Metaxology proposes its own unique sense of theism (for lack of a better term), seeking to avoid the pitfalls of, on the one hand, a pantheism that confuses the created and the creator and, on the other hand, a deism that radically disjoints God from creation. In this, Desmond has repeatedly expressed hesitations with regard to the way Hegel conceives of the relationship between God, religion and world. In his contribution, Sander Griffioen traces these reservations throughout Desmond's oeuvre, from Hegel's God to The Intimate Universal. He helpfully distinguishes between three different uses of the term "counterfeit", and the way these relate to "perplexity", in order to get to the bottom of Desmond's discomfort with Hegel.