Tillich is an existentialist. He would say that one chooses fate. Any authority does not define what it means to be human. Existence takes precedence over essence and holds that man is totally free and responsible for his acts and that this responsibility is the source of dread and anguish that encompass him. Humans have a choice to act. "Perfect self-affirmation is not an isolated act which originates in the individual being but is participation in the universal or divine act of self-affirmation, which is the originating power in every individual act." (p. 23) When we live in accord to what God created us to be we are not lost in our desires or driven by our fears. We have the power to

Anne continually asks herself about the type of person that she is: What does it mean that Germans despise me because I am a Jew? Am I virtuous? Am I too selfish and childish? How should I feel about those on the outside, who are suffering? Anne uses these questions in her quest for her identity. She uses them to define who she is and who she wants to be. She does not accept Hitler's repression of Jews. She does not believe that Jews are inferior because of the restrictions they are forced to endure. She also comes to realize that she is not strong enough to live without meaningful human contact. Towards the end of the diary she comes to the crucial conclusion that although she may not be the way others would like her to be, she is her own person and she respects herself.

Anne Frank also says that it's "really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and so impossible to carry out." She says that she keeps them "because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart." It is at this time that we watch the movie.

The movie/book that I think represents some of Tillich's philosophy is "The Diary of Anne Frank". The diary of Anne Frank journeys back to the early nineteenth century, when Nazi forces occupied Germany during World War II. Through her diary she leads us through the harsh times of a family trying to escape imprisonment in concentration camps by Nazi soldiers. The lives of those people living in this territory were spent in constant fear and anxiety.

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Some common words found in the essay are:
, Anne Frank's, Anne Frank, War II, Frank German-Jewish, Amsterdam Netherlands, God Anne, anne frank, own person, diary anne, courage own sense, diary anne frank, live life, anne continually, own sense, anne questions, courage own, choose live,
Approximate Word count = 1055
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)