The Irrelevance and Relevance of the Christian Message

by Paul Tillich

'The Irrelevance and Relevance of the Christian Message' is a transcript of Paul Tillich's 1963 Earl Lectures at the Graduate Theological Union. Delivered just two years before his death, these lectures present Tillich's heartfelt and deeply personal understanding of the relevance of Christian preaching and Christian theology. Why, Tillich asks, has the Christian message become seemingly irrelevant to contemporary society? Is the gospel able to give answers to the questions raised by the existentialist analysis of the human predicament? Yes, he answers -- but in order to do so Christian teaching and preaching need to undergo dramatic renewal, the root of which requires an affirmation of love as central to Christian identity. Further, we need to recognize that this task is not limited to preachers and theologians; all of us together are responsible for the irrelevance or the relevance of the gospel in our time.

Genres: Theology, Religion, Philosophy

104 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Paul Tillich was a German-American theologian and Christian existentialist philosopher. Tillich was – along with his contemporaries Rudolf Bultmann (Germany), Karl Barth (Switzerland), and Reinhold Niebuhr (United States) – one of the four most influential Protestant theologians of the 20th century. Among the general populace, he is best known for his works The Courage to Be (1952) and Dynamics of Faith (1957), which introduced issues of theology and modern culture to a general readership. Theologically, he is best known for his major three-volume work Systematic Theology (1951–63), in which he developed his "method of correlation": an approach of exploring the symbols of Christian revelation as answers to the problems of human existence raised by contemporary existential philosophical analysis.

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Tillich's best and a probably the most concise statement of his contributions to Christian theology and his wishes for the religion in general. A series of lectures given to pastors and other interested laypeople, this is the one to read to understand why Tillich's project is still as relevant as the Christian message, if it can be properly updated for a post Christian society.

[Mauberley]

Very helpful introduction to Tillich and his work. I deeply admire Tillich's willingness to engage with contemporary culture. Wonderful work.