Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

M odern european philosophy, philosophy of religion A term for God used by Martin Buber in I and Thou , in contrast to a human and temporal Thou. God, as the eternal Thou, is the grounds of all I–Thou relations, but is not merely an abstract power. According to Buber, we can meet Him in the concrete reality of the divine presence. God is inherent or implicit within the scope of human life. Our relation to God is an extension of the human I–Thou relation. The eternal Thou can never be limited by another Thou, and its nature prevents it from even becoming an it. With this term, Buber hoped to clarify what people mean in using the term “God” and to indicate how God can be reached. “In every sphere in its own way, through each process of becoming that is present to us, we look out toward the eternal Thou, in each we are aware of a breath from the eternal Thou; in each Thou we address the eternal Thou.” Buber, I and Thou ... log in or subscribe to read full text