My understanding of Tillich's courage to be is that he's talking about something broader. Courage means something that permeates our whole being. Courage is not unique for humans but comes from behind everything that exists. Being is something that everything has in common. Out of beingness itself gives rise to courage. "Courage is self-affirmation "in-spite of," that is in spite of that which tends to prevent the self from affirming itself." (p. 32) Courage is a human act; an ethical concept, self-affirmation of one's being.
             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 go beyond one's self. Living creatively is how we choose to live before we die. We have the courage to overcome the anxieties of life and move beyond them.
             Non-being is that which denies being. When we live courageously, when we push ourselves, we find non-being and being. When we live in a way that says this is my life and this is how I choose to live it, this is the courage to be. When we do not live according to a dictative society and be ourselves, choosing how we will live our lives this is the courage to be and we find our own sense of being.
             Finding courage is not only on an individual level, we also need to have the courage to be a pa...