MEETING GOD: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK FOR A PARTICULAR RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

Abstract

This paper examines three human encounters with God from Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions. Such meetings are traditionally viewed as injections of perfect divine truths into an imperfect human reality. Using three states inherent in social transition described by Victor Turner – liminality, outsiderhood and structural inferiority – the paper argues that such meetings with God highlight social and cognitive transitions experienced by their human protagonists. The paper suggests that such meetings thus serve to highlight an understanding of humanity remains markedly separate from the absolute perfection of divine truth.