Charles Taylor tries to capture this when he says that, for Hegel, the movement of the Spirit is “in train” and “it is incumbent on men to recognize and live in relation to it.” The movement of the Spirit is something to be joined, which requires something of us. “To recognize one’s connection with Geist is ipso facto to change oneself and the way one acts.”32 And for Hegel, religious transformation is at the heart of this: a change in reality is intertwined with a change in consciousness. This is why discernment in the midst of history is our central burden: listening for the beat, feeling
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