Paul Tillich

Paul Tillich was born in the small village of Starosiedle, Germany (in present-day Poland) in 1886 to a Lutheran minister and his wife. After receiving a Doctor of Philosophy degree at University of Breslau, Tillich was also ordained a Lutheran minister. After WWI, Tillich began his academic career, teaching theology at the University of Berlin, the University of Marburg, and several other universities. Tillich’s writings and lectures put him into conflict with the Nazi movement, and in 1933 he moved to America, where he taught at Union Theological Seminary and then Harvard Divinity School. Today, Tillich is considered one of the most influential Christian philosophers of the 20th century and is best known for his books Dynamics of Faith and The Courage to Be.