ABSTRACT
In his writings on symbolism Paul Tillich has endeavored to distinguish various ‘types’ or levels’ of religious symbols. There appear to be two basic distinctions he is anxious to make. One distinction is between two levels of religious symbols, a ‘transcendent level’ and an ‘immanent level.’ When Tillich’s discussion of primary religious symbols is carefully compared with his discussion of transcendent level and immanent level symbols, it becomes clear that the distinction between two levels of religious symbolism is a distinction within primary religious symbols. Tillich’s view that God himself is a symbol is quite difficult to understand. For he seems to hold that the religious idea of God is only partly symbolic. The divine beings and the Supreme Being, God, are representations of that which is ultimately referred to in the religious act. They are representations, for the unconditioned transcendent surpasses every possible conception of a being, including even the conception of a Supreme Being.
