I've come to the conclusion that to help many Christians understand witchcraft and paganism, it would be beneficial to be able to find a way to express some of the basic precepts in examples familiar to Christians. In this case, I'm looking to explain the concept of a "mystery" by constructing a semi-reasonable mystery based on Christian beliefs and practices. To my knowledge, no one has actually tried it, so it might be an interesting experiment. Let me know what you think.
A mystery is a religious truth of sorts. It works on many levels. A mystery is meant to be understood, known, experienced, and lived out. Mysteries are expressed through both words and ritual actions. These are done in a way that ingrains them deeply into the mindset of the individual.
To give an example, let me take a passage from the Bible:
What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin.
-- Romans 6:1-7, New Standard Revised Version
The mystery expressed here would simply be "In baptism, we are buried with Christ, risen with Christ again, and freed from sin." Paul's text (and the rest of the passage) is the intellectual explanation of the meaning and implication of this mystery. It's "knowing" and "understanding" the mystery in part. By actually living a life "risen in Christ and freed from sin," one is living this mystery. All that remains is the experience of this mystery. So, how might a Christian experience this mystery?
Simple! The actual rite of baptism! It is through the careful execution of a baptism that this mystery becomes a real-life experience to a Christian.
To get a better understanding of this concept, let's walk through a baptism performed by immersion(*). Now, I'm going to change the process slightly -- at least compared to what my immersion experience was like -- so pay a bit of attention.
Imagine that you are going to be baptized. You've prepared for this. You've spent a great deal of time prior to the rite in prayer. You might have even fasted all day. You and your baptizer walk out into waist-deep water. You stand befor him. He asks you if you believe that Christ is your Lord and Savior. You answer in the affirmative. He gently grabs ahold of you and utters a prayer in which he declares his intent to "bury you with Christ" in the act of baptism. He then plunges you bodily beneath the surface of the water. You are focused on the act of being "dead and buried."
Now, here's the important part. Most immersion baptisms I've seen involved holding the believer underwater for a couple seconds at most. But imagine if your baptizer holds you there longer. Imagine that you find yourself "buried" for several seconds. Not long enough to actually risk your life, but long enough to make you well aware of your situation -- and the fact that you are running out of water. As you focus on your situation, it becomes crystalized in your mind. You really are "buried"!
Finally, after enough time has passed, your baptizer pulls you out of water. You breath in your very first breath -- the first breath after "rising with Christ"! This truly is a new life for you, freed from the past one which was buried.
With careful preparation, the symbolic act of baptism becomes a stark reality. It creates an incredible impact upon the very core of your being. You have experienced the mystery of Baptism in a powerful way that you're not likely to forget.
This is the nature of a mystery. To Know, to Understand, to Experience, to Live.
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(*) Note that my intent in this article is not to contribute to the argument concerning whether baptism should be performed by immersion or aspersion. I have merely chosen immersion in this article because I was better able to use it to express my ideas. It would be equally possible to develop a mystery surrounding baptism by aspersion.
This is not to say that I have no opinion on the incessant debates amongst Christians concerning the "proper" method for baptism. However, I intend to keep those opinions to myself for the time being.
