Dynamics of Faith

“Tillich’s enormous success toward the end of his life did not surprise his colleagues and friends, for he was a mesmerizing master teacher and a charismatic preacher. It is remarkable, however, that his influence became deeper and wider in the last phases of his career, when the opposite might have been expected. His books were read by countless ministers, laypersons, and students across all denominations in American Protestantism, and his work engaged the attention of many who had little or no relationship with either the Christian churches or with organized religion. Tillich, moreover, was a deeply loyal man who remained faithful to his own calling. At an early age he was drawn to theology and philosophy, and cast aside earlier dreams of becoming an architect. He was a humanist in the fullest sense of the word: he was filled with a high personal sense of and destiny, upon being itself—was as powerful in his old age as it was in his youth. During his lifetime, Tillich attracted enthusiastic audiences and influenced their thinking. He has been dead for almost thirty-six years, and although he did not found a school, his work lives on in the academic, religious, and secular worlds. Marion Pauck Palo Alto, California May 2001”

Marion Pauck