COMPARATIVE REASONING

Paul Tillich (1886-1965) philosopher and theologian wrote:

“Language… has created the word “loneliness” to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word “solitude” to express the glory of being alone.

Doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is one element of faith.

Boredom is rage spread thin.

Neurosis is the way of avoiding non-being by avoiding being.

Faith is an act of a finite being who is grasped by, and turned to, the infinite.

Man’s ultimate concern must be expressed symbolically, because symbolic language alone is able to express the ultimate.”

Tillich writes and flies way over my head but I have always enjoyed his parabolic, or comparative, way of making difficult analogies of difficult subjects. This might send me back to the Pond.

“That is why I use these parables,
For they look, but they don’t really see.
They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.” Jesus