EXISTENTIALISM, RELIGIOUS

God is a dimension of quality of existence (or being, reality, etc.). "The ultimate of the act of faith and the ultimate that is meant in the act of faith are one and the same" (Tillich). God is your participation in the ground or depth of your own being. Faith is not a kind of knowledge. Knowing is confined to science. "Faith is the total and centered act (commitment) of the personal self" (Tillich). Except for assertions like "God is Being Itself," all assertions about God are symbolic, including the assertion "God is dead." Statements about God are about your experience and relation to existence (or being). For example, "God exists" means "I experience a depth in my being when I respond to reality with ultimate concern" (Tillich). It says "Religion is man's response to ultimate concerns in terms of the ultimate" (Tillich).