By Regis Nicoll, Crisis Magazine - Among world religions, past and present, Christianity stands apart. No other metaphysical belief system has a God who is both transcendent and immanent—one who is over all and who has “pitched his tent” with us... Bare monotheistic traditions, like Islam, hold that God is transcendent, but not immanent. He is a cosmic Enigma who distances himself from his creation, leaving man to figure out how he can be placated to avoid punishment or gain reward.