Jn 3:16-18 Are There Any Mysteries Left?Is there anything that is still a mystery?
I have had many discussions with Jehovah Witnesses and a few with Muslims. When everything is said and done, the Witnesses and Muslims tend to think that they can strike a deadly blow over the Christian’s head when they argue against the mystery of the Holy Trinity.
They claim, “If God is a Trinity, then can you please explain it?” At that moment, a Christian may very well feel slightly embarrassed over the fact that he cannot - that it is a mystery and cannot be fully explained.
Is God so small that we can put him (understand everything about him) into our tiny human heads? Where did this idea come from? Where did this idea that we can know all things about our God, our Creator, come from? I would say it began with the Protestant Reformation and at the expense of the Bible.
Many Protestant denominations, especially Evangelicals and Fundamentalists, pride themselves in having all the answers to all life’s questions. They often begin by referring to Scripture; “The Bible says or God said…” as if this type of written or spoken feedback is supposed to erase all our fears, calm all our doubts and ease all our pains. Was the Bible, the fruit of the Holy Spirit and the Lord’s bride, his Church, really meant to be used this way, as a Reference Manuel? No! St. Paul tells us that Scripture is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training (cf. 2Tim 3:16). Needless to say, when St. Paul wrote down these words, the New Testament, as we know it, still did not exist! Scripture was never intended to be the go to all for all things! And it was definitely never meant to be the source of all knowledge, including God’s very being and essence. The greatest fallacy ever created by man is that if it is not in Scripture than it does not come from God! For this reason, the Protestants continue to regress rather than progress.
If Scripture removed all life’s questions, then there would be no need for faith, since the answers to our dearest questions would be readily available at the turn of a page. History has shown, over and over again, how Scripture (God’s Holy Word) can be distorted and manipulated to serve our purposes rather than that of the Glory of God. Our latest doomsday predictor, who was a good and sincere Christian man; who read the Bible earnestly and faithfully, is a clear reminder of such failed attempts at tapping into the mystery of God’s Infinite Being, Mind, Love and Plan for each and every one of us and using Scripture alone as his point of departure.
Scripture must be interpreted by God’s proper authority. The Bible belongs to His Bride, the Roman Catholic Church. It is a gift from the Church to the world. Scripture must be read and interpreted with proper instruction, which immediately contradicts the notion that it can be used alone to know, love and serve the Lord. This instruction consists of more than just learning how to read; it entails true ownership and authority. If not, then the mushrooming of Christian denominations (which started after the Reformation) will continue to expand, and bizarre and never-before-heard-of weird theologies (such as the so-called prosperity Gospel) will continue to appear that are as alien to Christianity as Martians are to earth!
Let God be God. Let God have some semblance of mystery. I do not have to have an answer to every question. Some questions will not be answered until the end of time or until we make it to Heaven or Hell. But there are two things we know of God and we know for sure and both are found “in the pillar and foundation of Truth, the Church” (cf. 1Tim 3:15), and they are: God is love and God is a Father, and that God so loved the world that he sent his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. There is much more, and most of it we will never know until we see Him face to face. So be humble! Accept the mysteries of life, for the Lord does not love the arrogant or prideful of heart but the repentant sinner and a humble kneeler. And that is a mystery in itself!
