Being in a college environment, it’s sometimes not appropriate to fall back onto “well it’s a mystery” when explaining a doctrine. In dealing with theology and philosophy students, it appears that everything and anything about God must be explained and must be rational. Thus, when I find myself turning to mystery, I’m told that it’s a “cop-out” or that I’m simply being lazy in my study.
However, without going into too much detail, I readily believe that the most reasonable aspect of Christianity is its mystery. Even Paul calls the Gospel a mystery (Ephesians 6:19). But why would He do so and why is mystery actually rational?
For one, God declares in Isaiah 55 that His thoughts and ways are above our own; this indicates that He is beyond comprehension. Anything that is beyond comprehension is, by definition, a mystery. To look at this logically:
(1) Anything beyond comprehension is a mystery
(2) God is beyond comprehension
(3) Therefore, God is a mystery
When people try to rationally explain every aspect of God’s being, they attempt to pull Him within the realm of comprehension. However, isn’t this always the sign of an idol? The Hebrews didn’t understand why God had abandoned them at the base of a mountain, so they created a false image of God, an image of gold, one they could comprehend. Think of all the false religions of old and present where the gods are more than human, but still close to humans. They can be comprehended, predicted, and understood just as clearly as any other human being is understood.
