Paul Tillich on sin and grace.

Doing some research on the topic of confession for an upcoming paper I came across the following from Paul Tillich (A Christian theologian):

Have the men of our time still a feeling of the meaning of sin? Do they, and do we, still realize that sin does not mean an immoral act, that "sin" should never be used in the plural, and that not our sins, but rather our sin is the great, all-pervading problem of our life? Do we still know that it is arrogant and erroneous to divide men by calling some "sinners" and others "righteous"? For by way of such a division, we can usually discover that we ourselves do not quite belong to the "sinners", since we have avoided heavy sins, have made some progress in the control of this or that sin, and have been even humble enough not to call ourselves "righteous". Are we still able to realize that this kind of thinking and feeling about sin is far removed from what the great religious tradition, both within and outside the Bible, has meant when it speaks of sin?

I should like to suggest another word to you, not as a substitute for the word "sin", but as a useful clue in the interpretation of the word "sin", "separation" . Separation is an aspect of the experience of everyone. Perhaps the word "sin" has the same root as the word "asunder". In any case, sin is separation. To be in the state of sin is to be in the state of separation. And separation is threefold: there is separation among individual lives, separation of a man from himself, and separation of all men from the Ground of Being. This three-fold separation constitutes the state of everything that exists; it is a universal fact; it is the fate of every life. And it is our human fate in a very special sense. For we as men know that we are separated. We not only suffer with all other creatures because of the self-destructive consequences of our separation, but also know why we suffer. We know that we are estranged from something to which we really belong, and with which we should be united. We know that the fate of separation is not merely a natural event like a flash of sudden lightning, but that it is an experience in which we actively participate, in which our whole personality is involved, and that, as fate, it is also guilt. Separation which is fate and guilt constitutes the meaning of the word "sin". It is this which is the state of our entire existence, from its very beginning to its very end. Such separation is prepared in the mother's womb, and before that time, in every preceding generation. It is manifest in the special actions of our conscious life. It reaches beyond our graves into all the succeeding generations. It is our existence itself. Existence is separation! Before sin is an act, it is a state.

We can say the same things about grace. For sin and grace are bound to each other. We do not even have a knowledge of sin unless we have already experienced the unity of life, which is grace. And conversely, we could not grasp the meaning of grace without having experienced the separation of life, which is sin. Grace is just as difficult to describe as sin. For some people, grace is the willingness of a divine king and father to forgive over and again the foolishness and weakness of his subjects and children. We must reject such a concept of grace; for it is a merely childish destruction of a human dignity. For others, grace is a magic power in the dark places of the soul, but a power without any significance for practical life, a quickly vanishing and useless idea. For others, grace is the benevolence that we may find beside the cruelty and destructiveness in life. But then, it does not matter whether we say "life goes on", or whether we say "there is grace in life"; if grace means no more than this, the word should, and will, disappear. For other people, grace indicates the gifts that one has received from nature or society, and the power to do good things with the help of those gifts. But grace is more than gifts. In grace something is overcome; grace occurs in spite of something; grace occurs in spite of separation and estrangement. Grace is the reunion of life with life, the reconciliation of the self with itself. Grace is the acceptance of that which is rejected. Grace transforms fate into a meaningful destiny; it changes guilt into confidence and courage. There is something triumphant in the word grace : in spite of the abounding of sin grace abounds much more.

And now let us look down into ourselves to discover there the struggle between separation and reunion, between sin and grace, in our relation to others, in our relation to ourselves, and in our relation to the Ground and aim of our being. If our souls respond to the description that I intend to give, words like "sin" and "separation", "grace" and "reunion", may have a new meaning for us. But the words themselves are not important. It is the response of the deepest levels of our being that is important. If such a response were to occur among us this moment, we could say that we have known grace.

(emphasis mine)

source: www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=378&C=84

May or may not be useful, but did you read my recent post on confession? alittledeathblog.com/2013/04/21/a-contrite-and-humbled-heart/

That's an interesting excerpt you quoted.

Interesting! The only thing missing from this is love and compassion. Now there is grace.

Fascinating excerpt. As I read this, out of seemingly nowhere, I had a strong flash of an emotional reaction while reading the highlighted words on grace. The best way I can describe this feeling is that it was a sense of recognition, a sense coming home at a very deep level.

Seems that Paul Tillich has suddenly appeared on my reading list.

Eran, I'm curious. What are you studying?

This is for a class on western mystical traditions. We've looked at Kabbalah, Christian mysticism and Sufism. I'm pursuing a master's in East-West psychology at CIIS. The department looks at Eastern, Western, native and eco psychologies and how they interrelate.

BTW, Andy, did you notice the last paragraph? Especially the last sentence, I think, speaks a little to your experience while reading this passage.

Tillich's writing is fascinating. When I read him, I expected an aha moment which never came. Maybe because he is so logical. Maybe because it didn't sink in enough with me. Still think he is awesome.

Eran wrote: BTW, Andy, did you notice the last paragraph? Especially the last sentence, I think, speaks a little to your experience while reading this passage.

I did read the last paragraph, but it held little impact for me after the powerful recogition after reading the following:
"In grace something is overcome; grace occurs in spite of something; grace occurs in spite of separation and estrangement. Grace is the reunion of life with life, the reconciliation of the self with itself. Grace is the acceptance of that which is rejected."

The recognition, acceptance, and realignment (and I struggle with this word, but it will have to do for now) was deep, immediate, consuming. Tears started to come to my eyes a bit, and I read, re-read, and re-experienced those sentences several times.

This experience has settled for a day, now, and I reread the last paragraph:
"And now let us look down into ourselves to discover there the struggle between separation and reunion, between sin and grace, in our relation to others, in our relation to ourselves, and in our relation to the Ground and aim of our being. If our souls respond to the description that I intend to give, words like "sin" and "separation", "grace" and "reunion", may have a new meaning for us. But the words themselves are not important. It is the response of the deepest levels of our being that is important. If such a response were to occur among us this moment, we could say that we have known grace."

Today's reading of it feels much more intimate and meaningful. It seems that I've experienced a bit of that grace, apparently. I continue to experience some bliss and gratitude today, similar to what happens after a path moment or an exceptionally powerful fruition (although neither or those seemingly happened at the moment of reading yesterday).

Your post had the right words at the right time and the right place. Thank you.

I love it when I run into words like that, that seem like they strike so deep.