There’s a caricature of theology (and confessional theologians) that suggests that there is no meaningful place for mystery in the Christian life. The goal of exploring Scripture is to come to a place of complete understanding or absolute certainty. We can figure it all out—even God himself. All it takes to get there is enough time and effort. And anyone appealing to mystery lacks faith. Which is arrogant.
But there’s another caricature, I’ve seen far too often, typically of more experientially-oriented people. This one puts certainty in opposition to genuine faith. Theology and doctrine put God in a box. If we think we’ve got God figured out, then whatever we’ve described isn’t God. Which, if we’re being honest, is nihilistic.
The problem with caricatures is that they are based, in part in truth. There are people who leave little room for mystery. There are people who reject the idea of certainty altogether in favor of something akin to Alcoholics Anonymous’s “God of your own understanding” ethos. Some people are arrogant, and others are nihilistic. But these caricatures are, more often than not, straw men. They are oversimplifications that lead people to believe there really is a conflict between certainty and faith. That they are polar opposites. (Even if they aren’t.)
Does Mystery Have a Place?
So it’s worth asking: What, if any, is the place of mystery in the world of theology? The answer is relatively simple: Mystery fuels the work of theology. Think about it this way. The nature of the gospel itself is inherently strange—it is unique, different than any other worldview or religion. After all, we believe that Jesus, a man both human and divine, died and rose again in our place to reconcile us to God. That is fundamentally different from not only other religions, but from our own instincts and intuitions. And you can see all kinds of mysteries in that short description:
- How can a person be both God and human?
- How can a dead person rise from the dead?
- What happens to reconcile us to God through Jesus?
Theology allows us to, as Dr. Michael Allen describes in one of his Systematic Theology lectures, explore the gospel’s profound_ uniqueness_. In this sense, mystery is the lifeblood of theology. It’s what gives energy to our pursuits. But here’s the catch: We don’t do this with a goal of resolving the mystery within our faith. Instead, we’re seeking to discern the mystery. We want to affirm that mysteries are mysteries for a reason, while striving to understand what we can out of love for God and for others.
The Fuel of Our Exploration
And there’s something really beautiful about this. I’ve been at this for a little over 20 years now. The starting point for my own theological exploration began with a confrontation with mystery as a new believer, trying to begin to understand this faith I claimed as my own. And that prompted me to begin to seek out answers. What I’ve found is that, rather than leading necessarily to a settled conclusion, every answer leads to an invitation to explore at a deeper level. This is incredibly significant because it means there is no end to our exploring of God.
So what is the place of mystery in the world of theology? Mystery is the fuel that drives our exploration. It protects us from becoming the caricature of the arrogant fundamentalist who sees himself as capable of understanding everything under his own strength and power. And it protects us from epistemological nihilism on the other, of abandoning any notion of being able to understand anything at all. But more than that, it is God’s invitation to keep exploring. To keep seeking answers. To keep being curious. And to embrace the invitation to “Come further up, come further in!” (C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle).
Photo by Gary Butterfield on Unsplash
