Don: The need to clear up the mystery of the truth about god seems to be part of human nature. What is it that we really wish to know? What is that we should know? …Can know? …Must know?
We’ve seen that the truth about god and about the kingdom of heaven is a timeless truth, unbounded by religion, culture, or theology. But it is also enveloped in mystery. Jesus himself referred to this in Matthew 13:10-11:
And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.
We have been examining this mystery in the context of the seed parables while knowing that god’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55) and that we cannot fathom him: Job 11:7-8:
“Can you discover the depths of God?
Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?
“They are high as the heavens, what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol, what can you know?
So why do we keep trying?
It might be argued that the Fall of Man is a claim on the essence of the need to know, that the root of all evil is the desire to know. It seems that we do not like uncertainty; so much so, that we would rather make things up than admit to not knowing. Religion and churches throughout the ages have been more than willing to supply answers, and to insist that their answers are correct, immutable, and supported by scripture. It is puzzling, then, to see the many different answers offered by different sects.
The mystery surrounding god is seen throughout scripture: Moses wanted to see god’s face, and god had to warn him that do so would be fatal; Job threatened to sue god in court to get him to reveal his motives; Paul referred repeatedly to mysteries hidden since the foundation of the earth, some of which (such as that god is the god of all mankind) had been revealed to him.
1 Corinthians 2:7-9 says:
But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written,
“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”
The New Testament is replete with mysteries such as God’s wisdom, the revelation of Jesus Christ, godliness, lawlessness, Christ who knew the hope of glory, and the declaration in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52:
Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
Last week we made a brief reference to the poem by John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887) recounting the famous Indian legend of the Blind Men and the Elephant:
It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.
The First approach’d the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
“God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!”
The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, -“Ho! what have we here
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me ’tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!”
The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
Is very like a snake!”
The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
“What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain,” quoth he,
“‘Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!”
The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: “E’en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!”
The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
Is very like a rope!”
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!
[Someone later added this stanza:]
So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!
In the so-called “love chapter” of 1 Corinthians 13 (in particular, verses 8-13) Paul puts a spin on this if one reads it in the context of mystery rather than of love [highlighted phrases imply mystery]:
Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
My questions are:
- What do we know about mystery?
- Can we develop a theology of mystery?
- Why is the human need to know so powerful?
- Is it possible to lead a satisfying spiritual life in the face of mystery?
- Can we understand what we need to understand about god and still be able to embrace the mystery?
- Can a church exist on the foundation of mystery, particularly given our overwhelming desire to know?
Charles: The entire Catholic mass is a celebration of these mysteries. All aspects of worldly existence are uncertain. There is nothing permanent in the physical world—everything is subject to change, decay, and death. Worldly (or natural) existence is bound by the physical and mental senses. Factors that by nature are transient and uncertain. Thus, worldly existence is by nature and definition impermanent. From the perspective of spiritual cultivation, our human need and efforts to seek certainty and permanence from within the context of an uncertain and impermanent “natural” existence guide us inexorably along a journey back to God, the ultimate source of the certainty we seek. I believe this is part of the plan and to that end, all religions point toward the certainty within and beyond that which is uncertain, the permanence within and beyond that which is impermanent… toward the “supernatural”, the everlasting, the spirit of God.
Kiran: Children can accept or reject behavioral restrictions imposed by parents. We are god’s children. Our choice of responses seems to be either accept or reject. There would be a third alternative, if god would let us in on the mysteries. But if he did, being (as we are) driven to judgment and self-appraisal we might be horrified at ourselves in light of knowledge of the mysteries. Perhaps this was what god meant in telling Moses that to reveal the mystery of His face would be fatal to him. The absence of mystery would hurt us far more than its presence does.
David: Without mystery, there can be no religion. There has been no serious worship of the moon god at least since Neil Armstrong trampled on it. All we need to know is that god exists. But we cannot know he exists by any human means of knowledge acquisition. We can know only through the spirit within us, but the important point is that we can know, that there is a way to know. The fact of god’s existence is knowable, but not through any human, natural, physical, discovery process. If you know he exists, then all mystery is solved, since god is the answer to everything. He must forever remain a physical mystery, but his spiritual image is no mystery: He takes the shape of love and grace. We know this because he tells us himself—he is the Inner Voice in all of us. Scripture tells us this, too, but unfortunately it also tells us answers to mysteries that are not really spiritual mysteries—they were merely scientifically unexplained at the time. These profane mysteries are not spirit-driven but driven by scientific ignorance and sometimes by errors in scriptural transmission and translation. The true mysteries are few and fundamental.
Mac: In the context of mystery, evangelism seems harder: “We would like you to accept our beliefs even though we can’t explain them.” At the other extreme, we say: “We expect you to accept our beliefs because they are true.”
Don: The current slogan on the roadside signboard of our church is “Unlocking Revelation”—suggesting that the church can reveal the mystery behind that most mysterious book of scripture.
Charles: There are aspects of mystery that deal with the truth about god, but there are also existential mysteries about the purpose of Man. The Fall represented a cataclysmic shift from a happy and contented spiritual existence totally dependent on god to a (literally) dead-end dependence on ourselves. It does not take much reflection to realize that our physical existence leaves a great deal to be desired. Life on earth is prone to suffering and unhappiness and discontent.
Chris: Maybe we created the mystery. When we ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, we gained insights we could not comprehend. In other words, we created mysteries. There ensued a variety of doctrines. 1 Timothy 6:3-11 alludes to this:
If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.
For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.
We created the mystery. We muddied the waters. Romans 2:12-16 talks about law and about those who abide by it and those who don’t know it. It talks about an internal law “written in [people’s] hearts.” It is the law as exemplified by the life of Jesus: the law of goodness, grace and love, which is ultimately what all will be judged by:
For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.
David: I agree. We create mystery when we write scripture! The real mystery is is to be found in the mother’s anguished cry of “Why, god?” when her child is dying. The real mysteries are already “written in our hearts”. At the same time, the same source—the Inner Voice—supplies the answer: “Have faith!”
Jay: Mystery can move us forward or backward. The real mysteries, such as why a god of love and grace allows bad things to happen, why he hardened Pharaoh’s heart against his chosen people, why the glory of god is revealed (as Jesus said) through a man born blind and therefore reduced to destitution and beggary for much of his life,… these are tough to fathom. They may lead to reassurance or to disaffection, but they do lead us somewhere.
David: There is a final spiritual mystery that we cannot know (except perhaps in the next life). But there is no shortage of natural mysteries; indeed, science thrives on them. We ask “What if…?” questions of the natural world, fully recognizing that in practice we might never find the complete answer but knowing from experience that we will add to our knowledge and understanding in the course of the journey.
Come to think of it, this perhaps applies also to our spiritual journey! I seem to be changing my mind…!
Kiran: The journey may not answer all the questions, but like the blind men and the elephant, it will give some sort of answer. It will help attenuate doubt. But only if one makes the journey.
Chuck: The ultimate doubt occurred at the Fall, when we faced the choice of reliance on god or self-reliance. We chose the path of uncertainty, which leads back to the same choice: Our will or god’s will. Faith or doubt.
David McF: Suppose there were no mystery. Would god be god? In order to revere god, there has to be some unknown, otherwise we bring him down to our level.
Jay: Yes, we try constantly to make god like us, only bigger and stronger and smarter, etc.
Don: Can mystery be taught? Can it be learned?
Kiran: I am learning!
Jay: Can we teach that mystery is not just OK, but even essential?
Chris: It means teaching people to be comfortable with not knowing the whole truth, with not being fully right.
Jay: There is a time for teaching facts, and a time for teaching mystery.
Charles: It depends upon one’s definition of “teaching.” One way to teach mystery is to recognize as role models people of historically great faith, who displayed great serenity and peace even in the face of horrendous suffering, such as Jesus. They represent historical evidence that mystery inspires faith which in turn engenders spiritual tranquility. As a corollary, it could be taught—again, from historical evidence—that faith in ourselves has been a common cause of conflict.
Kiran: My faith in god was strengthened in inverse proportion to my certainty about the answers provided by organized religion. Uncertainty requires greater faith. The journey of spiritual discovery, though never ending, helps to build faith. Moses, Jonah and Job all struggled to understand god. I come to this class because I enjoy the journey, even knowing that we’ll never reach the desired destination of total understanding of god. The business of god is to teach us the mystery. Why do bad things happen to good people? I only know that sometimes, that fact teaches us something.
Don: Is mystery the same as doubt?
David McF: No, but mystery can create doubt.
Jay: If mystery does not shake my faith, then my doubt is lessened.
David: If you shatter a person’s mystery—if you demystify the mystery—you shatter his faith and introduce doubt. The moon god worshiper will probably cease to worship after watching video of Neil Armstrong.
Jay: Ditto if you shatter their certainty.
Jeff: The fundamental question is whether one can embrace the concept of faith without certainty. It is a non-human, supernatural idea but it does appear in scripture, such as when Jesus told us to become like little children, meaning to have blind faith without any concept of certainty or uncertainty. In similar vein, education teaches people to question, therefore uneducated people are more likely to have faith while educated people are more likely to doubt in the absence of certainty. As an educated adult, I cannot stop myself from looking for logic, but there was a time, early in my life, when I was not educated to to do so.
Charles: It is useful to look at things, even such things as certainty and uncertainty, or truth and falsehood, as a continuum rather than as a dichotomy. Doubt is our way of communicating where we, as human beings, are on the continuum. It helps us to conceptualize and understand and explain things. It is not necessarily god’s way, but this process of attempting to deal with uncertainty, impermanence and the physical vs. the spiritual world is all part of the plan of revealing the truth about god through our human existence. Through it all runs our freedom to choose between the way of the flesh or the way of the spirit; the way of faith or the way of non-faith.
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