Dr. John Vervaeke Ep. 50 - Awakening from the Meaning Crisis - Tillich and Barfield
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Apr 3, 2023 Exploring Tillich's beliefs on courage, faith, and idolatry as existential virtues. The significance of symbols in Christianity and their transformative power in connecting the existential self to the essential self. Barfield's influences and connections with Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, and Coolridge. The concept of the inexhaustible moreness of reality and self-transcendence in creativity. Delving into language, cognition, and meaning cultivation in response to the meaning crisis.
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Tillich on the Meaning Crisis
- Tillich views the meaning crisis as a serious issue and responds with his book, "The Courage to Be".
- He criticizes literalism and fundamentalism as forms of idolatry, hindering genuine "being."
Tillich's Concept of Faith
- Tillich's concept of faith, similar to the Hebrew "da'ath", involves participatory knowing within a being's journey.
- Idolatry arises when symbolic icons, meant for ultimate concern, become objects of possession.
Tillich's Concept of God
- God, for Tillich, is the ground of meaning-making, reality, and their relationship, not a being.
- Reifying God as a "thing" constitutes idolatry, making literalism and fundamentalism harmful.