Transcendence and Human Knowledge
In Christian theology, transcendence is a paramount idea as it refers to the fact that God is completely removed from the world, and can be found beyond the material universe. This stands in opposition with religious ideas which place God within the material world. When the human knowledge reaches the limits of what science can explained, going beyond this limit means experiencing transcendence. In the Bible, concepts on transcendence and human knowledge refer to ignorance and self-knowledge. The concept of self-knowledge however must be distinguished from the idea of transgressive knowledge which tests the limits of human understanding and brings the negative consequences of trying to appropriate divine knowledge. The creation story, the story of the original sin, and Jesus’s answers to disciple provide an understanding of God’s transcendence, and challenge humans to overcome the limitations of the contemporary scientific mind in order to become able to go beyond ordinary thinking, into the transcendent realm. It is only by managing to direct one’s thoughts towards spirituality while still living, that people will come to truly know God, and to understand death.
One of the concepts on transcendence and human knowledge in the Scriptures is ignorance. According to May (2011), “we must acknowledge that there is state of being or a state of mind that we can call ignorance” (p.29). Ignorance is an important concept on transcendence because it characterizes most people’s state throughout their lives (May, 2011). Overcoming this state means becoming transcendent. Human ignorance cannot be overcome by anything by looking within for answers. In the Gospel of Thomas, the disciples as Jesus to tell them about death Jesus said, “Have you discovered, then, the beginning, that you look for the end? For where the beginning is, there will the end be. Blessed is he who will take his place in the beginning; he will know the end and will not experience death” ( 18). Human beings must come by themselves to understand the transcendental knowledge of divinity while they are still living a material life on earth. The ignorance of human beings in regards to divinity, death and afterlife is a necessary state, because it requires humans to make a willing effort in order to overcome this state. Answers cannot be readily available, because this would mean the people are born in a state of transcendence, which is not possible. People can however overcome their initial ignorance, if they are willing to search within themselves in order to come to understand their own potential for spiritual growth.
In order to overcome ignorance, self-knowledge is paramount. Davies (2003) explains in this respect that, “the idea that self-knowledge is a road to salvation is perhaps as old as philosophy itself”( p. 4). In the gospel of Thomas, this idea is expressed in the statement, “the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. “When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living father” ( Gospel of Thomas 3). This illustrates the idea that humans need to gain self-knowledge in order to reach transcendence. Self-knowledge allows people to meditate on their own potential, and to discover what they can become, simply because they have always been meant to become it. As Davies (2003) shows, self-discovery is only the key towards realizing the wealth within humans and the world itself, rather than obtaining something new. Thomas here emphasizes that people are able to realize that they are also the sons of the living father. Caught in the problems of their daily lives, people forget this truth and fail to understand their own spiritual potential, and the wealth of goodness and wisdom that is hidden within them. Transcendence then is within the reach of each individual, even though most people do not realize it.
In discussing the transcendent nature of God, the gospels often refer to the Kingdom of God as the ultimate goal of a human being. According to du Toit (2000), the kingdom of God is predominantly used in the Gospel of Matthew as a promise. The kingdom of God is a spiritual dimension which can only be conceived by relating it to a material one, in this case, the Church. The church is “an instrument of the kingdom. It is to the followers of Jesus - the church - that the message of the kingdom is entrusted. Yet the church is not entirely the kingdom in action” (du Toit 2000, p. 558). The concept of the Kingdom of God is a transcendent concept which is different than the church, which represents a frail institution, which can be corrupted by human sin. The kingdom is an entirely ethical entity, which is made clear in Matthew’s gospel. In Matthew, it is written that “the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field” (13:32). This means that the Kingdom of God is an idea which grows in the soul, and becomes an aspiration for the believers. As compared to the Church, which is an institution from the real world, that can be corrupted or can become less popular, the Kingdom of Heaven continues to represent a transcendent idea that can be comprehended only with the help of conscious effort and dedication to the spiritual matters of life.
As shown above, God allows man an insight into divine mystery when approaching the issue of creation. God’s transcendent work in creating the world allows humans to understand God’s power. In the Genesis, it is revealed that:
These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, ( Genesis 2: 21-25).
This time of unspoiled solitude when God created the world represents an insight into the transcendent nature of God, which humans cannot even begin to grasp. This story of creation asks humans to go beyond the limits imposed by logical reasoning and scientific knowledge and to adopt mystical thinking. This is equally true for the creation of man. Here, the Bible explains, “then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Genesis 2: 7). Understanding the transcendent nature of God is necessary in order to be able to understand the truth about creation.
Particularly today, when humans are more predisposed to limitations due to the emphasis placed on science and logical reasoning, understanding the transcendent nature of God is becoming increasingly difficult. This is because people feel pressured to accept the scientific explanation of the world’s creation. For this reason, becoming transcendent means going beyond this explanation to understand the hidden truths that people are already aware of, somewhere within their souls. The creation story in the Bible is meant to give people not only an explanation for the emergence of the world, and of human beings, but also to establish God’s relationship with this world. The creation story emphasizes God’s transcendence, because it separates Him from the creation, and from the created world. The elements of nature are created by God, and they are controlled by Him. The Genesis story emphasizes God’s separation from the material world, His superiority as compared to it, and God’s different nature than that of the inanimate world. God is perceived as a sovereign power and a moral authority that has the power to judge people’s deeds.
However, human beings are not only unable, but also not supposed to understand the mysteries of divinity. A certain degree of ignorance is unavoidable, because the mystery of divinity is beyond the reach of human comprehension. This kind of knowledge is not only impossible for the human mind to overcome, but also, it can lead humans to misery because we are not able to manage the knowledge properly. God’s mastery of the knowledge of good and evil was challenged by Adam and Eve in the challenge. Many critics have tried to discover what Adam and Eve hoped to achieve by eating from the forbidden tree. Some critics have argued that they were trying to gain comprehensive knowledge. However, as Hartley (2000) explained, this is not true because the sages encouraged the youth to gain knowledge as much as possible. One more plausible explanation was that Adam and Eve were trying to gain knowledge about morality. By eating from the tree of the good and evil, humans were seeking to gain the prerogative of defining good and evil (Hartley 2000). This means that they were trying to gain the right of deciding what is good and what is evil for themselves.
As humans have learned to make this distinction for themselves, deciding between good and evil has become an increasingly difficult burden because there is a very fine demarcation line between good and evil, and deciding between them is a constant challenge. This ambiguity and the many shades of grey which exist between good and evil cause many of the concepts in the society. The fact that human beings have only limited insight regarding the aspects that concern a particular issue, and feelings of selfishness and individualism, may lead people to confuse good and evil. Therefore, the story of the original sin in the Bible reveals the limits of human knowledge, and makes it apparent that humans were not supposed to master the decision-making process in what good and evil is concerned. Furthermore, it suggests that complete knowledge or freedom to know is not beneficial for humans, because there are limits to their possibility to understand, and to express his understanding.
Therefore, the Bible can help believers to gain an insight into the ideas of transcendence and human knowledge, by disclosing the limits and capacities of human beings in this respect. For this reason, perhaps the most compelling concepts in regards to the ideas of transcendence and human knowledge are ignorance and self-knowledge. Ignorance is the initial state of human beings, who do not try to overcome their own limitation in order to understand the essence of divinity. This is an essential aspect of growing spiritually so as to reach Kingdom of God, because in lack of introspection there is no growth. Consequently, self-knowledge is encouraged by sages like Thomas, in whose Gospel there is a strong case in favor of the discovery of self. While knowledge is important for spiritual growth and reaching a transcendent state, trying to access knowledge that is beyond human reach is not only impossible, but also, harmful for humanity. This is exemplified in the story of the original sin, where the access to moral knowledge of good and evil caused the fall of Adam and Eve, and determined humans to find themselves in the often challenging situation of judging good and evil, and making the difference between them. The Bible is a guide towards transcendence by helping believers to acknowledge personal ignorance, and promoting self-knowledge and spiritual growth.
Works Cited
Davies, S. (2003). Gospel of Thomas annotated and explained. Woodstock, VT: Sky Light Paths Publishing.
Du Toit, A.B. (2000). The kingdom of God in the gospel of Matthew. Skrif en Kerk 21( 3):545-563.
Hartley, J. (2000). Genesis (understanding the Bible commentary series). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing.
May, B (2011). Transcendence, spirit in the age of science, 2nd ed. Lulu.com.
The Gospel of Thomas (n.d.). (T. Lambdin trans.). The Gnostic Society Library. Retrieved from: http://gnosis.org/naghamm/gthlamb.html
The Holy Bible. New International Version (2011). Biblica. Inc. Retrieved From: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+1
