Secular transcendence

If there are two "lives", the way of immanence and the way of transcendence, then the second is identified in the Old Testament as the way in which the Jewish nation should (but rarely did) conduct itself. Although the Bible refers to God and Jesus as the Son of God, these titles may simply be misunderstandings in the light of "immanent" interpretations. If one is committed to the way of transcendence, then the little world constructed by the individual to suit immanent purposes comes to an end. Sharpening to the limit the understanding of reality shaped by the conceptual form confirms understanding but destroys conceptual form. Thus Jesus sets out the way of transcendence with final clarity but exposes the "end of the world" imagery as inappropriate. If Christian faith is defined as commitment with the ultimate concern to that which came to expression in Jesus Christ, then it is commitment to him as the very incarnation of the way of transcendence. Transcendence can replace God in the whole Christian faith. This interpretation is both more comprehensible and more appropriate to our time. What is believed about God is actually contained within this position.