ABSTRACT
Paul Tillich conducted a two-semester joint seminar with Mircea Eliade on the history of religions and systematic theology during 1964 and 1965. This provided an opportunity for Tillich to emphasise the importance of the other religions for Christian theologians and for the world in general. This chapter notes the significance of Tillich's relationship with the Jewish community and identifies the importance of Friedrich Schelling, whose work on the history of religions was the subject of Tillich's doctoral thesis. One must subject all religions, including Christianity, to the ultimate criterion of love which unconditionally affirms, judges, and receives the other person. The chapter shows how the importance of this experience is reflected in his Bampton Lectures, which were published in 1963 as Christianity and the Encounter of the World Religions. Tillich's attitudes are open and receptive. This spirit takes him beyond the position of Karl Rahner.
