introduction

in brief: this writing establishes a systematic phenomenology of God. phenomenology is the science of phenomena, or the object as received in one’s perception. phenomenology is a description of a perception of reality rather than a description of reality itself. as an example, i experience the moon as a small, silver grey sliver against the background of the sky. in reality, the moon is a rocky sphere almost 3500 kilometers across. phenomenology accentuates the subjective, choosing as its specimen the sliver in the sky rather than the orb rotating the earth. a phenomenology of God, then, is a description of the structures created within the human subject who is perceiving God.

this exploration is distinct from theology as theology attempts to be an objective description of God as He is in His true nature. what we are after here is the subjective contents created through interaction with God - the constructs (both emotional and intellectual) that result within humans from approaching such an infinite personality. theologically, the term sanctification is a rough description of this interaction. we wish to describe the emotional, intellectual, and volitional effects of sanctification. thus, the writing is by nature philosophical, as it answers “what might we be?” or “how should we live?” it is not a statement about God, but a statement about the human experience.

why is this pursuit important or even valid?

first, if we are biblical christians (meaning we hold to the truths of the bible), we see in revelation 12:11 that "they overcame because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony.” we see here that we overcome by the word of our testimony, not another’s testimony. because we are the subject of God’s actions our subjective experiences are the testimonies the verse refers to. this testimony does not require inflation either, nor is it required to adhere to a certain ideal. our subjective experience, whatever it may be, combined with the blood of the Lamb, allows us to be victorious. And while the blood of the Lamb takes precedence, hence being mentioned first in the verse, it is incomplete without our own subjective experience. additionally, to overcome means to grow in freedom, to remove hindrances in our mind and emotions that may hinder us in the pursuit of the knowledge of God and of ourselves; overcoming speaks of becoming more human. thus, fully experiencing the subjective perception of God leads us to a more human existence, helping us answer the question “how should we live?”

secondly, it not only matters what we believe but how we believe. the form of belief matters no less when compared to the content of belief. we may believe the objective, theological assertions of God, but without the corresponding subjective structures our belief may actually become unbelief. for instance, we might believe that God is a God of peace, but if we experience continual anxiety, our belief may be found untrue in practice. however, we can only become aware of the subjective structures with careful attention to the subjective reality of our experience. we may feel remorse towards God despite our adherence to biblical doctrine. here we must ask how does the knowledge of God impact our intellect and emotions.

thirdly, the christian in modern times holds within themselves the conflict between personal dreams and the will of the absolute, between their fallen state and the image of perfection. hegel described this well enough with his concept of the “unhappy consciousness,” where humanity suffers because it has taken its best qualities and projected them onto God who is out of reach. hegel was right that this causes much anxiety for humanity. however, the absolute a residual being created from a grand psychological misstep. rather, God is a personality, as martin buber rightly affirms. and, because of his personality, there is the freedom to disagree. this disagreement does not only occur regarding moral decisions and the question of salvation and belief, but also about the state of reality. God is an infinite personality and he has delegated to humanity aspects of reality. thus, we have the freedom to discuss reality with God and alter the course of history. this is the role of the intercessor and the primary role of humanity - to recreate reality. God has no physical body currently on the earth, and as such the coming of the Kingdom is contingent upon the human experience. a phenomenological understanding of the subjective experience of humanity encountering God allows us to grasp this identity.

lastly, because God generally acts through humanity, we experience God often through other people. without a thorough understanding of the human condition, we will miss much of God’s attempted communication. by being aware of the experience of our consciousness observing other consciousnesses, we become aware of the content of the gospel. this is not a secondary effect, but rather the primary force of life, as Christ, according to ephesians 1:10, reconciles all things to himself. the subjective structures created through our interactions with others are parts of reality and parts of the formation of the kingdom.