Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Master's Theses Theses and Dissertations 1991 An Analysis of Revelation in the Thought of Paul Tillich and Wolfhart Pannenberg Theodore Kepes Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses Part of the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Kepes, Theodore, "An Analysis of Revelation in the Thought of Paul Tillich and Wolfhart Pannenberg" (1991). Master's Theses. 3878. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/3878 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 1991 Theodore Kepes AN ANALYSIS OF REVELATION IN THE THOUGHT OF PAUL TILLICH AND WOLFHARTPANNENBERG by Theodore Kepes, Junior A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Loyola University . of Chicago in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts January 1991 ACKNOWLEOOMENfS I am grateful to Dr. Gerald McCulloh for his great effort in helping me to understand the thought of Paul Tillich and Wolfhart Pannenberg. He has continually provided me with invaluable insight and many helpful suggestions. This thesis would not have been possible without his critical thought, expertise, and patience. I am also indebted to Dr. John McCarthy who, apart from giving many helpful suggestions and comments, has continually acted as my conscience and taken care of the many details that are involved in completing the requirements for the degree Master of the Arts. I would also like to thank Dr. William French for his effort in reading the many drafts of the thesis as well as providing me with excellent comments and suggestions. Finally I would like to thank the entire faculty of the theology department at Loyola University of Chicago for their teaching, guidance, and much needed support. ii VITA The author, Theodore Kepes, Junior, is the son of Theodore Kepes and Prudence (Iannotti) Varro. He was born May 15, 1966, in Chicago, Illinois. His elementary education was obtained in the public school system of district 62 in Des Plaines, Illinois. His secondary education was completed in 1984 at Main Township High School West, Des Plaines, Illinois. In August, 1984, Mr. Kepes entered Lewis University, Romeoville, Illinois, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Science in aviation maintenance/management, religious studies, and philosophy. In August, 1988, Mr. Kepes entered Loyola University of Chicago. In 1989 he was granted a full scholarship and assistantship in theology, enabling him to complete the Master of the Arts in 1991. iii TABLE OF CONIENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..................................................................................................... ii VITA .............................................................................................................................. iii Chapter I. REVELATION ... ...... ..... ..... ...................................... ............................... 1 Typological Survey ................................................................ 4 Historical Survey ................................................................... 10 Prominent Twentieth Century Approaches ........... ... .. ... .. 13 H. Richard Niebuhr ... .. .. .. .. ....... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 13 John Macquarrie .. .. .. .. .. ..... .. .. ........ ...... .. .. 19 Gordon D. Kaufman .................................................... 23 Michael L. Cook ........................................................... 26 II. REVELATION AS ULTIMATE CONCERN IN THE THOUGHT OF PAUL TILLICH ............................................................... 33 Ultimate Concern and Reason ............... .. ........................ .... 3 6 Ultimate Concern and Being ................... .. .. ......................... 41 Ultimate Concern and Existence .. .. ............. .. ................ .. .. 45 Ultimate Concern and Life .. .. .. .. ... .. ............. ... ............ .. ... ... 49 Ultimate Concern and History . .. .. ........ .. ... .. ....... .. .. 51 III. REVELATION AS UNIVERSAL HISTORY IN THE THOUGHT OF WOLFHART PANNENBERG ........................................... 58 Revelation as Scripture and Eschatology ......................... 59 Revelation as Doctrine and Eschatology ........................... 61 Revelation as Consummative Reality and Eschatology ............................................................................ 65 Universal History and Truth ................................... 65 Universal History and Hermeneutic .................... 68 Universal History and Faith and Reason .............. 71 Universal History and God ....................................... 73 Universal History and Religion ............................. 75 Universal History and Secular Culture ................. 77 IV. REVELATION AS UNIVERSAL ULTIMATE CONCERN IN HISTORY ......................................................................................... 81 iv Essential Elements in the Experience of the Reality of Revelation .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 8 2 What? .......................................................................... 83 When? ......................................................................... 87 Where? ...................................................................... 90 Who? .......................................................................... 95 How? .......................................................................... 96 Why? ......................................................................... 100 Concluding Thoughts ..................... ........................ 102 . .~ v CHAPTER I REVELATION It is precisely the focus upon the experience of the divine, the transcendent, the holy, the numinous, which distinguishes theology from all other disciplines of thought. Whether a theologian is concerned with the role of the transcendent in aspects of human knowing, the historical critical and literary analysis of Scripture, or the ramifications of humanity's ethical choices upon the integrity of the environment, there must be some reference to the divine or else it would not qualify as theo- logy. I will use the term "revelation" bee a use it has traditionally been understood as the . communication or mediation of experiences of the divine. The word is derived ' from the Latin verb revel are, the past participle, revelatus m e an in g unveiled, uncovered, or revealed. Why is the unveiling of the divine an essential element of theology? First, the very comprehension of another's theological reflection depends upon one's ability to recognize those elements of thought which reveal aspects of the divine. These aspects of revelation are the primary cornerstones upon which the rest of theological thought can be built. The following statement will serve as an example: God is love; therefore we should care for our neighbor. Questions that directly relate to aspects of revelation 1 2 are primary, i.e. Why is God love? What is love? How are the two related? Questions that relate to the corresponding effects and implications are secondary, i.e. Why should we care for our neighbor? Who is our neighbor? In attempting to provide an answer to the question, Why should we care for our neighbor?, it is first necessary to understand why God is love and what we mean by love. Likewise, in attempting to understand theological thought, it is first necessary to grasp the underlying fundamental elements of revelation. Secondly, the act of constructing theological reflection, also demands that one be able to recognize the elements of revelation in experience. The identification of revelation in experience is essential if one hopes to construct critical, theological thought. Thus, this focus on revelation is essential in the development of one's ability to understand and analyze as well as to construct theological thought. In this thesis, I will provide an analysis of aspects of revelation in the thought of Paul Tillich and Wolfhart Pannenberg. There are two primary ' reasons why I have chosen to focus on these two theologians. First, their thought is still an active element within contemporary theological discussion. Thus, I hope my research will function as a helpful contribution to this discussion. Second, both focus on different aspects of revelation which I hope to demonstrate, if brought together, would provide a more complete understanding of the experience of revelation. I will attempt this analysis with the following two objectives in mind. First, I hope to provide an explication of the significant aspects of revelation in the thought of both Tillich and Pannenberg which will provide the necessary foundation from which a more authentic understanding of their thought can be achieved. Second, by focusing on aspects of revelation in the 3 thought of both Tillich and Pannenberg, I will attempt to construct a fuller, more adequate understanding of the experience of revelation. It will be helpful if I first provide a general analysis of revelation. I will begin by attempting a brief overview of various ways revelation has been understood by focusing on Avery Dulles' Models of Revelation. By starting with Dulles' broad survey of revelation, I hope to