INTERPERSONALISM AND THE MYSTERY OF GOD

INTERPERSONALISM AND THE MYSTERY OF GOD

Virgil Warren, PhD

Interpersonalism integrates with the “mystery of God” because (a) the mystery factor is highest in the interpersonal categories. That is so because the other categories—nature, law, and logic—are deterministic; but persons, especially persons in relationship, are not fully predictable since they have rationality, creativity, and free will on both sides of the relationship.

The mystery of God comes also from (b) the fact that God is supernatural, but we can regard him only with our finite minds.  That reduces our ability to “figure him out” or predict his next move. He will not be inconsistent with his nature, values, and purposes; but those three factors leave a lot of room for variability. They allow his freedom and supernatural abilities to operate in ways we cannot know or understand or anticipate.        

Finally, God is mysterious to us because (c) his self-disclosure in history and scripture is not complete; by the nature of the case, it cannot be otherwise. While we know enough to relate to him and to understand his expectations of us, the full range of his nature and purposes lies beyond us.

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