Explaining Differences And The Relationship Among Transcendent, Metaphysical, And Supernatural

Posted on: 29 May 2018

There are a few words in the English language that most people think are just synonyms for each other. While it could, inarguably, be true of some words, it is not entirely true of the words "metaphysical," "supernatural," and "transcendent." At first glance, these three words seem the same, but if you break down their meanings, each is very different from the next. It is this very idea that has fueled many Christian metaphysical blogs, transcendentalism blogs, and supernatural blogs. The following is a clearer explanation of these similar, but not same, ideas and the relationship they share.

Transcendent

To be transcendent, one must transcend over, across, and through a barrier. In religion, the transcendence often referred to is the soul transcending through the human body to ascend or descend to the places of the afterlife. The ascension of heavenly beings may also be the transcendence that is discussed in these blogs.

Supernatural

Supernatural worlds include incredible beings unseen by the naked human eye. The supernatural includes demons, angels, spirits, ghosts, and anything else of untold and unseen power. Witches, wizards, and warlocks are also lumped in there, along with creatures possessing unnatural abilities or powers, such as fabled vampires or werewolves. The supernatural fascinates humans because it is beyond what humans can see or touch. A supernatural blog can focus just on religious supernatural things or on just one type of supernatural creature.

Metaphysical

The prefix "meta" means "more" or "greater than." Ergo, "metaphysical" means "greater than the physical" world. In religion, metaphysical often refers to the resurrection of Christ, transcendence of the human soul, heaven, hell, angels, demons, God, etc. Since some of these topics often cross over into the realm of the supernatural and the topic of transcendence, it is easy to see how they can be confused.

The Relationship Among These Three

There are some aspects and topics that fit the definitions of all three of these words. The overlapping topics these categories share is often a topic unto itself. It just depends on who starts a blog and who starts a conversation about a related topic. 

In a specific approach, the religious aspects of these three related words breaks down further. It is through this approach that you can see why and how the three words effectively become separate concepts. It is something to consider when you are thinking about interchanging the three words.

For more information, talk to companies like Meta-Christianity.

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