Paul Tillich What Faith Is Essay

In his essay “What Faith Is”, philosophical theologian Paul Tillich discusses humans and their “ultimate concerns”. These concerns demand a person’s whole being and life, requiring total surrender in order to achieve total fulfillment. They are acts of personality, centered by the human mind, both conscious and unconscious. A true ultimate concern involves the self, whereas a false concern involves an object. Considering Tillich’s definition, I find that there are several values and lessons that my parents instilled in me over time that I would consider ultimate concerns. However, some have made a lasting impact in my life, whereas others I have forgotten. The most significant ultimate concern that my parents still impart unto my younger brother and me today is that family is important. Friends and significant others will come and go, but family will always be around. There are various other values from my upbringing that I deem ultimate concerns. For example, every child, at some point in their lives, is taught some …show more content…
While my life does not solely revolve around morality, it does play a significant role. There is bad in the world and doing the right thing, no matter how small, will fight that bad and hopefully aid in creating a world with more good than evil. I will continue to pursue this ideal and work towards spreading it. Paul Tillich states that an ultimate concern requires total surrender and is an act of personality. Both family and ethics are aspects of my childhood that have had the greatest impact on my life and become somewhat of ultimate concerns. I consider family to be one of them because in a way, I have surrendered part of my life, as Tillich would say, and dedicated it to them. My parents’ motto of doing the right thing could be recognized as an act of personality that involves my self and my conscious and unconscious