The function of transcendence in the religious life is to lay the foundation of an unalterable idea. The framework, though—the daily commitment to the idea—becomes what Lightman calls the “most persuasive evidence of God.” Transcendence is a glimpse of the reality created and sustained by dull habit.The Hölderlin poem has been a favorite of mine since college.
Contemplatives and monastics in the Catholic church understand "dull habit" as a pathway to transcendence. I have little patience for contemporary over-the-top enthusiasts, fundamentalists, and revivalists. That seems not to be the most sensible pathway. (Coincidence: one of the security words - Pentateuch.)
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