Transcendence

So, we are left in our search for God with some strong factors, the clues that point mankind to God. Understanding, related to faith, becomes the persuasive context for our reasoning.  The reasoning is for ourselves and others relating to our life’s journey, and that for which we are willing to base our life commitments.  Of all the factors we hold valuable, as human beings, the first one that counts is life.  Either it has a future, or it does not.  If it does not, all the other factors are temporary so seem to pass us by, implying they are more important than we are.  All persons leave legacies, even if unknown, for good or ill, of greater or lesser meaning, for their generation.  If the individual legacy is merely mortal, it will run out as ensuing generations dilute it in fading, perhaps disinterest that it appeared at all.  The legacy of faith relies on the God of that faith to provide positive meaning worthy of enduring life.  (1 Corinthians. 15:19)

In summary, we gain perception, through a glass darkly, of God, who satisfies.  God is known to us in his person, although he is more than a person.  In his person, he is holy, and holds the attributes the Christian theologians have summarized for him in omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience.  He is real, but invisible to mankind.  We need another kind of context/creation to see him.  He has the ultimate qualities in his nature of love, freedom, justice, holiness – infinity.  He is partly understood by what he cannot be or do.  He cannot sin, deny himself, or be disinterested in his works.  His nature appears to press him to imitate his glory of perfect life with others of his creativity for whom immortality, but not divinity, may be given as a gift.  To accomplish that purpose, he provided a personal sacrifice to meet his standards for what he can do, and what he cannot do.  Resolving the problem of good and evil for acceptance of flawed human beings, there accrues citizenship in God’s kingdom to persons of Christ-faith (biblically defined).

There is a problem in all this that needs resolution.  How does mortal mankind, diluting our own freedom with a sin nature, arrive at a point of humility to repent of the condition of sin, and exercise faith in God through Jesus Christ of God, to forgiveness, and so to benefit from redemption?  The necessary benefit is to gain immortality (hope) for mankind, with its meaning.  To achieve the redemptive purpose God provided the act of redemption in Christ, Scripture, the Holy Spirit, prayer, conscience, and experience.  These all relate to inevitable human exposure to meaningful learning, reflection, aspiration, change, and their uses.  The Church is a part of the combination of factors, especially related to witness, to empathy for human needs, to nature and society – in the plan of redemption.  Objections from persons skeptical of this pattern of help, instruction, forgiveness, acceptance and hope are offered in the claim that these factors will not serve the avowed skeptic.  When the sinner requested that a person return from the dead to witness to his brother of the loss inherent to lack of faith, he was reminded that the brother had Scripture, and that if he did not believe Scripture, neither would he believe a person coming from the dead to instruct him. (Luke 16:31)

We may be impressed negatively by approaches of some persons, in escaping the concept of the reconciliation of mankind to God which includes human dignity.  Dignity is a gift from the transcendence of God.  A diner left a gospel tract under his plate as he left a restaurant, a tract in bad taste in that it appeared in its filmed format to be a handsome tip, but with no gratuity.  (I have seen the tract.)  The act disregarded the dignity of the occasion.  The story appeared in the news.  The server made clear that the experience made him: more strongly, an atheist.  Conflicting contexts can be repeated many times, so to skew spiritual and secular meanings.  In the tricks of the trade we are sold, or unsold, on many products or issues.  Many persons resist a message by the manner of presentation, undignified, than by the message.  The meaningful point is not in the emotions of the diner, or the server, or a political poll.  The point relates to whether or not truth is expressed in the advertisement, tract, poll, or whatever the media or context.  Our concern is to find the truth of God that includes God’s image in human dignity.  Mankind ought to mirror God-image in meaning.  Human dignity, above the animal in us, reflects the transcendence of God.