piggybacking on glory

An interesting note. The Calvinist/Puritans were seemingly
obsessed with God's "Glory" as something radically
transcendent. It was intended to keep man humble and scared.
Transcendent means WAY out/up there! And immanent
means right down here in nature/history. Think of "immAnent" as
in remAin; it's here; not like "immInent" meaning it's on its
way- coming soon. (I don't know what you know!) Anyway, 19th
Century people got weary- for one reason or another- with
the Western emphasis on transcendence. Many, who came to be
called Liberals reacted against Calvinism with its cold and
distant God who damned everybody to hell, but, to show how
he could also be loving, saved a few. Liberals were often longing
for a loving God. They sought him in nature. Evolution played
into this scenario. For many, evolution was a profound relief
from the fear and uncertainty they found in an absolutely
transcendent God who seemed to exist only for his own "Glory". He
came across as totally self-centered. What a tragedy! So, they
sought an immanent God, who could be found in this life. It was
of course, pantheism, but in a sense it lessened their loneliness
in a cruel, meaningless existence. If only they had known the
alternative. The early church, Orthodoxy, emphasized a God who has
joined us down here- so he could be near us- and his "transcendent"
Glory is his love! Knowing how the Liberals got that way
should teach us sympathy- and caution, in what we teach!