Anders Nygren's Agape and Eros is a classical work in the history of Christian ideas of love. It has inspired the academic debate on the relationship between Agape and Eros, while the former is a core concept in Christian theology and ethics, the latter represents the ancient Greek humanistic ethos. Nygren points out that agape and eros encounter and mingle with each other at the theoretical level. However, he suggests that in the Christian idea of love and theology, the erotic ingredient, which invades in and weakens the pure original meaning of agape, should be eliminated. In achieving this, he attempts to deny the role of eros, which manifests the existential characteristics of human being, in the Christian ethical life. Thus Nygren not only makes agape and eros distinctive in their respective meanings, but also separates them in human existential situation. / In the history of Christian theology, we can find "Tradition of Separating" which tends to separate agape from eros like Nygren does. Meanwhile, there is "Tradition of Uniting" claiming to unite the two kinds of love and Tillich's idea of love is a typical example. Therefore, an investigation of Tillich's idea of love, especially its elaboration on the agape-eros relationship, is helpful and constructive not merely to a deeper understanding of Tillich's systematic theology, but also a comprehensive and balanced understanding of the two trends mentioned above in the history of Christian theology. / In this thesis, we examine Tillich's idea of love within the context of history of ideas and trace its historical roots, so that the tradition of uniting agape-eros in the history of ideas, mainly in that of Christian theology can be demonstrated. On the one hand, we try to retrieve the Courtly Love tradition in Medieval-Renaissance ages and Marcilio Ficino's Neo-Platonist understanding of eros in Renaissance as the historical sources to the particular meaning of Tillich's eros. On the other hand, our discussion makes particular reference to Gregory of Nyssa and John of the Cross, two representatives of the Christian spiritual theologians, whose spiritual writings on love will be considered as the historical roots of Tillich's agape-eros union within the Christian tradition. At last, the present study attempts to show that the modern application of Tillich's uniting agape with eros in Christian theology and ethics, along with related secular philosophy, revitalize this "Tradition of Uniting". / Paul Tillich handles the relationship of agape-eros in his systematic theology in a way radically different from the Nygrenian way. In dealing with the relationship between agape and eros, Tillich proposes a "quadric interactive structure of love" in which the four qualities of love namely libido, eros, philia and agape united and synergized in one love. In this structure, agape uplifts eros (including libido, eros and philia qualities) as divine-human power from the ambiguities of life into the unambiguous transcendent unity of life; while eros substantiates the abstract agape by clothing it in substantial appearance common to human existential feature. / 王濤. / 呈交日期: 2006年5月. / 論文(哲學博士)--香港中文大學, 2006. / 參考文獻(p. 282-301). / Cheng jiao ri qi: 2006 nian 5 yue. / Adviser: Lai Pan Chiu. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-11, Section: A, page: 4225. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / School code: 1307. / Lun wen (zhe xue bo shi)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue, 2006. / Can kao wen xian (p. 282-301). / Wang Tao.

Thomas Merton (1915-1968), the American Cistercian, wrote numerous books and essays on spirituality, including both Christian and Eastern forms of mysticism, and such social concerns as racial injustice, the war in Vietnam, and the depersonalizing tendencies within a technical society. From his position of contemplative withdrawal he spoke a prophetic word to the world in which he lived, recognizing that his monastic, and eventually his eremitic life, was not so much a withdrawal from the world as it was his own place in the world. He provides, therefore, a living example of the close interrelationship between contemplation and action. Morton understood withdrawal to be movement away from the superficial and false attitudes one has of the world and of one's own self, Withdrawal is, for him, a movement away from the sharp distinction between subject and object, and a movement toward the understanding that God is the ground of all being and that all contingent beings, rooted in Him, are united. Withdrawal is the necessary prelude to effective social action, since withdrawal opens one to the truth of man's solidarity in God, who is ultimate Reality, and therefore provides the true basis for moral action. For Morton, moral theology is dependent upon ascetical theology. The closer one is to God, the closer one is to all of God's creation. Paul Tillich, too, saw the necessity for withdrawal, for an immediate apprehension of God, and for social action. Hence, it is not surprising that Tillich and Merton have numerous points of affinity. In fact, Tillich's theology can be interpreted as a theoretical statement of Merton's experience. Tillich's use of ontological language, especially his distinction between essence and existence, provides a methodical approach to the theology behind Merton's mysticism and social ethic. The purpose for withdrawal is to allow essence to become known under the conditions of existence, and one essence is know - how ever fragmentarily - it enriches existence for all, not only for the one who has experienced essentialization. Hence, even the mysticism of a hermit has an indirect effect on the entire world, and, in the case of Marton himself, a direct and explicit effect. Tillich, therefore, helps to explain Merton, and Merton's life-long attempt to balance the poles of individuality and participation provides an experiential example of Tillich's system.

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"The Concept of 'the Human' in the Work of Hermann Hesse and Paul Tillich" is an interdisciplinary study in theology and literature. Three chapters each on Hesse and Tillich discuss the life work, and critical significance of both men. The seventh chapter compares their similarities and their contrasting views. In his work Hermann Hesse singles out the artist as the best example of true personhood and believes that individuals become fully human by being aesthetes, possessing ironic humor, learning to love unconditionally, expressing themselves while at play, transcending themselves through magical thinking, i.e., bringing into harmony the polarities of life, and finally, by assuming ethical responsibility for life to the point of sacrificial service. In the work of Paul Tillich existential man experiences estrangement, but essential man possesses a vision of wholeness and therefore of potentiality. However, maturity is to be found in becoming reconciled. Jesus as the Christ is the New Being who reunites man with God, Sanctification describes what it means to be fully human, and participation in a theonomous culture requires that one help make human life more human for others. The final chapter compares the life and work of Hesse and Tillich and concludes; both men have a tripartite view of human nature, they recognize the ambiguities of life as well as the demonic element in man, perfection is beyond an individual's grasp hut fulfillment is not, and both men are humanists who oppose dehumanization. They differ in that Tillich is more interested in ontology than in psychology, Hesse stresses self-realisation, whereas Tillich: stresses becoming whole by way of reunion with Being-itself. Hesse appreciates the aesthetic and ethical stages of life but lacks Tillich's emphasis on the depth dimension. Hesse's answer to the human situation is autonomous rather than theonomous as advocated by Tillich. The implications of both Hesse's and Tillich's thought include the following: becoming fully; human is a lifelong process; man is most human when he reflects his best self or the image of God; being human must address itself to the perennial problems of man (sin, suffering, and death); anthropology rather than dogmatic theology is the arena in which the theological enterprise should take placer and finally. the contemporary church needs to be aware of the necessity for both personal religious experience and social action.

Le but de cette thèse consiste à montrer l'évolution du problème du Jésus historique dans l'œuvre de Paul Tillich. Dans cet objectif, sept de ses textes, échelonnés sur plus de cinquante ans, sont étudiés dans leur ordre chronologique. Le document fondamental intitulé « La certitude chrétienne et le Jésus historique» date de 1911 et son analyse constitue la première partie de cette recherche. Les autres textes analysés, dans la seconde partie, sont la Dogmatique (1925), « La signification du Jésus historique pour la foi chrétienne» (1938), la Théologie systématique (1957), la Dynamique de la foi (1957), « Le Jésus historique et le Christ de la foi» (1961), Dialogues avec des étudiants (1963) et en dernier, la« Réplique» de Tillich à D. Moody Smith (1966). L'essentiel de la conception tillichienne sur le Jésus historique se trouve déjà dans le document de 1911. Pour Tillich, l'objet propre de la foi est l'image biblique du Christ, à travers laquelle le croyant expérimente la puissance divine.

The subject of faith has long been a subject of study for both theologians, whose prime concern has usually been with the nature and object of a particular faith, and philosophers of religion who have been more concerned with the relationship between faith and reason. This thesis differs from both such approaches in that its primary aim is to examine the psychological structure, functions and experience of the general phenomenon of human faith; that need to trust, be loyal to and centre one's life in something outside of oneself, It should not be identified with any one school of psychological theory; rather, its intention is to use a psychological description of faith to enhance the theological understanding of faith. Its methodology is to examine the psychology that underlies three particular theologians' understandings of faith: Paul Tillich, H, Richard Niebuhr and Wilfred Cantwell Smith. In addition to examining the psychology of faith, a second aim is to examine what the present author sees as a practical implication of such a psychological understanding of faith as expounded by W. C. Smith in his proposal for the construction of a universal theology. Chapter One is a general introduction to the thesis, a definition of terms and a brief examination of the place a psychology of faith has in the wider field of the psychology of religion. Chapters Two, Three and Four follow a similar format: each is a separate examination of the psychology that underlies Tillich's, Niebuhr's and Smith's understandings of faith respectively. In the case of Tillich and Niebuhr a differentiation is made between an objective psychological understanding of faith which concerns the functions and structure of faith and a subjective understanding which concerns the experience of faith. Chapter Five is in the form of a conclusion and proposes a uniform understanding of the psychology of faith based on the previous three authors. It also examines the main discrepancy between the authors' understandings of faith in their descriptions of the final object and source of faith. Following Chapter Five is a Postscript which examines W. C. Smith's proposal for the construction of a universal theology which the present author sees as a practical application of understanding faith psychologically.

La question de la communication du langage religieux est devenue urgente, car il ne communique plus aux hommes et aux femmes d'aujourd'hui la profondeur religieuse initiale. Cette question concerne les rapports de la religion et de la culture. Tillich nous invite à retrouver la profondeur véritablement symbolique du langage religieux. Par une étude précise de quelques termes religieux fondamentaux, nous indiquons comment la méthode de corrélation de Tillich est au service d'un projet apologétique. La théologie de la culture n'est pas sans rapport avec la théologie d'Église. Dans sa période allemande (socialiste) comme dans sa période américaine (existentialiste), Tillich cherche à rendre possible le dialogue entre les personnes sécularisées et les croyants. Cette entreprise permet pour aujourd'hui d'entrevoir concrètement un dialogue fructueux entre ces deux publics.

La publication, en 2001, du texte très élaboré du premier cours de Paul Tillich sur la philosophie de la religion (Berlin, 1920) a permis de jeter un regard neuf sur la pensée religieuse du Tillich allemand. Le but de la présente thèse était d'explorer l'originalité de ce nouveau document par rapport aux textes publiés sur le même sujet dans les années qui suivirent. De par sa date, ce texte représente la genèse de la philosophie de la religion tillichienne. Il est également de loin le texte le plus élaboré que nous ayons en la matière. Son étude a donc permis d'explorer plusieurs thèmes clé et de clarifier la pensée de Tillich à l'époque d'une manière que les textes connus précédemment ne permettaient pas. Par ailleurs, l'analyse du cours a permis de confirmer la continuité étonnante de la pensée religieuse de Tillich. Le nouveau document contient deux points forts sur lesquels mon travail d'analyse s'est naturellement porté. D'une part, il y a la présentation détaillée, tant conceptuelle qu'historique, de la méthode critique-intuitive développée par Tillich pour saisir la nature de la fonction religieuse. D'autre part, le texte permet de découvrir l'importance insoupçonnée et la nature de l'influence de Kant sur la pensée du premier Tillich. Tillich présente son approche comme une nécessité issue de la perte de l'innocence originelle propre à la religiosité immédiate avec l'avènement de la modernité, situation qui amena à l'impasse des solutions métaphysiques où Dieu est conçu comme un Être objectivé. Pour Tillich, l'approche critique de Kant, orientée vers une analyse de notre conscience, permit un renouveau historique sous forme de philosophie de la religion. Néanmoins, la réflexion rationnelle à elle seule ne peut permettre de retrouver une religiosité authentique. Il est nécessaire d'y joindre une approche intuitive par laquelle la nature inconditionnée de l'être est donnée de manière immédiate. L'analyse du texte de 1920 m'a permis de montrer de manière inédite comment, aux yeux de Tillich, l'élément intuitif comme l'élément critique trouvent leur origine en Kant, même si ce dernier n'est pas parvenu à saisir la nature paradoxale de la relation entre ces deux composantes.

La recherche effectuée pour cette thèse a pour but d’établir que c’est en développant, dans la Dogmatique de 1925, une interprétation christologique de l’histoire, interprétation dont l’objectif était de résoudre théologiquement, mais autrement que Barth, le problème posé par Troeltsch à partir de la critique, par l’histoire des religions, de la prétention du christia-nisme à l’absoluité, que Tillich a posé les fondements de sa réflexion future sur la rencontre du christianisme avec les religions. Dès lors, la réflexion élaborée dans les années soixante, loin de représenter un tournant dans la pensée de Tillich, comme on l’a trop souvent laissé entendre, suite aux déclarations de Mircea Eliade, en constitue plutôt l’un des fruits les plus mûrs, susceptible d’apporter une contribution à la fois originale et non encore entrevue, à la recherche contemporaine en théologie des religions