📘 Lexicon Entry: Divine Presence

God’s active presence with creation that involves both transcendence beyond creation and immanent involvement with it through non-competitive relationship

Divine Presence represents God’s choice to be with humanity without dominating or being absorbed by creation. This concept challenges both deistic separation of God from creation and pantheistic identification of God with creation, offering instead a non-competitive understanding where divine presence enables rather than competes with human agency. Grounded in biblical witness to God’s presence through covenant, Incarnational Presence, and Spirit, divine presence addresses Practical Atheism by emphasizing God’s active engagement with creation, challenges Prosperity Materialism by redefining blessing as relationship rather than material success, and counters Authoritarian Spirituality by demonstrating divine presence that enables rather than dominates human freedom.

Theological Alternative

Divine presence, transcendence, immanence, incarnation, non-competitive agency, covenant, pneumatology

Geevarghese-Uffman, Craig. “Divine Presence.” *Political Theology Lexicon*. https://www.commonlifepolitics.com/p/lexicon. Accessed [date].

Divine presence involves both transcendence beyond creation and immanent involvement with it

God’s presence enables rather than competes with human agency and freedom

Divine presence is relational rather than merely spatial or temporal

Incarnation reveals divine presence as self-giving love rather than dominating power

Divine presence conceived as competitive with human agency, reduction to human feeling or projection, or instrumentalization for personal advancement and control

Non-competitive relationship between divine and human agency

Mediated through creation, scripture, sacraments, and community without being contained

Relational rather than merely metaphysical understanding

Enabling rather than dominating human freedom and responsibility

Hebrew scriptures developing divine presence through temple, covenant, and prophetic tradition

Patristic theology articulating divine presence through trinitarian and incarnational doctrine

Medieval synthesis integrating divine presence with philosophical categories of being

Modern theology recovering immanent divine presence against deistic distance

God’s presence with Israel in tabernacle and temple (Exodus 40:34-38)

Incarnation as "God with us" (Matthew 1:23)

Spirit’s presence in believers (1 Corinthians 3:16)

Promise of God’s continual presence (Matthew 28:20)

Liberation theology emphasizing divine presence with the oppressed and marginalized

Contemplative movements recovering experiential dimensions of divine presence

Process theology articulating divine presence as compassionate involvement in creation

Environmental theology recognizing divine presence throughout creation

Samuel Wells articulates divine presence through “being with” framework emphasizing presence over problem-solving

Karl Barth develops theology of divine presence through self-revelation rather than natural theology

Jürgen Moltmann explores divine presence through suffering and crucifixion

Hans Urs von Balthasar articulates divine presence through theological aesthetics and kenotic love

Related Primary Concepts: Being With applies divine presence to human relationships

Theological Alternatives: Trinitarian Presence grounds divine presence in trinitarian communion

Key Mutations Addressed: Practical Atheism through emphasis on active divine engagement

Contemporary Applications: Contemplative spirituality, liberation theology, environmental theology

May 25, 2025

*This entry is part of the Political Theology Lexicon, accessible exclusively to subscribers. View the complete lexicon to explore related concepts and the full theoretical framework.*