Teresa Hoàng Nguyễn Minh Anh
CIV - STB3
Faith seeking knowledge - The nature of theology
A summary - Part 1.1 Mystery and Revelation (p.18 - 23)
Revelation could be found in three addresses:
1. Human experiences
There are moments in life in which we recognize that there’s a powerful entity who makes possible what
seems otherwise, who is greater than both our joy and sorrow. In ecstasy or extreme sadness, we come to
realize our bliss and limits, and therefore grasp a hint of what is behind them all. God also reveals Himself
in our connection with people around us, those who inspire us, and also whom we humbly (and even
accidentally) inspire. In such connections, we, through our own experience, know that many things
happen regardless of our own desire. That would bring us to the revelation that God works through us,
and through the people around us, in ways we can’t always anticipate.
The sensible world, God’s sacrament of his constant presence, and everything in it is full of little yet
profound mysteries, each of which manifests something of The Mystery.
2. The Sacred Scripture
The reading of the Sacred Scripture would lead us to feeling God’s presence. However, it is important to
clarify that the Scripture itself is not revelation. God Himself works through it all, the Scripture is one of
His tools. In the history of biblical readers, there are many examples of people who, at one point of their
life, are touched by the Word of God through the words of God in the Scripture. Once this happens, our
experience of God’s presence is either renewed or confirmed, and thus our lifestyle is asked to adapt to this
new state of being in connection with God.
3. The Christian Tradition
The Christian Tradition protects the Christian faith. It is considered an address of revelation for its
importance in assisting the faith of followers of Christ. Christian doctrines expose Christians to
experiences of God as they are originally the “second order” language about the experience of mystery. The
knowledge acquired in doctrines is not merely knowledge, but the provoker of something deeper, because
it requires a reaction, i.e my own gaining of experience with the information I’ve just received. Besides, the
people who have been entrusted to keep the Tradition have a lot to tell us ascendants about how God has
always been there and working in our world.
I would like to sum this up by putting it this way: the three addresses provide us contemplation-provokers. The
grandeur and the ups and downs of life, the simple yet echoing words in the Scripture, the truth carefully
worded in Christian doctrines - all share one thing in common: they take advantage of what is sensible and
perceivable to the limited resource of human’s capacity to point us to Him who works through them.