Dynamics of Faith by Paul Tillich

Read the full post at - Dynamics of Faith by Paul Tillich I picked up Dynamics of Faith at a used bookstore along with The Courage to Be — same author, same shelf, same trip. I treat them as a pair. If you want my full take on Tillich’s broader project, the Courage to Be review covers that ground. This one focuses on Dynamics of Faith specifically. Which is a slim, dense, surprisingly readable book with one very ambitious goal: to actually define faith in a unique useful way. What the Book Argues Tillich’s problem with the word “faith” is that it’s almost always used as a synonym for either belief or hope — and he thinks both are wrong, or at least imprecise. Belief is intellectual. Hope is forward-looking. Neither quite captures what faith actually is or does for a person. His replacement concept is what he calls ultimate concern — the meta-value that sits above all your other values and determines how you organize your life. It’s the thing you’re most fundamentally oriented toward,…