Freedom, Sin and the Absoluteness of Christianity: Reflections on the Early Tillich’s Schelling-Reception

The article discusses the reception of Schelling's philosophy by the young Paul Tillich. During his study on the theological faculty of the University of Halle from 1905 until 1907 Tillich was influenced by the Fichte interpretation of Fritz Medicus. Tillich uses Fichte's philosophy as a theoretical frame for a modern theology. The problems from this Fichte reception lay in the concept of freedom as autonomy. In Schelling's philosophy, especially in his concept of freedom as the possibility to come into contradiction with oneself, the young Tillich finds the solution for these problems.