On the transcendence and immanence of God

2018 ◽  
Vol 0 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Nestler
Keyword(s):  
Image Of God ◽  
The Other ◽  
Knowledge Of God ◽  
Divine Punishment ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
The Image Of God

Transcendence and immanence are two terms used two differentiate two realities, one of transcending worldly experience and the other of an inner-worldly experience. In scholastic theology (kalām), a respective distinction is being made regarding the image of God, whereby transcendence (tanzīh) is set against anthropomorphism (tašbīh) to solve the problem of how to deal with Quranic expressions that attribute human - formal or essential - characteristics to God. Also, in mysticism, the notion of transcendence and immanence of God plays a central role, for instance, in the teachings of Ibn al-Arabi. He mainly discusses this distinction in the chapter of Noah in Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam (»The Bezels of Wisdom«), regarding knowledge of God. He rejects a pure theology of transcendence as it describes only a part of the divine reality. However, he points out that even though His immanent reality can be experienced, it is not comprehensible, because it is unlimited. Both realities interlock through the idea of the Oneness of Being or Unity of Existence (waḥdat al-wuğūd), because ›in reality‹ they are nothing else than God. Ibn al-ʿArabī illustrates this ontological dependency by the example of Noah’s legend, by showing that the prophet supported the belief of the absolute transcendence of God, which was unacceptable for his people, not because they negated God’s existence, but because they had an immanent image of God. Accordingly, Ibn al-Arabi interprets the divine punishment, instead of misfortune, as immersing in the sea of knowledge of God. In this way the soul becomes a place of manifestation or a mirror of the divine reality.

On the transcendence and immanence of God

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Nestler
Keyword(s):  
Image Of God ◽  
The Other ◽  
Knowledge Of God ◽  
Divine Punishment ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
The Image Of God

Transcendence and immanence are two terms used to differentiate two realities, one of transcending worldly experience and the other of an inner-worldly experience. In scholastic theology (kalām), a respective distinction is being made regarding the image of God, whereby transcendence (tanzīh) is set against anthropomorphism (tašbīh) to solve the problem of how to deal with Quranic expressions that attribute human – formal or essential – characteristics to God. Also, in mysticism, the notion of transcendence and immanence of God plays a central role, for instance, in the teachings of Ibn al-ʿArabī. He mainly discusses this distinction in the chapter of Noah in Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam (“The Bezels of Wisdom”), regarding knowledge of God. He rejects a pure theology of transcendence as it describes only a part of the divine reality. However, he points out that even though His immanent reality can be experienced, it is not comprehensible, because it is unlimited. Both realities interlock through the idea of the Oneness of Being or Unity of Existence (waḥdat al-wuǧūd), because ‘in reality’ they are nothing else than God. Ibn al-ʿArabī illustrates this ontological dependency by the example of Noah’s legend, by showing that the prophet supported the belief of the absolute transcendence of God, which was unacceptable for his people, not because they negated God’s existence, but because they had an immanent image of God. Accordingly, Ibn al-ʿArabī interprets the divine punishment, instead of misfortune, as immersing in the sea of knowledge of God. In this way the soul becomes a place of manifestation or a mirror of the divine reality.

Naive Experience, Religious Root Unity, and Human Identity

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
James W. Skillen
Keyword(s):  
Cosmic Time ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
The Other ◽  
Common Denominator ◽  
Human Identity ◽  
Human Community ◽  
To Come ◽  
The Image Of God ◽  
The Way

Abstract Resolving Dooyeweerd’s temporal/supratemporal dialectic opens the way to a deeper appreciation of naive experience and human identity as the image of God. This essay makes a case for that proposition, building on my critique of Dooyeweerd’s idea of cosmic time published previously in this journal. There I hypothesized that time—temporality—should be recognized as the first modal aspect rather than as a transaspectual common denominator of the other aspects. The religious root unity of the human community is not a supratemporal, spiritual concentration point but rather humans themselves in their generations answering to God in all that they are and do. Humans are not temporal bodies directed by imperishable souls but whole persons-in-community, subject to all the modal laws and norms (including the temporal), living by faith in the true God or in false gods throughout this age, which opens to creation’s fulfillment in the age to come.

Known by God: C. S. Lewis and Dietrich Bonhoeffer

2005 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 343-352
Author(s):  
Brian S. Rosner
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
The Other ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Human Relationship ◽  
Dietrich Bonhoeffer ◽  
Introductory Essay ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Pastoral Value ◽  
The Image Of God

Whereas knowing God is central to every version of Christian theology, little attention has been paid to the other side of the divine-human relationship. This introductory essay approaches the subject via the brief but poignant remarks of two twentieth-century authors appearing in a work of fiction and in a poem. If C. S. Lewis recognizes the primacy of being known by God, Dietrich Bonhoeffer helps define it and underscores its pastoral value. Both authors accurately reflect the main contours of the Bible’s own treatment. Calvin’s view of the image of God, which T. F. Torrance defines as ‘God’s gracious beholding of man as his child,’ may be of assistance in defining what it means to be known by God.

God′s Body: Epistemic and Ritual Conceptions from Sanskrit Texts of Logic

Paragrana ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-63
Author(s):  
Gérard Colas
Keyword(s):  
Image Of God ◽  
The Other ◽  
Religious Images ◽  
Natural Laws ◽  
Sacred Texts ◽  
Technical Requirements ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Image Of God ◽  
The Universe

AbstractDiscussions on the nature of the relationship between a god, his body and his material representation are almost non-existent in the Hindu devotional perspective, where such concerns are superfluous. Hindu theological and ritual Sanskrit texts, on the other hand, applied procedures of reasoning with regard to that relationship. This rationalization however accommodated rather than conflicted with the devotional attitude. Their attempt to clarify their stand vis-à-vis god′s body and material image followed from ideological or technical requirements. This was done sometimes systematically, as in the Viśiṣṭādvaita school of philosophy where the ritual image is declared to be “a divine descent (of God) for the purpose of worship”; sometimes incidentally, as in ritual manuals, where the process of changing statues into divine bodies is described.But why should gods have a body at all? While some contend that they do not possess any body, others assert that they possess several at the same time, yet others infer the necessity of a body for God to create the universe, to reveal sacred texts, etc. These are some arguments and counter-arguments found in theological texts. The nature of the hierarchy between divine descents and images (which may or may not be considered as real bodies of gods) is another aspect of the discussion.Another question is the various ways in which ritual texts consider the relation between a god and his image. While immediacy characterizes the relation between the devotee and the image of god, the relation between ritual and image is far from being spontaneous. Rituals insure the presence of a god in an image through a technico-mystical process consisting of successive stages and involving patrons, astrologers, artists, priests and others. The final product, namely a concrete god-cum-image, is fit for devotion, but remains for ever fragile, dependent on the continuity of rites and on the material preservation of the image. Behind the ritual perspective also lies the notion that this process of creating a body for a god is in keeping with “natural” laws. Hindu ritual prescriptions are applicable only to the religious images which, though man-made, are considered as “natural”. Supra-natural divine images, known as “self-manifested” images, must be worshiped, but are beyond the range of these prescriptions.

The Likeness of the Image: Adamic Motifs and Anthropoly in Rabbinic Traditions about Jacob's Image Enthroned in Heaven

2006 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-84
Author(s):  
Silviu Bunta
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Human Body ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
The Other ◽  
Roman Emperor ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
The Image Of God

AbstractThe present article analyzes the various texts concerning Jacob's image engraved on the throne of glory. It compares the Jacob texts with previous traditions regarding Adam's special status as the image of God or the equivalent of a cultic representation of an ancient Near Eastern king or of a Roman emperor. The Jacob texts reveal a similar anthropology that emphasizes the dichotomy of humanity. On one hand the earthliness of the functionality of the human body is associated with angelic opposition, and, on the other, the body's divine likeness gives rise to angelic veneration. The investigation of the two traditions demonstrates a conspicuous dependence of the Jacob texts on the Adamic traditions.

Theophany

Portrait ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 72-75
Author(s):  
Jean-Luc Nancy
Keyword(s):  
Image Of God ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Face ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One ◽  
The Image Of God ◽  
Made In

In its weaving of Judeo-Greek themes, Christianity introduced a revolution into the mimesis of the human face and from there into mimesis in general. If man is made in the image of God, on the one hand, and if, on the other hand, God becomes man—that is, if God makes himself into his own image but within the mortal condition defined through its sin—then the image of man can oscillate between divine value and the value of human fallenness....

The Other Holocaust

2000 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-108
Author(s):  
Oskar Gruenwald ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Collective Responsibility ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
The Other ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Interdisciplinary Framework ◽  
The Comparative Study ◽  
The Image Of God ◽  
Individual Human

This essay explores an interdisciplinary framework for the comparative study of genocide. It traces the Other Holocaust of communist genocide in the twentieth century, with an estimated 100 million victims. Both the Nazi Holocaust and communist genocide raise major ethical dilemmas concerning individual and collective responsibility. The central underlying dynamic common to the Nazi Holocaust, communist and other genocides is the radical discounting of human life and dignity, and denial of the intrinstic worth of each individual human being. Hence the moral equivalency of evil Mass crimes against humanity run counter to the ethical precepts of all major religions, in particular the Judaeo-Christian tradition which considers man inviolable, created in the image of God Those who would honor and remember the victims of past genocides, whether Christians or Jews, believers or nonbelievers, need to rededicate their efforts to prevent such atrocities in the future by defending human rights and the persecuted in the present.

feminine, masculine vocabulary is rarely questioned, yet its usage creates expectations that determine male as the norm, female as the secondary. Verbal descriptions of sex and gender construct, not merely describe. Such construction of belief can be found transmitted through dictionaries. When defining ‘manly’ Webster’s Dictionary says that manly means: …having qualities appropriate to a man: open in conduct bold resolute not effeminate or timorous gallant brave undaunted drinks beer. [Give me a break!!!] For ‘womanly’ one finds: …marked by qualities characteristic of a woman, belonging to attitudes of a woman not a man. Female is defined by the negative of the other, of the male. In this way, sexism pervades the ‘objective’ nature of the dictionary, subordinating the female to the male. Sexist language pervades a range of sacred texts and legal texts and processes. Religion can be and is one of the most powerful ideologies operating within society, and many religions and religious groupings are hierarchically male oriented. The law maintains that the male term encompasses the female. Many religions maintain that man is made in the image of God; woman in the image of man. The female is once removed in both law and religion. Even in the 19th century, English law continued to maintain that the Christian cleaving of male and female meant the subjugation of the female and the loss of her property and identity to the male. English family law was based upon Christian attitudes to family and accounted for the late introduction of flexible divorce laws in the 1950s. Both law and Christianity reflect a dualism in Western society. The power of language is illustrated here. A pervasive sexism is made possible and manifest through language which, therefore, easily carries discrimination. So far, the discussion has centred on the construction of the world by, and through, language as written word. There are different ways of speaking and writing. People use the modes of speaking and writing experience and education notes as the most appropriate. However, language exerts power, too, through a hierarchy given to ‘ways of speaking’; through a hierarchy based on accent as well as choice of, or access to, vocabulary. People often change the way they speak, their accent and/or vocabulary. Such change may be from the informality of family communication to the formality of work. It may be to ‘fit in’: the artificial playing with ‘upper class’, ‘middle class’, ‘working class’, ‘northern’ or ‘Irish’ accents. Sometimes presentation to a person perceived by the speaker as important may occasion an accent and even a vocabulary change. Speakers wish to be thought well of. Therefore, they address the other in the way it is thought that the other wishes or expects to be addressed.

2012 ◽  
pp. 25-25
Keyword(s):  
Image Of God ◽  
The Other ◽  
Western Society ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Divorce Laws ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Written Word ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The Image Of God ◽  
The Way

Faith and Morality

1992 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-309
Author(s):  
Abdul Khaliq
Keyword(s):  
Jugular Vein ◽  
Religious Faith ◽  
Image Of God ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Religious Person ◽  
First Case ◽  
The World ◽  
The Image Of God

There is a point of view popular with some religious thinkers-amongthem Muslims-that religion and morality are two separate institutions andhave very little to do with each other. This is because the former is centeredin God, while the latter is entirely human in content and approach. Accordingto this view, an individual can be moral without subscribing to anyrecognizable religion. Furthermore, a deeply religious person occupies a stationin life where usual relations with the world, including those with otherpeople, are perceived as being so lowly and mundane that they become irrelevant.This is, to say the least, not the essential Qur’anic standpoint.The Qur'an , as well as a number of sayings of the Prophet, does not envisagean estrangement between God and humanity. Human beings are said tohave been created after the image of God: Who is nearer to each person thanhisher own jugular vein (Qur'an 50:16). They a so close to each other thatthey may possibly enter into a mutual dialogue. There is thus an organicallyintimate relevance of the individual’s religious faith with the subsequent performanceof the corresponding moral actions. In the Qur’an, the word amanu(they held on to faith [in God]) is almost invariably followed by ‘amilu alsalihat (they performed good actions). However, it must be undelstood thatfaith is not an honorific term, a characteristic that may be inculcated into anperson’s character in its own right. It rather refets to a barely psychologicalstate, an attitude of mind A person may have faith in the all-good God or insome evil being(s) (Qur’an 4:31). In the first case, such an individual isnecessarily good, in the other, he/she is bound to be morally bad ...

scholarly journals PHILOSOPHICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL IDEAS IN THE WORKS OF PERSONALITIES OF FRATERNAL SCHOOLS (XVI – XVII CENTURIES)

2020 ◽  
pp. 98-108
Keyword(s):  
Image Of God ◽  
Historical Period ◽  
Dual Nature ◽  
Knowledge Of God ◽  
Philosophy Of Life ◽  
Surrounding World ◽  
Spiritual World ◽  
Self Knowledge ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Image Of God

In the article the author tries to analyze the representation of philosophical and anthropological ideas in the works of fraternal schools in the XVI–XVII centuries. It is noted that man was considered in the unity of soul and body as a microcosm and one that was created in the image of God. Self-knowledge was interpreted as a way of liberation from the burdens of the surrounding world, dependence on earthly sensuality. In particular, Stefan Zizaniy had a rationalist vision of the dogmas of orthodox Christianity. The work of Kyrylo Tranquillion-Stavrovetsky shows a neo-Platonist tradition associated with humanism. In accordance with the traditions of the Renaissance, the philosopher turns to the idea of double truth, considering wisdom from the standpoint of theology and practical philosophy of life. K. Tranquillion-Stavrovetsky, according to the Stoic doctrine, regarded man as a dual nature. But the philosopher also emphasized the unity of soul and body, because they are strongly interconnected. It is noteworthy that the scientist reveals the problem of soul and body from the Renaissance-humanistic moral-ethical and epistemological positions. Isaiah Kopynsky emphasizes that self-knowledge and cognition of the surrounding world does not occur through the study of nature and observation of natural phenomena, but, on the contrary, through immersion in your inner spiritual world through “smart deeds”. It contributes to the knowledge of the outside world, self-knowledge and knowledge of God. I. Kopynsky’s views are close to early Hesychast Byzantine theology. The anthropological views of the theologian are focused on the individual who takes an active part in the historical process. In his works, M. Smotrytsky also pays special attention to the transcendent nature of the human spirit, in particular, analyzing the question of the interaction of action and will. The author concludes that the philosophical and anthropological ideas of the fraternal schools were formed in the context of European philosophical culture and were a reflection of the cultural and historical features of the historical period we are studying.

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