Systematic theology. Volume 3, Life and the Spirit ; History and the kingdom of God

Introduction -- Part 4. Life and the Spirit -- I. Life, its ambiguities, and the quest for unambiguous life. The multidimensional unity of life ; The self-actualization of life and its ambiguities ; The quest for unambiguous life and the symbols of its anticipation -- II. The spiritual presence. The manifestation of the spiritual presence in the spirit of man ; The manifestion of the spiritual presence in historical mankind -- III. The divine Spirit and the ambiguities of life. The spiritual presence and the ambiguities of religion ; The spiritual presence and the ambiguities of culture ; The spiritual presence and the ambiguities of morality ; The healing power of the spiritual presence and the ambiguities of life in general -- IV. The Trinitarian symbols. The motives of the Trinitarian symbolism ; The Trinitarian dogma ; Reopening the Trinitarian problem -- Part 5. History and the kingdom of God -- I. History and the quest for the kingdom of God. Life and history ; The ambiguities of life under the historical dimension ; Interpretations of history and the quest for the kingdom of God -- II. The kingdom of God within history. The dynamics of history and the new being ; The kingdom of God and the churches ; The kingdom of God and world history -- III. The kingdom of God as the end of history. The end of history or eternal life ; The individual person and his eternal destiny ; The kingdom of God : time and eternity. This is the first part of Paul Tillich's three-volume Systematic Theology, one of the most profound statements of the Christian message ever composed and the summation and definitive presentation of the theology of the most influential and creative American theologian of the twentieth century. In this path-breaking volume Tillich presents the basic method and statement of his system—his famous'correlation'of man's deepest questions with theological answers. Here the focus is on the concepts of being and reason. Tillich shows how the quest for revelation is integral to reason itself. In the same way a description of the inner tensions of being leads to the recognition that the quest for God is implied in finite being. Here also Tillich defines his thought in relation to philosophy and the Bible and sets forth his famous doctrine of God as the'Ground of Being.'Thus God is understood not as a being existing beside other beings, but as being-itself or the power of being in everything. God cannot be made into an object; religious knowledge is, therefore, necessarily symbolic. This is the 1st part of Paul Tillich's 3-volume Systematic Theology , one of the most profound statements of the Christian message ever composed & the summation & definitive presentation of the theology of the most influential & creative American theologian of the 20th century. This pathbreaking volume presents the basic method & statement of Tillich's systemhis famous "correlation" of man's deepest questions with theological answers. Here the focus is on the concepts of being & reason. Tillich shows how the quest for revelation is integral to reason itself. In the same way a description of the inner tensions of being leads to the recognition that the quest for God is implied in finite being. Here also Tillich defines his thought in relation to philosophy & the Bible & sets forth his famous doctrine of God as the "Ground of Being." Thus God is understood not as a being existing beside other beings, but as being-itself or the power of being in everything. God cannot be made into an object; religious knowledge is, therefore, necessarily symbolic. "In this volume, the third and last of his Systematic Theology, Paul Tillich sets forth his ideas of the meaning of human life, the doctrine of the Spirit and the church, the trinitarian symbols, the relation of history to the Kingdom of God, and the eschatological symbols. He handles this subject matter with powerful conceptual ability and intellectual grace. The problem of life is ambiguity. Every process of life has its contrast within itself, thus driving man to the quest for unambiguous life or life under the impact of the Spritual Presence. The Spritual Presence conquers the negativities of religion, culture, and morality, and the symbols anticipating Eternal Life present the answer to the problem of life"--www.amazon.com

In this volume, the second of his three-volume reinterpretation of Christian theology, Paul Tillich comes to grips with the central idea of his system—the doctrine of the Christ. Man's predicament is described as the state of "estrangement" from himself, from his world, and from the divine ground of his self and his world. This situation drives man to the quest for a new state of things, in which reconciliation and reunion conquer estrangement. This is the quest for the Christ.

Addresses the overall issue of meaning and meaningless from a mid-twentieth century perspective. Focuses on God as the "ground of being," Christology, and life in the spirit TODAY whoever uses terms like "existence," "existential," or "existentialism" is obliged to show the way in which he uses them and the reasons why.