In praise of mystery
One of the biggest challenges for a preacher is to avoid the congregation's desire for us to "close up" every passage of Scripture, to give the final answer of meaning so that each verse can be neatly shelved in its proper doctrinal box. So even though the gospel is simply and clear enough, I enjoy being reminded that much mystery still remains in the Word. Thus I hope my friend Bob will excuse me for quoting the final paragraph of his post on "the mystery of the faith":
Well, let us not drain the mystery out of the Gospel. Let us not think it is merely a matter of words, assertions, confessions, etc. God's ultimate plan is to draw us to Him, and that is a mysterious thing to say and believe. This is what we proclaim, a mystery. A secret knowledge now revealed and yet remaining, nevertheless, quite strange, deeply mysterious.And if you've read this far, why not go and read Bob's whole post?
posted by Milton Stanley at 3:49 PM
5 Comments:
Perhaps one reason why "mystery" is deemphasized is that the concept is incompatible with human pride - our deeply seated desire to name, to define, and therefore to control. Certainty exalts the speaker, but mystery puts us in our place. Perhaps we preachers secretly fear that a central point of "I don't know" makes for a very short, uninteresting sermon.
I think you're right, Chris. While preachers certainly shouldn't put an "I don't know" at the center of a sermon, there's nothing wrong with not knowing everything, eh? Peace.
Great link here, Milton! Also, these are good observations in both of these comments.
BTW, where should the "I don't know" go? Would you recommend putting it near the conclusion?
Keep blogging, brother. You do a great job!
At the center or the end? Well, you got me on that one. Should I say, "I don't know"?
Thanks for the encouragement, Bill, and keep up the good work at S.O. Peace.
Chris,
Very good insight!
Tom VanderWalker
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