Philip Arthur Bence PhD Thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

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the greatness and the pain of being human; namely, one's
standing between one's finitude and one's potential
infinity.'"5
In efforts to deal with this pain of personhood,
"man is infinitely concerned about the infinity to which
he belongs, from which he is separated, and for which he
is longing."e Men mistakenly commit themselves to
'gods', which are not truly "ultimate" but only
"preliminary." This faith is "idolatrous 1". and
"destructive."' The preacher points out a better
way--relationship with the truly Ultimate that leads to
wholeness.
Two criteria govern the legitimacy and benefit of
faith. First, "the degree to which a person is open for
the power of faith, and how strong and passionate is his
ultimate concern." Second, "the degree to which a
faith has conquered its idolatrous elements and is
directed toward the really ultimate.111°
As already stated, man cannot know, but only
approximate, the ultimate. Christianity has appropriated
its symbols to describe man's interaction with 'God'. We
experience him as one who is "personal," for we meet him
in "the center of our personal ex1stence." 11 We
experience him as one who speaks, "the divine Spirit
• . . expressing itself in many forms, in nature and
history, in symbols and sacraments, in silent and in
spoken words." 111 We experience him as 'love', one
seeking reunion with man. Thus, "God [as portrayed in