Imanent or Transcendent?

[Helcaraxë]

Do you believe god is imanent (omnipresent) or transcendent (beyong the confines of existence)? Personally, I have a very complicated view on god, but for the most part I think he's fundamentally imanent. Comments? I think I know what Eriol's going to say.....:)

[Inderjit S]

Transcendnet. This shouldn't be here anyway. This is for Tolkien dicussion not theological matters. I'm sure a mod will move this to GoP or wherever he/she deems fit.

[Beleg]

He is Ominpresent, but what is 'Imanent'?

[Niniel]

Immanent means that something is inside something else, in this case that God is present in everything that exists on earth. Personally I don't believe in any god, but if I did I think I would believe he was transcendent.

[Eriol]

Let me try to live up to your expectations Morgoth's Bane...

;)

First, I don't think transcendence and omnipresence are contradictory. Perhaps I'm misreading your post, but to me it sounds as if you wanted to say that. I believe that God is both omnipresent and transcendent.

Immanence is the belief that "Everything is God". Hinduism is an immanent belief, in that Brahman is in every single thing. So is Celebthôlism as espoused in the skeptics' thread; Celebthôl believes that everything (matter, energy, people, animals, anything and everything) is God, is a dream of God, takes place in God's mind, or something like it.

Transcendence is easier to understand once we grasp the concept of immanence. Transcendence is the belief that God is NOT "in" everything. He is "outside". There was God before there was anything; there will be God if everything disappears. Immanent beliefs can't very well agree with these sentences, since for them God IS everything.

Even though I think God is transcendent, I think he is omnipresent. He really is everywhere, and everywhen. But this does not mean he is everything.

[Ciryaher]

Transcendant.