Questions about "Mystery"

To think about...

1) What is the place of mystery in Christian life? (personally, corporately?)
a. What does the Bible say?
b. how does our worldview affect it?

(This is a metaphysical question. It is assuming such a thing first exists, and is only known after it exists.)

2) What is the relation of faith and mystery?

The classic premodern/modern question was "What is the relation of faith and reason?" The Enlightenment idolized Reason therefore ridiculed faith; but now the Postmodern pendulum has swung to the opposite end. We are now suspicious of reason (ironic, huh, but irony is a postmodern virtue). However, does this mean the pendulum has swung back to faith? If not, what has replaced faith? Is mystery the opposite of reason? What is the relation between faith and mystery? Are there some definitions of faith that have a corresponding definition of mystery, so that there is a matter of equivocation to be dealt with here?

2) Do people have varying degrees of need for mystery? Do denominations?

This is an epistemological/psychological question. It is focusing on the subjective, not the objective aspect of mystery.

Some folks are "nerds" and some folks are "mystics" and still others are "Reformed." ISTM one way to understand the difference is to see it as a matter of their ability to tolerate mystery. Some people just seem to be more open and comfortable with it than others.

I believe that just as individuals have personalities, so do groups. So even though there is not a one-to-one correspondence between persons and denominations, I think that it is possible to make some general statements about churches/denominations and their understandings of mystery, and their consequent place for it corporately.

I'm going to let these questions percolate some. Meanwhile, what do you think?