Contemplating Culture: A Missionary Walk Through A Secular Age

16. The Severing of Transcendence from Immanence

Contemplating Culture: A Missionary Walk Through A Secular Age

Show Notes

How did a world where the immanent and transcendent were intricately woven come to bequeath us a world where it is possible to live in a closed world where communication between the natural and supernatural is largely foreign and unexpected? As Taylor says “Many people are happy living for goals which are purely immanent. They live in a way that takes no account of the transcendent” (p. 143).

In this episode we explore this movement through the twin slicing of the immanent from the transcendent through the rage for order, and the intense propagation of the sanctity of ordinary life. The end result is a situation where things of the transcendent come to be "experience-far", more and more removed rom daily living, and eventually, culture.

Reflection:

What concepts would you like to be reintroduced into culture as "experience-near"?

References:

Pages of A Secular Age, Charles Taylor: (143-144) Website: https://sites.google.com/view/contemplatingculture

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