Page 137 - God's Church through the Ages - Student Textbook

Paul JohannesTillich 1886-1965 115

Paul Johannes Tillich was a German-American theologian and
Christian existentialist philosopher. Tillich, along with contemporary Karl Barth, is
considered by many as one of the most influential Liberal Protestant theologians of
the twentieth century.

He believed that Christianity needed reconstruction as a result of the changing
world, and he promoted faith in human experience. He promoted the view that
God was NOT an omnipotent, omniscient being, but rather God is an eternal
essence and a God above God. He taught that God is both personal and
transpersonal, that God is only manifested in the structure of beings.

Tillich created a theology by converting the Christian faith into a faith created by human culture. His writings
influenced the development of liberal Christian thought among major universities in the US in the 50’s and 60’s.
He taught at Harvard Divinity School from 1955 to 1962. He then moved to the University of Chicago and
remained professor of theology until his death in 1965 due to a heart attack.

Liberal Protestantism reached zenith in American in the 1970s and 80s largely due to his influence.

23.4 Let’s Practice…

1. According to Charles Fox Parham, how important was experiences in the life of a believer?

2. How did Albert Schweitzer further confuse believers in his day?

3. What did Rudolph Bultmann believe about the Bible?

4. Explain how God used Horace Allen to bring the Gospel to Korea:

5. In what ways did Karl Barth twist the Scriptures to a create false doctrine of salvation?

6. Paul Tillich was one of the premier leaders in the Neo-Orthodox movement. How did he reconstruct
Christianity?

115 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paul-Tillich
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