Understanding God: Supreme Reality and Sacred Manifestation

The Supreme Being: God

There is a supreme and incomprehensible reality of the human experience named as God. We designate this reality as the Mystery, a presence felt in the realm of the sacred that invites humanity to a personal reorganization.

This is not a concept that can be learned or discovered; it is an experience. The religious presence in its proximity is absolutely real, yet simultaneously unprovable, as we cannot rely on rational evidence to demonstrate such a presence.

The Nature of the Divine

This reality is fundamentally different and superior to humanity—it is the "totally other" in contrast to the mundane and the natural; therefore, it is transcendent. At the same time, it feels intimately close in the depths of the person. This absolute transcendence and omnipresence produce a sense of diminution, even fear, but also present invaluable meaning to the life of the religious person.

This ultimate reality is given the name of God, but also receives other names such as divinity or the supreme reality.

Qualities Attributed to Ultimate Reality

• Large, beautiful, shining, and sublime: "How many are your works!"
• Presence felt deeply within: "Presence of God in no way could doubt that was in me. Because you were within me into the depths of my innermost" (Augustine).
• A supreme spirit of mystery that transcends both view and word.
• Different from what is known and unknown.

Manifestation in the Sacred

That ultimate reality called God is not of the natural order; it differs from what surrounds us, but we can find it in certain places, through certain actions, or people. Holy means separated, belonging to God's world. Holy things are different because they represent something beyond.

That which becomes sacred is inhabited by the reality beyond; it acts as a gateway to this reality we call God. The sacred attracts while producing some fear, but the person approaches it expecting energy, strength, and divine salvation.

The Resulting Religious Attitude

Religion requires more than just a God revealed in the sacred; it demands a real and positive response from the person to guide their life toward God. This is the religious attitude.

Characteristics of Religious Life

What makes a person religious is not only the sense of God that may appear in life, but the response that recognizes the mystery as a central value and seeks personal salvation. The religious attitude is characterized by a reliance on the supreme being.

The Sacred vs. The Profane

The sacred always manifests as a reality of a totally different order from natural realities. Humanity becomes aware of the sacred because it manifests as something different from the profane by virtue of being hierophanies. Expressing the sacred causes any object to become something else while remaining the same.