Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
Concrete Mystery

Concrete Mystery

Last updated on: October 26, 2020 at 6:50 am by C. Don Jones

Concrete Mystery 2020-10-26T06:50:51-06:00 C. Don Jones

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

What is a concrete mystery? It is not understanding what is real. I have always wanted to know how stuff works. It is probably because my father is an engineer. My son has the same drive. How does it work? Or more often why is it not working? And what made it work before it broke down? As always questions must be examined.

The Mystery In A Lie

“It was working just fine the day before.” If this statement leads to the question of why it is not working now, it is probably a lie. When someone makes this claim, the mystery is not why it broke. More likely it is why didn’t the person notice something was wrong? The machine stopped because the machine was breaking down gradually. The operator did not notice the problem because they had gotten used to the slight whine or small grinding noise. The noise increased perceptibly to those who had not adapted themselves to listening to it.

“It runs fine. You just need a few minor adjustments.” This is the salesman’s lie. There is no mystery why the salesman tells the lie. But that person is not necessarily wrong in their assertion. Some repair may help the device work. The repairs will take more than “a few minor adjustments.”

The Mystery When Something is Not Broken

I don’t understand how something works. But I think I can explain it. For millennia, human being have gotten things wrong. I have copies of the ancient physicians Galen and Hippocrates. Some of their conclusions are laughable but only in the light of modern medical knowledge. Yet, some of their remedies work. Sneezing does cure hiccups most of the time.

Claiming that an automobile engine operates based on a demonic presence is wrong. Most of modern people have a basic idea how that works. Electronic computing is a little more mysterious to some of us. The majority of us do not assume some spiritual entity is at work. Why? Because we are used to machines working in some way that is physically explainable even if it is a mystery.

Interpolation

One way we solve concrete mysteries is by interpolation. We reason from what we know to explain why something is working. Spiritualism and sorcery tend to work this way. We see something happen that is out of the ordinary or difficult for us to explain. We logically assume something happened. But what was it? We respond to the question in some way or other.

A medium claims knowledge that cannot be gained other than by “supernatural” means. The conclusions do not come from the normal means of reason. Or it seems that way. When I worked in a factory, we joked bitterly that our machines would break down and then mysteriously begin to work when the mechanic arrived. The problem would not be fixed because there were no “symptoms” of it. Stephen King’s novel Christine was based on this kind of incongruity. Something bad is happening with a machine. But it works for one special person for some sinister person.

Mystery Without Knowledge

Information and knowledge are not the same thing. Information can be either wrong or untrue. Gossip is information. It is often untrue because of malice. As I said earlier, sorcery works by interpolating from knowledge from established understanding. But it does not truly work. Why? Let’s have an example. Someone I know tells the story that as a young man in High School he was interested in a girl at his school. He had an interest in supernatural things and placed a “love spell” on his class ring. The “next day” he overhears a conversation this girl has with her boyfriend. “I don’t know why,” she begins, ‘but I feel we should break up.” My friend was so upset by the event that he took off his ring and placed it in his pocket and never wore it again.

Here are the bare facts. A teenaged boy placed a love spell on his class ring. The girl he wants breaks up with her boyfriend. At that time, a “class ring” was offered to a beloved person to show that the two people formed a romantic relationship. This is why he chose that particular object. He interpolated taking the ring off broke the spell and is why the girl did not turn around and immediately declare her love for this person. The spell obviously worked.

The conclusion is false. Teenaged people often take actions without fully understanding why they do something. It is part of the maturing process. However, this person continues to hold to his superstition. It was set into his mind before he gained knowledge of teenaged psychology.

Conspiratorial Arrogance

Mysteries are fun so long as they have no bearing on our personal situations. Television programs like Dateline that provide “true mysteries” are more entertaining than mysteries that are admittedly works of fiction. It is the claim that they are true that makes them more interesting. We forget that how a story is told is more important for the entertainer than the facts of the case.

Conspiracy theories work like spiritualism and sorcery. Information that threatens the perceived conclusion is dangerous to how a person views the world. My former sorcerer friend is more likely to dismiss the insight from psychology. A person who had been awed by a medium is likely to defend the fraud once it has been exposed. Why? Because the information is a threat to the worldview. Reason is then abandoned for not providing the solution we want. “Two plus two equals five.”

No Mystery

I enjoy solving concrete mysteries. Learning how stuff works is fun. It is no mystery why I write this today. Halloween is approaching. A Presidential election where conspiracy theories are front center is upon us. And the late great James Randi has just died. Defending reality has never been more important. And there is no greater evil than rationalized ignorance.

Previous Post

October 22, 2020

Nonviolence

Next Post

October 29, 2020 The Iron Veil

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Addiction Advent Afghanistan Anxiety Ascension Sunday Baptism Barack Obama Biblical Interpretation Bigotry Book Banning BSA Buddhism Choice Christmas Church Discipline Community Conscience Conspiracy theories COVID-19 Culture Wars death cults deconstruction Devotional Divine Judgment Donald Trump Earth Day Election Day empathy Environmentalism Evangelism Exploitation of the Poor Faith False Claims fascism Fear Forgiveness Genocide government Grace Gun Violence Halloween Hate Health Hillbilly Elegy Hindu Holy Communion Holy Week Homelessness Hope Identity Integrity Islam Joe Biden John Hagee Kamala Harris Labor Lent Liberation Theology Lies Love Love as action Neurological disorders Non-Christian Religions Online Worship Original Goodness Pandemic Peace Pentecost Philosophy Preaching Progressive Christianity Racism Redemptive Violence Myth Resentment Saint's Days Satire Sobriety social media Spiritual Self Care Spirituality Technology The Kingdom of God The United Methodist Church Theology Transfigurations Sunday Transgender persons Truth Uncategorized Violence Wesleyan Working Class

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 March 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 January 2025 October 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 July 2018 February 2018 January 2018 August 2017 May 2017 November 2016 July 2016 June 2016 November 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 January 2015 November 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 June 2013 March 2013 February 2013 December 2012 August 2012 July 2012 May 2012 February 2012 December 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

“The Lord is my light and my _______ — whom shall I fear?"

Select your answer to see how you score.

Hope Leader Lamp Salvation