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God As Symbolic Ultimate By Paul Tillich Summary

504 Words3 Pages

Khandakar Wahiduzzaman
Professor Long
Rel 111
May 15, 2023
God as Symbolic Ultimate
“God is a Symbol for God” is a statement ascribed by the theologian Paul Tillich. Here Tillich outlines his thoughts on religious language and symbolism. Tillich argues that the traditional religion presents God as a being among beings; however, he believes that God goes beyond all restricted and limited categories, and those cannot be grasped or identified by humans. According to Tillich, we are using a symbol that points more than itself to something absolute and utmost when we use the term “God.” The symbol of God cannot represent the true nature or divine reality because the symbol of God can never fully capture it, but it can point us to the meaning of the ultimate depth of reality. Since God is genuinely ultimate according to Tillich, the symbol “God” represents an …show more content…

During the time flower started blooming, it gets strength from the ground, which is the strength of God – Tillich says that the power to be ground of being is being (flower) itself; when we get pushed from the background and step ahead then we no longer belong to the background because we already have bloomed. However, Tillich points out that life always comes from a tragedy, and it always comes from nothing or a non-existing thing; also, it takes courage to being from nonbeing. Tillich's understanding of religious symbols emphasizes the transformative power of religious language and symbolism while acknowledging their implicit limitations in describing the heavenly. However, Tillich sees symbols as an intermediary that invite each soul to participate in the eventual

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