It was especially in the heavens that they saw the transcendence of God – its beauty, majesty, order, and predictability. 1 Despite the fact that they were polytheists, ancient cultures like Ur, the hometown of Abraham, saw dimly the transcendence and immanence of God as they observed the world around them. The ancient cultures encountered God through the cycles of the seasons that produced bountiful harvests and they counted on “the gods” for success. “In past generations, he allowed all the nations to follow their own ways yet he has not left himself without a witness in doing good – giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, and filling you with food and your hearts with joy.” This is how the ancient cultures encountered him. St. God also revealed Himself through the natural created order. He is at the same time above history as a transcendent being and intimately involved with history as an immanent being. The paradox is that the eternal God is the God of history. With the Abrahamic Covenant, God’s revelation burst forth into human history in an unprecedented manner. This was monumental because it not only changed history, but, at least for the Hebrews, it changed their conception of what history even is. Revelation occurs at the interface between God’s transcendence and His immanence.
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