Purpose and Meaning — A Transcendence View

[Under development.]

The term “transcendence” is related to such common words as ascend or descend, but is used in philosophical and religious writings to mean rising above, or breaking through normal boundaries into a higher level of existence.

A lower-level view of transcendence

We search for Meaning through connecting with something bigger.

In the search for Purpose and Meaning, transcendence can be experienced at different levels. People who suffer from loneliness often feel to have little value or significance in life. For them transcendence can mean breaking free of feelings of isolation by connecting better with family and community, or maybe finding better employment. Our very identity (sense of who we are) changes through these expanded relationships. People may also sense renewal of purpose and meaning by connecting with political or social movements. For instance, to linking into the environmental movement, one may become committed to the goals of environmentalism and feel much purpose in “saving the planet.” In one sense, then, some people can find multiple purposes in life. But each develops over time in rather unique ways, depending on opportunities, our interests, and readiness to step forward to engage when we have the chance.

We do find some limited sense of meaning and purpose in common extensions of our lives.

For discussion:

How does “family” drive our lives?

What about our careers?

What about being part of some social or political movement?

What are other examples that “expand our lives” in meaningful/connected ways?

A higher-level view of transcendence

The word transcendence, however, is most often used in discussions of a higher-level (more abstract) search for connectedness. In different cultures around the world, people often feel an “inner drive” for meaning and connectedness which then leads to speculations (imaginations) of what may lie beyond the normal and natural experiences of our lives. This drive for connectedness commonly can commonly extend to the “ultimate” (highest possible) levels, what we may call a search for “universal” and “cosmic” order and meaning.

The term “spirituality” generally means the search at much higher levels.

This search leads to questions about breaking through the natural limits of the commonly experienced material world. That is, it questions the limits of our Space-Time (4-dimensional) existence. We are drawn to the possibilities that something more does exist as the object of our search.

This desire for Meaning and Purpose has been described as something very basic to our “human condition.” Maybe it’s part of our human DNA. We have this built-in interest and desire to connect with the supernatural, and search for “the divine” (that is, “the supreme and ultimate Truth”).

Since this kind of search extends beyond our field of rational understanding, we can only approach it as a matter of the hypothetical (that is, asking “What if … is possible, or true?”). As we reach beyond what is of immediate (near-by) experience, we choose to follow a Path based on Faith and Belief. In the process we look for confirmations of the goodness/rightness of our choice. That is, Does our Faith in God, for instance, help us to understand the world in which we live, and give us more confidence as we move forward? By accepting by faith a view of this transcendent reality, we are choosing a foundation upon which we build a Framework of Meaning. As the parts fit together it gives strength to our lives. This integration of foundational beliefs together with the practical values and commitments of our lives, all build toward a more satisfying life that most people regard has having greater Meaning and Purpose.

For peoples around the world, spiritual search points to “gods” and the possibility of the Christian God.

Christianity, rooted in the Judean history of Abraham and the ancient stories of the Hebrew scriptures, came to full explanation with the arrival of Jesus. As the promised Messiah, or Christ, his teachings provide a framework for developing a relationship with God.

In our search for Meaning and Purpose, we are aware that our bodily senses (of vision, hearing, and so on) can give us certain “earthly knowledge.” As important as that can be, the transcendent search for meaning develops through a “spiritual awareness” that seems to be built into our human nature. It tends to point us forward in the direction of Truth, Justice, and the need to Understand. Indeed, we search for such meaning beyond the limitations of Space and Time.

But this analysis, although a common starting point, can be seen as inadequate and still basically in error. It is a natural starting point beginning with Self and our limited way of thinking. The Christian view demands that we view our Self in this search much differently.

The appropriate God-centered view of transcendence

In common human terms we start with ourselves, to find something meaningful to us.

Basic to Christian understanding is the idea that this God of the larger cosmos has chosen to both create and communicate with Mankind. He chooses to reveal himself to us through various means. Just as Christians have an understanding of Truth in the natural world (known through careful observation, both scientifically and personally), Christians also accept the reality of Revealed Truth, which is understood to come primarily through the scriptures (the Bible).

This search may extend to the search for higher spiritual understanding.

In this revelation of God, we learn of our origins (beginnings) as being created in the image (with many characteristics) of God. We understand God as having feelings and emotions similar to us and the ability to communicate (hear and speak) with us. The analogy of Family becomes a way of describing our relationships with God (as Father and with us His children).

But is God only a human creation? It is a most basic issue, since not all religious ways of thinking about the Supernatural seem to have the same idea. Christians view God as a truly “independent reality” who reveals himself to us in ways that, at times, seem to be very unnatural, confusing, and mysterious. This concept of God, then starts with God himself, and not with Mankind. Some argue that when humans do created their own gods, as seen in many religions, these gods are not so different from us.

The Christian view, however, is to see ourselves within the greater Plan of God

God reveals himself to us, in part, by providing us with Guidelines for Life which do point us towards an understanding of how to live Life. In this sense, then, our search for Meaning and Purpose starts with God, and not with us. In this process of “knowing God” and “following God” we find out rightful place in this relationship. We relate to God in ways that provide positive hope, contentment, and strength, as is necessary for the living-out an appropriate life.

Rick Warren, in The Purpose Driven Life, starts with these understandings about God. We are, from the very beginning, part of a supernatural creation. The answers to our concerns for Meaning and Purpose, therefore, are not something to be created of ourselves, but rather to be discovered as we better understand our relationship to God.

Too often, people look for a god that will meet their personal needs, in a sense that people want a god who will serve them. In contrast, God when clearly understood is the one to whom we will choose to serve. We choose to “join with God” to understand his purpose for the World. We are his “hands and feet” in this life of service. In this we find our meaning, purpose, and life-fulfilment.

First published: 2020/04/08
Latest revision: 2020/04/12