is done outside of the circle of faith. I think of them as interchangeable.
By "what is essentially given" is meant, I think, whatever various philosophers think might be the essential nature of man. Aristotle went for "rational animal" and you have, I believe, a naturalistic view of the nature of man, so I think those would count under the meaning of the term. Tillich says that even existentialists have to use general terms to describe the human condition, so that they also to some extent are essentialists. (less)
updated Jun 16, 2017 10:23AM · flag
Quo Jon, I enjoyed your review, though I am hardly conversant with the religious thoughts of Paul Tillich. The more I read & travel about the world, I more I sense that part of the limitation of any particular philosopher or theologian is that those we tend to read most are so very focused on spiritual/religious notions that are focused on Europe & N. America. There is such a diversity of formal & informal religious thought most of us tend to overlook. I can only hope that we will enhance our worldview through at least a partial consideration of non-western religious thoughts, eventually embracing the ideas of the Dalai Lama, Muslim & Hebrew mystics & Hindu religious epics as well at the ideas of Kant, Tillich & Pope Francis. This might take more than a single lifetime & it is important to begin with what is most accessible. (less)
Jun 18, 2017 03:52PM · flag
Dec 18, 2012Lee rated it really liked it
This books consists of lectures Paul Tillich delivered at Union Theological Seminary and the University of Chicago Divinity School in the 1960s. Part one covers the Hellenistic and Jewish background of Christianity, the early church, the patristic period, the Middle Ages, the Counter-Reformation and Catholicism after the Council of Trent, the Reformation and Post-Reformation Protestant theology, and the Enlightenment.
Part two is more narrowly focused--it primarily covers the 18th and 19th centuries and deals specifically with the legacy of the Enlightenment and theology's attempts to address the challenges it posed. Tillich describes what he calls the "classical synthesis"--the attempt to incorporate Enlightenment insights into theology while preserving the essence of Christian faith. The two key figures here are Schleiermacher and Hegel. He then analyzes the dissolution of this attempted synthesis brought on in part by the critical onslaught of the 19th century--including the critical perspectives of non-Christian thinkers like Feuerbach, Marx, and Nietzsche. The final chapter covers some of the major trends of 20th century theology up through the 60s (Barth, existentialism, etc.); here the problems bequeathed by the 19th century are still very much alive.
As befits a series of classroom lectures, there is minimal in-depth scholarly apparatus, and the tone is very conversational. Tillich moves through the major figures of the tradition with ease and provides sophisticated but accessible discussions of such topics as the early Christological controversies, the debates between realism and nominalism in the Middle Ages, the debate between the Reformers and Medieval Catholicism, etc.
There are a few weak spots. His treatment of post-Trent Catholicism is perfunctory, and there is virtually no treatment of Eastern Orthodoxy apart from the discussion of the Greek church fathers. (Apparently the Orthodox theologian George Florovsky delivered some lectures covering the Orthodox tradition in more detail as part of Tillich's course, but these lectures aren't included in this volume.) Part two deals almost exclusively with German theology, and readers may feel that Tillich is being a bit parochial in his insistence that only German theology really grappled with the challenges posed by modernity.
These limitations notwithstanding, this is an extremely stimulating volume. Tillich was clearly deeply rooted in the traditions of Christian theology, and he moves with ease and clarity across a wide range of thinkers and topics. Specialists would likely take issue with some of his interpretations, but he makes the thinkers and issues seem relevant to contemporary (or then-contemporary) thought, not just of antiquarian interest. The book also sheds considerable light on Tillich's own theology--as it shows which figures in the tradition he is most indebted to and highlights some of the perennial issues facing Christian thought. (less)
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Jun 10, 2012David Withun rated it it was amazing
Shelves: favorites, history
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Jul 31, 2012Mark Young rated it liked it
Shelves: read-non-fiction
Tillich is clearly a brilliant historian of theology, who sees the connections in the flow of ideas from the second century to the twentieth. He presents this in a relatively accessible form such that the book can be read as a text or used as a reference reasonably easily.
On the negative side, Tillich himself is an existentialist with a strong strain of religious socialist (self-described), and he not only regards that as the true Christian religion, he frequently explains how it is, to one degree or another, what Christians have always believed. He also accepts unquestioningly the assumptions that most of the Bible is historically inaccurate. This becomes more problematic in the latter half of the book, when he is covering nineteenth and early twentieth century theologians, dismissing revivalism almost out-of-hand as completely irrelevant to "real" Christianity (he does credit it as impacting Martin Kahler, whom he respects but in large part rejects) and talks quite a bit about why each of the modern liberal theologians is wrong insofar as they disagree with him. It makes it a bit difficult to get a clear handle on the early twentieth century situation (the book is comprised of lectures delivered prior to his death in the early 60s). However, for an overview of everything from Tertullian through the Enlightenment, this is an excellent treatise.
I read the book a few years back, and wrote a brief review in which I said I probably would not read it again; I then had occasion to use it in preparing lessons on the history of denominations, and perhaps because of this I thought it would benefit me to go through it once more. It was slow, and much more than I will remember, but I do think I benefited from it and was able to draw on my reading in answering questions about modern theology that came in my e-mail. It is not a devotional book, but a history lesson that connects the dots between the major names, Augustine and Anselm, Tertullian and Thomas Acquinas, even people like Kant and Kierkegaard and Hegel and Marx. Worth reading if you want to understand something of the history of doctrine in the churches. (less)
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Jun 14, 2015Brent McCulley rated it it was amazing
Shelves: history, theology
This, hands down, has been absolutely instrumental in my clarity of thought. That is not to say that Tillich's account of the history of Christian thought offers anything new, but rather, he offers a synthesis as a systematic theologian--not as Church historian--of the great movements of Christian thought and captures the proper understanding of each movement, realizing the importance of how each one impacted the other, and the overlap therefrom.
The book itself is actually split into two parts from two different courses that Tillich lectured in to his divinity students, one at Union Theological in New York and the latter at Chicago School of Divinity in IL. Tillich, therefore, is easy, accessible, and offers the clarity and conceptualization that is often times lost in technical theological precision. Both are good, but in this transcription, Tillich's voice as an orator and lecturer can be heard, and it is remarkable. The section on the Fathers, Apologists, and Nicene Fathers was fantastic. The section on the middle ages was the toughest to get through, simply because this is the area where I have read the least amount of primary material. Even still, Tillich's analysis is wonderful, zoning in on thinkers that are normally skipped right over, such as Nicholas of Cusa and Jakob Böhme. His analysis of the movements from the middle ages to reformation to the enlightenment, the romantic reaction, and finally to existentialism was the most helpful and profound treatment I have ever read. So much clarity has been brought to my understanding thanks to Tillich of these movements. His lectures on Kierkegaard were Nietzsche delightful, and his lectures on Schleiermacher, Hegel, Schiller, and Schlegel were the most helpful in understanding the attempted synthesis between the Enlightenment and Orthodoxy, the Infinite and the Finite.
I cannot recommend this book more to students of theology. (less)
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May 12, 2009Phillip Ross rated it did not like it
Reading Tillich was part of my college reading and was also required in seminary. Oddly, Tillich was not actually a Christian.
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Jul 04, 2017Jc rated it really liked it
I was at a very different point in my life when I picked up a copy of this book: early 20s, and just becoming really skeptical about the "truthiness" of christianity. However, as there are SOOOOO many books to read (and they keep writing new ones, darn it), I never got around to it until this year, 40 years later and well beyond mere skepticism when it comes to religion. But, still being very interested in the history, philosophy, and anthropology of religion, I finally broke the binding on my 40 year old copy. First, for those of you not familiar with Tillich, this is really two books in one, consisting of two of Tillich's early 1960s lecture series. The first deals with the broad history of the "thought" behind what became christianity, from the Greco-Roman and Judeo background in the world it first developed, up through the Enlightenment and its effect on [mostly Protestant] christianity. The second part goes into detail on modern Protestant philosophy and theology and its development from the late 18th through the mid-20th century. The first part is essential reading to any student of the history and philosophy of christianity or religion in general, or even just the history of Western civilization. The details and discussions are amazing. I found myself wondering how his students were ever able to keep up with him! Amazing. The second part is if anything even more dense. However, this part was of less interest to me overall, so I found it slower going. But, Tillich's ability to communicate how the diverse directions of thought were interconnected and entwined was breathtaking. His descriptions of how the ideas and writings of people such as Barth, Hume, Kant, Rousseau, Feuerbach, Kierkegaard, Schleiermacher, and movements such as the Enlightenment, Romanticism, Marxism, and Existentialism, all worked together (often in opposition to each other) to drag Protestantism into the modern world (not always successfully). So, with one star removed for the second half, due mostly to a bit of not-so-subtle skewing towards his own beliefs, I recommend this as a MUST-READ for anyone serious about understanding how christianity became what it is today, whether one is a believer or not. (less)
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Mar 30, 2020Jan Goericke rated it it was amazing
Shelves: theology
Based on Paul Tillich's lectures as professor of theology at the Union Theological College (NY), "A History of Christian Thought" provides an introduction into Christian belief from the ancient Church, the Hellenistic philosophy, through the Roman Empire, Middle Ages until today (1950s). The book covers the main influences along the way including Augustine, the Stoics, Anselm of Canterbury, Joachim of Floris, Thomas Aquinas, Dun Scotus, Luther, Calvin, etc. I was impressed how Paul Tillich managed to discuss such a huge piece of history and theological thought in just 300 pages. It was the perfect introduction into Christian thought to me as an atheist. I now also understand the split in the Christian church with the authoritarian Catholic church on one side and the Reformed churches on the other. The book showed how Christian Thought changed over time. How the church used its 1,000 years of monopoly on education, and how it had to renew in order to stay relevant as life philosophy during the Renaissance and Enlightenment and industrial revolution.
Especially remarkable to me was the equivalence of the concept of "God" and "Love," as noted by Luther. That and the location of the Spirit on every person. It can create a beautiful religion that naturally includes all people no matter what background, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.
More than the pure historical and theological background, Paul Tillich also helped me with complicated concepts (i.e., for a non-religious person) such as God, the Trinity, grace, and faith.
Just like "The Courage to Be," this book is highly recommended to anybody interested in Christian theology. Very well worth your time. (less)
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Dec 24, 2013Jacob Aitken rated it liked it
Shelves: church-history, dialectic, christology, hellenism, historical-theology, hippie-theology, medievalism, the-western-canon
As far as histories of Christian thought go this is actually one of the better ones. A number of issues, though, prevent it from a fully recommendation.
Absorption into "The One"
Tillilich's most important contribution in this volume is his lucid discussion of Neo-Platonism. Going beyond traditional accounts, Tillich describes it as "the abyss of everything specific." Neo-Platonism, as it relates to the "One," says that the One is beyond all distinctions, beyond the difference between Subject and Object (it's hard to define what Neo-Platonism means by "the One." Loosely-speaking, we will call it the "God-concept" for lack of a better term). It is not purely negative but is rather positive: it incorporates everything into itself.
This might seem like an arcane discussion, but it is crucial to understanding not only the rest of Christian thought, but Tillich's own ethics and theology. Tillich will identify God, or more importantly, our experience of God, as the "ground of being." Salvation, thus, for Tillich, is entering into the "New Being." Sin and evil are, obviously, nothing, no-thing, the dissolution of being. Readers will certainly recognize Augustine's discussion of evil as a privation of Good.
Universals
Tillich gives a particularly good analysis of the recurring realist-nominalist debate. He goes beyond the mere textbook descriptions which say that realists believe that universal ideas exist, whereas nominalists do not. That's true, but fails to capture the power of the movement. Tillich notes that for the realists, universals were dynamic powers of being arranged in a hierarchy where the one universal above mediated below, and so on. When I read this, all of a sudden Platonism made perfect sense. Interestingly, Tillich notes that when Greek paganism became Hellenized, the pagan gods were simply transposed into universal mediations. This is particularly insightful when we apply this same analysis to Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox syncretism ala Mary and the saints.
High Points Through History
Not every thinker is going to be consistently good in analysing church history. Tillich's particular strengths are Augustine, Anselm, and Luther. I do not buy into Tillich's apologetics, but his discussion of the ontological argument was good. While risking some oversimplification, he notes a number of differences between Eastern and Western thought. Salvation for the former was absorption into the One, a vertical movement, whereas the primary reality for the latter was a horizontal movement, eschatology. This is a terrible oversimplification, but there is some truth in it as it relates to Origen's influence on Eastern theology and Christology. Western thought, by contrast, was able to better develop a kingdom of God eschatology. Tillich, though, does not develop this point in greater detail.
The Bad Parts
Tillich, despite his protests, is a liberal. He relies on outdated scholarship which makes the silliest claims (he thinks Daniel got his material from the Persians, which is silly even on Tillich's own analysis since the Persian religion was ontological absorption, whereas Daniel spoke of the horizontal movement of the Kingdom of God in history--Daniel 2, 7, and 9). Further, while Tillich himself gives a good criticism of Eastern ontology, it's difficult to see how his own view isn't similar
Depraved Sexual Ethics
Tillich makes a number of strange claims that do not make sense unless one is aware of Tillich's own life. (Tillich, while there was no official diagnosis, likely suffered from satyriosis). He accuses Calvinist countries of having a repressed sexual ethic. This is strange since it was the Puritans and Reformers who delighted in sexual love between husband and wife. The Romanist Thomas More accused the Reformers of drinking and "lechering." What does Tillich mean by this claim? According to his wife's biography of him, and his son's own memory,
And I am saying that at the beginning they agreed sexual involvement with others was permitted and that this arrangement got out of hand. He wouldn't stop and she didn't like it anymore, perhaps after the trauma of emigration and adjusting to a new world and a new child" (p. 14)
This quote is one of the rather tame ones and I won't cite more for propriety reasons. It gets a lot worse, including Tillich's frequenting of brothels. How can Tillich justify this? Simple. It goes back to his "ground-of-being" theology. Salvation is finding actuality in "the New Being." Tillich, thus, would seek sexual experience in other women, even prostitutes, but rationalized this by saying he wasn't seeking "actuality" in these encounters.
Unfortunately, even by Tillich's own ethical theory, I think he fails. We must bring up the uncomfortable likelihood that he risked (if not openly caught) venereal diseases from these encounters. This would have a destructive side-effect on his existence. Would this not, accordingly, be a slide into non-being and dissolution? Indeed it would, and so by his own existential standards he is condemned.
I think this explains his anger at the Calvinist sexual ethic. The Reformers and Puritans saw joy in married sex--something Tillich rejected in his own life--and denied sexual encounters with strange women, something Tillich openly sought.
Conclusion
Is this book worth getting? It's hard to say. The philosophical analyses were superb, but knowing Tillich's own background I'm uneasy recommending it. I bought my copy at a garage sale for about ten cents (and the previous owner bought it from a public library book sale for about the same price. No profit or royalties were made by anybody). I wouldn't spend more than that on it.
(less)
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Jeremy Poland I very much appreciate your analysis of the book; and I've heard that Tillich's 'extracurricular activities were certainly less than commendable. But does that necessarily detract from the experience of reading the book? Should we skip over the Psalms ascribed to, and readings of, King David because he too may have been a sex-addict, who also had bloody hands? (less)
Sep 22, 2014 03:06PM · flag
Jacob Aitken I am not knocking the book. This book is the best popular treatment of neoplatonism available.
Here is the difference between Tillich and David: David repented of his actions. Tillich couldn't wait to get to the red light district in any new town he visited (according to his wife's bio of him). (less)
Sep 22, 2014 04:01PM · flag
Sep 28, 2014Bruno Romano rated it really liked it
Shelves: history-of-christ-s-church, melanchthon-project
What is best in Tillich’s history is that it’s interpretative history. It is pure intellectual, no facts or events. He shows ideas and gives his judgment on them, in a very personal way. Since he was a great and original thinker, this accounts for the biggest value of the book.
If you approach it from a secular history background of dry and hollow books , this is a great discovery. Maybe this materialistic people have no “struggle with their ultimate concern in life”, therefore they can’t engage history in an existential way. I think I understood better what that means after finishing this book.
Not all parts of it are good. All description of Reformation except from Luther seems out of touch with recent scholarship. The last 100 pages on existentialism are hard to follow, unless you’re used with this type of language. Strong points are really strong, though. They seem to be Platonism, neo-platonism (as religion), Augustine, medieval realism and nominalism, Luther, romanticism and mysticism. This parts are really worth a read, and you can jump through them on the book (I didn’t and I regret the time lost in it)
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Sep 07, 2009Dnelson rated it it was amazing
Accessible and honest where opinions are Tillich's own, History of Christian Thought is an excellent primer for those wanting a panorama of essential Christian trends from ancient times to "contemporary" existential concerns and theological trends(keeping in mind this was written in 1968!) Some of the more radical implications of Luther's thought and Tillich's fascinatingly fair treatment of Nietzche were just a couple insightful surprises. Highly recommended even today.
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Jan 09, 2016Donald Brooks rated it really liked it
A very fair appraisal of Christian history. Though he is definitely Protestant (and a liberal one at any), he has great esteem for the truth, for God as our ultimate concern, and for a faithfulness to Christian history and its present and future. Tillich also properly connects theology to its philosophical, historical, and social roots. He is certainly a resource for Christian thought for all who are curious about their heritage.
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Dec 20, 2008Sandra rated it it was amazing
Made me realize that the canon is a political, very human compromise -- which enabled me to accept the hypocrisy of the church while following my own path more easily
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Sep 30, 2008Arwa rated it really liked it
not very extensive but gives a fairly overall view of the subject,also the author is not very objective on some points...but it is useful in general
