God: "Otherness" vs "Closeness"

Ever think you'll hate a class and then find out it's actually not that bad? Shockingly, I'm quite enjoying my Theological Foundations 1 class. We've covered some interesting topics and in our last class we were talking about the nature of God. Sometimes God's attributes are paradoxical; for instance God is all powerful yet he is vulnerable in love.

Another such paradox is God's transcendence (complete otherness from humanity) vs. his immanence (intimacy to humanity - or closeness). God is absolutely above all creatures and yet He is also intimately related with them. The paradox is He is the transcendent one yet he is among and with us. It seems Christian's have often emphasized transcendence at the expense of intimacy (immanence) or vice versa. Think about your church (if you are a believer); which does your church tend towards? Does it emphasize God's otherness or his closeness?

I would say my church (and most evangelical churches) emphasize the closeness. In the singing, God is spoken of as a friend, lover, helper, etc. The songs are love songs usually stressing intimacy. The sermons mostly stress the same things; relationship and getting closer to God. Occasionally in songs and worship God's more transcendent qualities are spoken of, but intimacy is the main focus. Contrast this with a more mainline denomination like the Anglicans or conservative Mennonite churches. They might lean more towards emphasizing God's "otherness" in liturgy, sermon, and song.

So which should be emphasized more? The answer is both. We need to remember that God is not like us, he is greater then all creation, holy, and the great "other." We are not on the same playing field with him and he should be treated with great respect. Feared even. On the other hand, God is also close to us, desiring to hold us in the palm of his hand, craving relationship and loving us as a good Father loves his children. He is intimately involved in our lives and is familiar with every part of us. When he knocks at our door, he desires us to open it so he can come in and be with us. When we ignore either aspect of God's character, we fall into error. Ignore God's transcendence and he is not God any more, just a cosmic buddy at best (or a cosmic Santa at worst). Ignore God's immanence, and we no longer have relationship with him; God becomes a distant deity; scary, uncaring, and untouchable. Balancing these two seems pretty difficult, but I think David does a good job. When I read the Psalms, I'm reminded of both sides of God. Which aspect of God do you need to embrace more? What's holding you back from embracing it?

By the way, the pictures for this post show are attempts to illustrate God's transcendence (God in the heavens) and his immanence (God as portrayed in "Bruce Almighty").

May Light increase!