Faith consists in being vitally concerned with that ultimate reality to which I give the symbolical name of God. Whoever reflects earnestly on the meaning of life is on the verge of an act of faith.
Paul TillichRead
Man's ultimate concern must be expressed symbolically, because symbolic language alone is able to express the ultimate.
Interpretation
Symbolic language is essential for expressing deep and ultimate concerns of humanity.
In this quote, Paul Tillich suggests that the most profound aspects of human existence, such as ultimate concerns or existential questions, cannot be fully articulated in straightforward language. Instead, they require symbolic representations that can convey deeper meanings and emotions, as symbols resonate with human experiences and beliefs in a way that conventional words may not.
In practice
In a presentation about the importance of art in expressing complex emotions.
Faith consists in being vitally concerned with that ultimate reality to which I give the symbolical name of God. Whoever reflects earnestly on the meaning of life is on the verge of an act of faith.
Cruelty towards others is always also cruelty towards ourselves.
He who risks and fails can be forgiven. He who never risks and never fails is a failure in his whole being.
The courage to be is the courage to accept oneself, in spite of being unacceptable.
The citizens of a city are not guilty of the crimes committed in their city; but they are guilty as participants in the destiny of [humanity] as a whole and in the destiny of their city in particular; for their acts in which freedom was united with destiny have contributed to the destiny in which they participate. They are guilty, not of committing the crimes of which their group is accused, but of contributing to the destiny in which these crimes happened.
Wine is like the incarnation--it is both divine and human
We have contingency plans for war, but none for peace.
Go anywhere in England where there are natural wholesome, contented and really nice English people; and what do you find? That the stables are the real centre of the household.
The only matter that could take Egypt to war again is water.
We must judge of a form of government by it's general tendency, not by happy accidents
Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated.
The question I'm always asking myself is: are we masters or victims? Do we make history, or does history make us? Do we shape the world, or are we just shaped by it? The question of do we have agency in our lives or whether we are just passive victims of events is, I think, a great question, and one that I have always tried to ask.
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