(1) _The Transcendence of God._—All the conceptions which we have seen to exist in the sphere of philosophy were reproduced in the sphere of Christianity. They are sometimes relative to God, in contrast to the world of sensible phenomena: phenomena come into being, God is unbegotten and without beginning: phenomena are visible and tangible, God is unseen and untouched. They are sometimes relative to the idea of perfection: God is unchangeable, indivisible, unending. He has no name: for a name implies the existence of something prior to that to which a name is given, whereas He is prior to all things. These conceptions are all negative: the positive conceptions are that He is the infinite depth (βύθος) which contains and embosoms all things, that He is self-existent, and that He is light. “The Father of all,” said one school of philosophers,[492] “is a primal light, blessed, incorruptible, and infinite.” “The essence of the unbegotten Father of the universe is incorruptibility and self-existing light, simple and uniform.”[493] From the earliest Christian teaching, indeed, the conception of the transcendence of God is absent. God is near to men and speaks to them: He is angry with them and punishes them: He is merciful to them and pardons them. He does all this through His angels and prophets, and last of all through His Son. But he needs such mediators rather because a heavenly Being is invisible, than because He is transcendent. The conception which underlies the earliest expression of the belief of a Christian community is the simple conception of children. “We give Thee thanks, Holy Father, for Thy holy name which Thou hast caused to dwell in our hearts, and for the knowledge and faith and immortality which Thou hast made known to us through Jesus Christ, Thy servant. To Thee be glory for ever. Thou, Almighty Master, hast created all things for Thy name’s sake, hast given food and drink to men for their enjoyment, that they may give thanks to Thee: and upon us hast Thou bestowed spiritual food and drink and eternal life through Thy servant. Before all things we give Thee thanks for that Thou art mighty: to Thee be glory for ever.”[494] In the original sphere of Christianity there does not appear to have been any great advance upon these simple conceptions. The doctrine upon which stress was laid was, that God is, that He is one, that He is almighty and everlasting, that He made the world, that His mercy is over all His works.[495] There was no taste for metaphysical discussion: there was possibly no appreciation of metaphysical conceptions. It is quite possible that some Christians laid themselves open to the accusation which Celsus brings, of believing that God is only cognizable through the senses.[496] They were influenced by Stoicism, which denied all intellectual existences, and regarded spirit itself as material.[497] This tendency resulted in Adoptian Christology.[498]