We are approaching the last stage of our investigation: the question of
the dialectical sublation of the representational form and its correlative, the
religious stage of spirit, as these have been intepreted by Hegel’s theological critics. For Hegel, the representational form is sublated in both religious
contemplation and the simplicity of thought: ‘In this form . . . , truth is the
object of philosophy’.47 The return to the simplicity of thought occurs
when ‘the unfolding of the mediation’ demonstrates substance as subject.
The ‘absolute result’ marks the dialectical identity of subject (Father) and
predicate (Son). The intra-trinitarian distinction resolves itself into the
movement of a speculative proposition. But wouldn’t such a thought spell
the ruin of any idea of divine transcendence?
