Mysterium tremendum

Mysterium tremendum (Greek-Latin "mystery that triggers fear and trembling") describes the divine as the cause and object of reverent shuddering.

The term was coined by the Protestant theologian and religious scholar Rudolf Otto in his main work Das Heilige to describe what he considered to be an irreducible moment of religious experience. The mysterium tremendum there forms a pair of opposites with the mysterium fascinosum , which is supposed to describe the experience of religious delight: Mysterium tremendum et fascinans. According to this, the divine is always both at the same time: attractive and frightening, captivating and threatening.

The two terms continue to play an important role in Protestant theology and religious philosophy . Since they are supposed to describe the irrational basic experiences of the religious, they are also used to differentiate oneself from a purely rationally based religion.

According to Rudolf Otto, both the mysterium fascinosum and the mysterium tremendum represent characteristics and properties of the numinous .

literature

• Rudolf Otto: Das Heilige , Munich CH Beck, 1st edition 1917