Eternal NowPart of a three volume collection of chapel addresses ("The New Being" and "The Shaking of the Foundations" are the companion volumes), this book is an unorganized introduction to Tillich's thought. Each sermon is self-contained; however, the collection has been organized into three sections.
The first, The Human Predicament, spoke strongly to me, perhaps because I identify so strongly with the sixties. Tillich's themes, loneliness, being forgotten, evil, being, ministry and eternity, are shared with a depth and insight rarely captured in sermon form. For example, he writes, "they never find the courage to make a total judgment against themselves, and therefore, they can never find the courage to believe in a total acceptance of themselves." In this section, Tillich reveals that he is thoroughly Christian, and thoroughly human.
I found the second section, The Divine Reality, less meaningful. Perhaps his themes were too familiar to me, but his comments on spiritual presence, the divine name, God's pursuit of man, salvation and eternity did not grab me with the same intensity as section one.
The last section is The Challenge to Man, in which Tillich deals with nonconformity, strength, maturity, wisdom and thanksgiving, is a return to what he does best - apply Christianity to the human condition. It is filled with practical, sermon-level applications of his ontological theology. "Be what you are - that is the only thing one can ask of any being."
I was quite impressed by Tillich the preacher. His grasp of both grace and humanity is exceptional. --Reviewer: Peter A. Kindle from Houston, Texas
