Russell Re Manning

Tillich’s theology of art

It is widely acknowledged that Paul Tillichs engagement with the arts was the most sustained of any theologian of his generation. Indeed, more than that of any other theologian of the twentieth century, it is Tillichs theological encounter with art that has been the most profound, creative and influential (albeit often indirectly). Moreover, Tillichs reflections on the relationship between theology and art were crucial, indeed in many ways formative, for his wider project of a theology of culture, itself fundamental to his reformulation of theology as correlative to the concerns of his contemporaries. From our perspective, it is perhaps all too easy to overlook the dramatic - and profoundly unsettling - transformations that took place in the artistic spheres in Tillichs lifetime. Among other factors, new movements (e.g. impressionism, expressionism and modernism), new media (e.g. photography and film) and new estimations of the role of the artist (e.g. art for arts sake, readymades and popular art) all led to a need for a new theological engagement, one deeply rooted in the Christian tradition, inspired by the German Idealist tradition of art theory, and immersed within the new art of the avant garde . It is to Tillichs great credit that he took up this challenge and it is his great achievement that he gave to theologians and religious people a means of engaging with the new artistic situation of the twentieth century. Drawing on theological, philosophical and cultural analyses, Tillich gave his contemporaries a language with which they could enter into a genuine dialogue with the arts, both in terms of theological interpretation of art and of theological development through art.

Natural theology reconsidered (again)

ABSTRACT Neither the “traditional” nor the “revisionist” accounts of the nature and fate of natural theology are adequate to the task of explaining the peculiar trajectory of its history and, in particular, the consensus view of its apparent terminal decline. Contrary to the accepted narrative, natural theology was not fatally undermined by the scientific revolution. Even if temporarily marginalized by disciplines such as systematics and dogmatics, natural theology never went away. It is still with us, and it provides a healthy grasp of the divine presence in the natural world.

Returning to Tillich: theology and legacy in transition

Fifty years after his death in 1965 the essays in this collection return to Paul Tillich to investigate his theology and its legacy, with a focus on contemporary British scholarship. Originating in a conference held in Oxford in 2014, the book contains 16 original contributions from a mixture of junior and more established scholars, most of whom have a connection to Britain. The contributions are diverse, but four themes emerge throughout the volume. Several essays are concerning with a characterisation of Tillichs theology. In dialogue with recent emphases on the radical Tillich, some essays suggest a more conservative estimation of Tillichs theology, rooted in the Idealist and classical Christian platonic traditions, whilst in constant engagement with changing existential situations. Secondly, and perhaps reflecting the context of religious diversity and theories of religious pluralism in Britain, many essays engage Tillichs approach to non-Christian religions. Thirdly, some essays address the importance of existentialist philosophy for Tillich, notably via an engagement with Sartre. Finally, a number of essays take up the diagnostic potential of Tillichs theology as a resource for engaging contemporary challenges.

Radical apologetics: Paul Tillich and radical philosophical atheism

Paul Tillich is perhaps best known for his apologetic theology, in which he develops theological answers to existential questions. Tillich names this approach “correlation” and gives as a definition that the “method of correlation explains the contents of the Christian faith through existential questions and theological answers in mutual interdependence.”1 For many, this methodological stance represents the last great hurrah of liberal modern theology: reactive and thus dependant upon the secular philosophy that it seeks to reply to and that it is positioned by. It is precisely this sort of theological loss of nerve that John Milbank has in mind when proposing his radical alternative: The pathos of modern theology is its false humility. For theology, [sic.] this must be a fatal disease, because once theology surrenders its claim to be a meta-discourse, it cannot any longer articulate the word of the creator God, but is bound to turn into the oracular voice of some finite idol…If theology no longer seeks to position, qualify or criticize other discourses, then it is inevitably that these other discourses will position theology: for the necessity of an ultimate organizing logic cannot be wished away2