Definition

1. Proper noun:
   • A 20th-century theologian and philosopher: Paul Johannes Tillich was a German-American Christian existentialist philosopher and Lutheran Protestant theologian. He is widely considered one of the most influential theologians of the twentieth century.

Examples of Usage

• Proper noun:
  • The theology of Paul Johannes Tillich explores the relationship between faith and modern culture.
  • In his book "The Courage to Be," Paul Johannes Tillich examines anxiety and the concept of God.

Advanced Usage

• "Tillichian" (adj): Relating to or characteristic of the theological ideas of Paul Tillich.
  • The professor offered a Tillichian interpretation of the symbol.
• "Theology of correlation": A central method in Tillich's work, which correlates existential human questions with theological answers.
  • Paul Johannes Tillich is famous for developing his "theology of correlation."

Variants and Related Words

• Tillich: A common shortened reference to Paul Johannes Tillich.
  • Tillich's influence on modern theology is profound.

Synonyms

• Theologian: A person who engages in the study of the nature of God and religious belief.
• Philosopher: A person engaged in the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence.

Related Phrases

• "Ground of Being": A key phrase in Tillich's theology describing God not as being, but as the fundamental basis of all existence.
  • For Paul Johannes Tillich, God is the "Ground of Being."
• "Ultimate Concern": A Tillichian term for that which demands the total surrender of a person and promises total fulfillment.
  • Tillich defined faith as the state of being grasped by an "Ultimate Concern."

Noun

1. United States theologian (born in Germany) (1886-1965)