Mysterium Tremendum
Embracing the “Terrifying Mystery” God.
My son recently returned from working at a Christian summer camp. He’s 18—freshly graduated from high school. He’s been in church his entire life, has sat through hundreds of sermons, and could recite all the right answers. But this time, something deeper happened.
He recounted a moment during one of the evening worship services when he found himself overwhelmed—not by emotion or crowd dynamics, but by something heavier, something sacred. He described being brought to his knees under what he could only explain as the weight of God’s presence. In that moment, he said he was struck by the realization that God is infinitely more powerful than he is—utterly holy, sovereign, and other. Then came a second, sobering realization: that everything good he has ever experienced or accomplished has come solely by the grace of God.
It was a moment of transformation.
There is a name for this kind of encounter. Theologian Rudolf Otto called it the mysterium tremendum—the “terrifying mystery.” It is the profound sense of reverence, awe, and smallness that arises when a person becomes acutely aware of the presence of the divine. Otto described the phenomenon with the Latin phrase “Mysterium tremendum et fascinans” which captures a kind of dichotomy; an encounter with God would be simultaneously overwhelming (tremendum) and compellingly beautiful (fascinans)
In an age where the sacred is often treated casually, and God is sometimes presented as a life coach or cosmic therapist, experiences like this remind us that the God of the Bible is not safe. He is good, but He is not tame.
Biblical Examples of the Mysterium Tremendum
Scripture offers multiple accounts of individuals who encountered God and were left undone by the experience:
Moses at the Burning Bush (Exodus 3): Moses hides his face as God declares, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
Isaiah’s Vision of the Lord (Isaiah 6): Isaiah exclaims, “Woe is me!” overwhelmed by the glory and holiness of God.
Jesus in Gethsemane (John 18:6): When Jesus identifies Himself—“I am he”—the soldiers draw back and fall to the ground.
John’s Vision of the Risen Christ (Revelation 1:17): “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.”
These are not merely dramatic scenes; they are holy moments that fundamentally reshape a person’s understanding of both God and self.
Historical and Theological Echoes
This pattern is not confined to Scripture. Throughout Christian history, we see strikingly similar experiences:
Augustine, weeping under the weight of conviction in a garden, hears a child’s voice saying, “Take and read,” prompting a spiritual breakthrough.
Martin Luther, during his Tower Experience, is overwhelmed by the revelation of God’s righteousness and grace while reading Romans.
Blaise Pascal records a sudden, overwhelming encounter with God—his “Night of Fire”—and preserves the written account sewn into his coat for the rest of his life.
Jonathan Edwards preached sermons that so pierced the heart, people cried out mid-sermon or clung to pews in fear. One Connecticut farmer, Stephen Williams, later described Edwards’ message as leaving him with a “heart wound that would not heal.”
Teresa of Ávila, in one of her mystical visions, described being pierced by the love of God as if by a fiery spear—an ecstatic and humbling experience that left her trembling and utterly changed.
C.S. Lewis described his reluctant conversion as being “dragged into the Kingdom kicking and screaming”—a joyful yet disorienting surrender to something greater than himself.
Marks of the Mysterium Tremendum
Though these experiences vary, they often include several shared characteristics:
A profound awareness of God’s holiness
A clarifying sense of one’s own sin and smallness
A feeling of being both known and loved
An impulse to worship, surrender, or obey
A transformational turning point that reorients life
These moments are not about hype or emotionalism. They are about reality—when the veil between heaven and earth momentarily lifts.
Emotionalism vs. Authentic Encounter
Not every tear or chill constitutes a divine encounter. Churches can, whether intentionally or not, stir emotions. But genuine spiritual encounters produce lasting fruit: repentance, reverence, and reformation. They magnify God, not the moment.
If a moment draws a person to humility and holiness, it may be the real thing.
Why This Matters Today
We live in a time where reverence has all but disappeared—even in the church. We approach God with casual indifference, and as a result, our faith can become shallow and unserious. But Scripture tells us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). Without that reverent awe, we drift. With it, everything changes.
We don’t need louder music or flashier programs. We need real encounters with the living God.
Conclusion: Don’t Be Afraid of the Awe
There is worship that comforts, and there is worship that confronts. The latter may leave us on our knees, undone, and trembling—but also more alive and aligned with reality than we’ve ever been.
This is the mysterium tremendum.
In a culture where church and faith have, for many, become cursory routines—and where our modern biases have dulled any real expectation of the supernatural—perhaps what we need most is to recover, with fresh eyes, the terrifying mystery of encountering Christ.