---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The problem of an eidos in history…"
description: "\"The problem of an eidos in history, hence, arises only when a Christian transcendental fulfillment becomes immanentized. Such an immanentist hypostasis..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c7/eric-voegelin-27612_arise_the-problem-of-an-eidos-in-history-hence_1347438.jpg"
---

#  The problem of an eidos in history, hence, arises only…

![“The problem of an eidos in history, hence, arises only when a Christian transcendental fulfillment becomes immanentized. Such an immanentist hypostasis of the eschaton, however, is a theoretical fallacy.” quote by Eric Voegelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c7/eric-voegelin-27612_arise_the-problem-of-an-eidos-in-history-hence_1347438.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c7/eric-voegelin-27612_arise_the-problem-of-an-eidos-in-history-hence_1347438.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c7/eric-voegelin-27612_arise_the-problem-of-an-eidos-in-history-hence_1347438.jpg)

> “The problem of an eidos in history, hence, arises only when a Christian transcendental fulfillment becomes immanentized. Such an immanentist hypostasis of the eschaton, however, is a theoretical fallacy.”

[Eric Voegelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-voegelin/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

When Christian eschatological ideas become grounded in history, they risk turning into a mistaken, static doctrine.

**In simple terms:** Christian eschatology can become a flawed, static doctrine if historicized.

Key Takeaway

Question theological assumptions.

Themes

theology philosophy history ideology

Mood

reflective critical

Type

philosophical theological

When to use this quote

- academic seminars
- faith‑based study groups
- interfaith dialogues
- public lectures
- writing essays

Key Concepts

metaphysics dogma historical interpretation

Questions to Reflect On

- How does historicizing belief affect its relevance?
- Can faith adapt without losing core meaning?

A Different Perspective

Rigid doctrines may ignore evolving cultural contexts.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Fallacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fallacy/) [Fulfillment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fulfillment/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Transcendental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transcendental/)

## Related quotes

> [Only alone can you go into eternity. Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [Since psyche and matter are contained in one and the same world, and moreover are in continuous contact with one another and ultimately rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/since-psyche-and-matter-are-contained-in-one-and-the-same-world-and/)

[Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/)

> [“Perhaps, there is no such person who can be called truly free, but only those who can be deemed so by comparison.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/perhaps-there-is-no-such-person-who-can-be-called-truly-free-but-only/)

[Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/)

> [I am first and foremost a musician, although those of us who live elsewhere still dream about the inspirational qualities of Australia and its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-woodward/i-am-first-and-foremost-a-musician-although-those-of-us-who-live/)

Roger Woodward

> [I've seen so many cases where lives have been transformed for the good and heard so many stories about this. The technique of Transcendental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/i-ve-seen-so-many-cases-where-lives-have-been-transformed-for-the/)

[David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/)

> [Transcendental meditation is like a car, a vehicle that allows you to go within. It's a mental technique.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/transcendental-meditation-is-like-a-car-a-vehicle-that-allows-you-to/)

[David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/)

> [In my 20s, my mom and I went and saw the bridges of Madison County, which are in Iowa, and I had seen that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lissie/in-my-20s-my-mom-and-i-went-and-saw-the-bridges-of-madison-county/)

[Lissie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lissie/)

> [It is actually a nice question how far Descartes himself endorses the monological and metaphysically dualistic theory of mind associated with his name and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/it-is-actually-a-nice-question-how-far-descartes-himself-endorses-the/)

[Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/)

> [Those who pretend to investigate the transcendental truths of the Being based on pure reasoning fall in the same mistake as someone who, ignoring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samael-aun-weor/those-who-pretend-to-investigate-the-transcendental-truths-of-the/)

[Samael Aun Weor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samael-aun-weor/)

> [The Atonement of Christ is the most transcendental event that has ever occurred or that will ever occur, since the sunrise of creation to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-r-mcconkie/the-atonement-of-christ-is-the-most-transcendental-event-that-has/)

[Bruce R. McConkie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-r-mcconkie/)

> [“It was as if his song was one voice, calling out into the darkness until it was answered by another, harmonizing with its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-tomblin/it-was-as-if-his-song-was-one-voice-calling-out-into-the-darkness/)

[Erik Tomblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-tomblin/)

> [My seminars are for you. They are moments, hours and evenings outside of time. A chance, in a highly charged environment, to meditate, find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/my-seminars-are-for-you-they-are-moments-hours-and-evenings-outside/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [Especially the transcendental philosophy needs the leaven of humor to render it light and digestible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/especially-the-transcendental-philosophy-needs-the-leaven-of-humor-to/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [It is in the measure that special methods acknowledge their common core in transcendental method, that norms common to all the sciences will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lonergan/it-is-in-the-measure-that-special-methods-acknowledge-their-common/)

[Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/)

> [Nothing has ever opened my eyes like transcendental meditation has. It makes me calm and happy, and, well, it gives me some peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-jackman/nothing-has-ever-opened-my-eyes-like-transcendental-meditation-has-it/)

[Hugh Jackman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-jackman/)

## More by Eric Voegelin

> [The death of the spirit is the price of progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-voegelin/the-death-of-the-spirit-is-the-price-of-progress/)

[Eric Voegelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-voegelin/)

> [The experience of a cosmos existing in precarious balance on the edge of emergence from nothing and returning to nothing must be acknowledged, therefore,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-voegelin/the-experience-of-a-cosmos-existing-in-precarious-balance-on-the-edge/)

[Eric Voegelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-voegelin/)

> [“Omul nu este nevoit sa fie partas la greselile epocii in care traieste”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-voegelin/omul-nu-este-nevoit-sa-fie-partas-la-greselile-epocii-in-care-traieste/)

[Eric Voegelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-voegelin/)

> [“The public interest has shifted from the nature of man to the nature of nature and to the prospects of domination its exploration opened;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-voegelin/the-public-interest-has-shifted-from-the-nature-of-man-to-the-nature/)

[Eric Voegelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-voegelin/)

> [“The death of the spirit is the price of progress. Nietzsche revealed this mystery of the Western apocalypse when he announced that God was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-voegelin/the-death-of-the-spirit-is-the-price-of-progress-nietzsche-revealed/)

[Eric Voegelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-voegelin/)

> [Gnostic politics is self-defeating in so far as its disregard for the structure of reality leads to continuous warfare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-voegelin/gnostic-politics-is-self-defeating-in-so-far-as-its-disregard-for-the/)

[Eric Voegelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-voegelin/)

> [“This system of chain wars can end only in two ways: either it will result in horrible physical destructions and concomitant revolutionary changes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-voegelin/this-system-of-chain-wars-can-end-only-in-two-ways-either-it-will/)

[Eric Voegelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-voegelin/)

> [The constancies and equivalences adumbrated work havoc with such settled topical blocks as myth and philosophy, natural reason and revelation, philosophy and religion, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-voegelin/the-constancies-and-equivalences-adumbrated-work-havoc-with-such/)

[Eric Voegelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-voegelin/)

> [“It caused my opposition to any ideologies—Marxist, Fascist, National Socialist, what you will—because they were incompatible with science in the rational sense of critical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-voegelin/it-caused-my-opposition-to-any-ideologies-marxist-fascist-national/)

[eric voegelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-voegelin/)

> [Christ is the head of the corpus mysticum, which includes all men from the beginning of the world to its end. He is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-voegelin/christ-is-the-head-of-the-corpus-mysticum-which-includes-all-men-from/)

[Eric Voegelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-voegelin/)

> [Don't immanentize the eschaton!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-voegelin/don-t-immanentize-the-eschaton/)

[Eric Voegelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-voegelin/)

> [“When God is invisible behind the world, the contents of the world will become new gods; when the symbols of transcendent religiosity are banned,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-voegelin/when-god-is-invisible-behind-the-world-the-contents-of-the-world-will/)

[Eric Voegelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-voegelin/)

> [The course of history as a whole is no object of experience; history has no eidos, because the course of history extends into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-voegelin/the-course-of-history-as-a-whole-is-no-object-of-experience-history/)

[Eric Voegelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-voegelin/)

> [ “\[Under Marxism\] Christ the Redeemer is replaced by the steam engine as the promise of the realm to come.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-voegelin/under-marxism-christ-the-redeemer-is-replaced-by-the-steam-engine-as/)

[Eric Voegelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-voegelin/)

> [“The use of method as the criterion of science abolishes theoretical relevance. As a consequence, all propositions concerning facts will be promoted to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-voegelin/the-use-of-method-as-the-criterion-of-science-abolishes-theoretical/)

[Eric Voegelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-voegelin/)

[Explore all 20 Eric Voegelin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-voegelin/)

## More Arise quotes

> [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [The financial crisis we are facing today arises from the fact that there is almost no more social, cultural, natural, and spiritual capital left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/the-financial-crisis-we-are-facing-today-arises-from-the-fact-that/)

[Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/)

> [Let art, then, imitate nature, find what she desires, and follow as she directs. For in invention nature is never last, education never first;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/let-art-then-imitate-nature-find-what-she-desires-and-follow-as-she/)

[Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/)

> [Do not be satisfied with the speech of your lips and the thought in your heart, all the promises and good sayings in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/do-not-be-satisfied-with-the-speech-of-your-lips-and-the-thought-in/)

[Menachem Mendel of Kotzk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/)

> [Arise Evans had a fungous nose, and said, it was revealed to him, that the King's hand would cure him, and at the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-aubrey/arise-evans-had-a-fungous-nose-and-said-it-was-revealed-to-him-that/)

[John Aubrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-aubrey/)

> [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/)

[Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/)

> [We need less travelling by jet plaes from congress to congress... but more kneeling and praying and pleading to God to have mercy on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martyn-lloyd-jones/we-need-less-travelling-by-jet-plaes-from-congress-to-congress-but/)

[Martyn Lloyd-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martyn-lloyd-jones/)

> [In my model, important interference phenomena arise when individual strata come into contact. These chaotic fluctuations are, I suppose, what my music is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-ferneyhough/in-my-model-important-interference-phenomena-arise-when-individual/)

[Brian Ferneyhough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-ferneyhough/)

> [Whenever you step out of the noise of thinking, that is meditation, and a different state of consciousness arises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/whenever-you-step-out-of-the-noise-of-thinking-that-is-meditation-and/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [An idea or institution may arise for one reason and be maintained for quite a different reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/an-idea-or-institution-may-arise-for-one-reason-and-be-maintained-for/)

[Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/)

> [The oppressed without hope are mysteriously quiet. When the conception of change is beyond the limits of the possible, there are no words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-rowbotham/the-oppressed-without-hope-are-mysteriously-quiet-when-the-conception/)

[Sheila Rowbotham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-rowbotham/)

> [I arise full of eagerness and energy, knowing well what achievement lies ahead of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zane-grey/i-arise-full-of-eagerness-and-energy-knowing-well-what-achievement/)

[Zane Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zane-grey/)

> [When you train your thoughts to dissolve as they arise, they will cross your mind like a bird crosses the sky--without leaving a trace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julietta-suzuki/when-you-train-your-thoughts-to-dissolve-as-they-arise-they-will/)

Julietta Suzuki

> [Nothing, not even the best and noblest, can go on as it now is. Nothing, not even what is lowest and most bestial, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-not-even-the-best-and-noblest-can-go-on-as-it-now-is-nothing/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [So we and our elaborately evolving computers may meet each other halfway. Someday a human being, named perhaps Fred White, may shoot a robot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/so-we-and-our-elaborately-evolving-computers-may-meet-each-other/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

Browse all 1,703 Arise quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The problem of an eidos in history, hence, arises only when a Christian transcendental fulfillment becomes immanentized. Such an immanentist hypostasis of the eschaton, however, is a theoretical fallacy.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Eric Voegelin"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-voegelin/the-problem-of-an-eidos-in-history-hence-arises-only-when-a-christian/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Arise"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-voegelin/the-problem-of-an-eidos-in-history-hence-arises-only-when-a-christian/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c7/eric-voegelin-27612_arise_the-problem-of-an-eidos-in-history-hence_1347438.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c7/eric-voegelin-27612_arise_the-problem-of-an-eidos-in-history-hence_1347438.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c7/eric-voegelin-27612_arise_the-problem-of-an-eidos-in-history-hence_1347438.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The problem of an eidos in history, hence, arises only when a Christian transcendental fulfillment becomes…” — Eric Voegelin",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Eric Voegelin",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-voegelin/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The problem of an eidos in...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-voegelin/the-problem-of-an-eidos-in-history-hence-arises-only-when-a-christian/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-voegelin/the-problem-of-an-eidos-in-history-hence-arises-only-when-a-christian/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```