Page:Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion volume 3.djvu/28

 When we say, God has created a world, we imply that there has been a transition from the Notion to objectivity, only the world is here characterised as essentially God’s Other, and as being the negation of God, outside of God, without God, godless. In so far as the world is defined as this Other, the difference does not present itself to us as being in the Notion itself or as contained in the Notion; i.e., Being, Objectivity must be shown to be in the Notion, must be shown to exist in the form of activity, consequence, determination of the Notion itself.

It is thus shown, at the same time, that this is implicitly the same content, that the necessity for transition is seen in the form of the proof of the existence of God referred to. In the absolute Idea, in the element of thought, God is this purely concrete Universal, i.e., He is thought of as positing Himself as an Other, but in such a way that this Other is immediately and directly characterised as God Himself, and the difference as being merely ideal is directly done away with, and does not attain to the form of externality, and this just means that what has thus been posited as difference has been shown to exist in and to be involved in the Notion.

It is characteristic of the logical sphere in which this shows itself that it is the nature of every definite conception or notion to annul itself, to be its own contradiction, and consequently to appear as its own difference, and to posit itself as such. Thus the Notion itself is still affected by this element of one-sidedness and finitude, and is something subjective; and the characteristics of the Notion, its differences, are posited as ideal merely, and do not actually appear in a definite form as differences. Such is the Notion which gives itself an objective form.

When we say God, we speak of Him merely as abstract; or when we say God the Father, the Universal, we speak of Him in terms of finite existence merely. His infinitude consists just in this, that He does away