Several years ago, my family and I had the opportunity to travel to the Isle of Skye, situated near the coast of northwest Scotland. We decided to stay near Dornie, a location I knew practically nothing about at the time. Because it was dark when we arrived, I didn’t have any sense for the landscape until the next morning, when I went for a walk. I was surprised to find myself surrounded by five stunning mountain peaks, the “Five Sisters of Kintail.” There was a thick, Scottish mist in the air that seemed to affect the quality of the light coming from the sunrise. The wind gusted and blew dark, low clouds quickly by. As I walked, I felt a tinge of fear and stopped. I suddenly became aware that I felt completely overwhelmed by the glory around me. I looked up and saw the moon. At that moment, I realized in a fresh way that the majesty I observed only is a small part of the grandeur of the entire universe. In retrospect, I believe that this incident opened me up to an entirely new, more experiential way, of approaching my relationship with God.
Experiences of awe are relatively rare. However, as the above example illustrates, an awe experience often may provide a memorable and vivid anchor to what is most important in life, sometimes transforming one’s thinking and behavior. Indeed, awe may be one of the most spiritually significant emotions that humans experience. It is an emotion that Christians would do well to better understand and cultivate.
The Meaning of Awe
Awe is one of the most misunderstood concepts in modern society. Indeed, University of Virginia Psychology Professor Jonathan Haidt noted that the current use of word “awe” has become “water-downed” to a meaning akin to “double-plus good.” Perhaps this is why Neil Pasricha, author of the popular blog “1000 AwesomeThings,” can refer to experiences such as “kindergarten class photos,” “the three paycheck month,” and “putting a slice of lasagna on your plate and having it all stay together” as “awesome.” As Rabbi and Jewish scholar Abraham Joshua Heschel remarked, “the awareness of grandeur and the sublime is all but gone from the modern mind.”
In contrast to the contemporary use of the word, the historical meaning of “awe” implies a potent emotional experience. In fact, the verb “to awe” stems from the 13th century Old Norse word “agi,” which literally translates “fright or terror.”
Perhaps the clearest treatment of awe is provided in the theological classic, “The Idea of the Holy,” in which German theologian Rudolf Otto develops the idea of the “mysterium tremendum.” According to Otto, this experience consists of two intertwined components. One aspect is a sensation of trembling, which comes from a perception of being in the presence of something uncanny, overpowering, and vibrantly alive. Second, there is mystery, which typically leads a person to fascination, a general term used by Otto to refer more specifically to feelings of being astonished, thunderstruck, transfixed, or dumbfounded.
It is clear from the above that there is a complex relationship between “fear” and “awe.” In his book, “The Problem of Pain,” C. S. Lewis provides a helpful thought experiment that helps to clarify. To paraphrase, imagine that you come across a wild tiger. The likely emotion you would experience would be fear. Imagine now that you believed you were in the presence of a ghost. The feeling would be like fear, but it would be more eerie. Finally, imagine that you believed you were in the presence of a Mighty Spirit. The feeling you would have would be even one step more removed from fear, perhaps best described as awe.
As an example, consider the following Scripture passage:
“A word secretly was brought to me, my ears caught a whisper of it. Amid disquieting dreams in the night, when deep sleep falls on people, fear and trembling seized me and made all my bones shake. A spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body stood on end. It stopped, but I could not tell what it was. A form stood before my eyes, and I heard a hushed voice: ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?’” (Job 4:12-17).
Both elements of Otto’s understanding of awe clearly are evident here. That is, tremor is described in the “fear and trembling” that made “bones shake” and caused “the hair on my body [to stand] on end.” Mystery is noted in the “whisper” of the secret word and the ambiguity of the spirit characterized by a “hushed” voice.
Indeed, an understanding of awe helps to shed light on many pivotal experiences reported throughout the Bible. For instance, the common thread of awe may be seen in the disciples’ feeling of being “terrified” after witnessing the transfiguration (Matthew 17:6), the women “trembling” and feeling “bewildered” after finding the tomb empty (Mark 16:8), the crowd feeling “perplexed” at Pentecost (Acts 2:12), and Paul’s companions feeling “speechless” after Paul “saw the light” (Acts 9:7). If one considers synonyms and other closely related words and phrases, there are hundreds of references to awe in the Bible, making this one of the most common themes.
Cultivating Awe
Although there is a sense in which awe experiences are beyond individuals’ control and involve an element of surprise, the Bible teaches that sensitivity to awe is a virtue that may be cultivated. For example, individuals are encouraged to “be stunned and amazed” (Isaiah 29:9) and to “stop and consider God’s wonders.” (Job 37:14). Underlying much of Biblical instruction is the teaching to “fear the Lord.” As Rabbi Heschel translated, “the awe of God is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10).
One way in which awe may be cultivated is to approach prayer in a more imaginative, experiential way. For instance, Ignatius taught individuals to use as many of the senses as possible when approaching a Biblical text to more personally experience it. For example, rather than simply reading about the transfiguration, a person could imagine the details of the sights, sounds, and smells of personally being there. Consistent with this, Stanford University Anthropology Professor Tanya Luhrmann has found that individuals randomly assigned to go through Ignatian prayer exercises are more likely to report awe-inspiring mystical experiences.
Otto believed that awe may be “awakened in the spirit” in situations that are conducive to the experience. Thus, a second way to cultivate awe may be to seek out those circumstances most likely to stimulate the emotion, which likely vary considerably across people. Common elicitors of awe include vast, natural locations (such as the Grand Canyon); experiential worship services (including prayerful music or silence); art of various kinds (Otto singled out architecture, such St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome); the presence or life stories of particularly virtuous people (such as Billy Graham or Mother Teresa); or locations that have a sense of timelessness or significant history associated with them (such as the Holy Land).
A third way to cultivate awe may be to reflect on previous awe experiences. For example, in her book, “Positivity,” University of North Carolina Psychology Professor Barbara Fredrickson advises individuals to create an “awe portfolio,” consisting of photos, thoughts, and objects that that capture previous experiences of awe. To help with this process, she encourages individuals to reflect on questions such as the following: “When have you felt intense wonder or amazement, truly in awe of your surroundings?;” “When have you felt overwhelmed by greatness, or by beauty on a grand scale?;” and “When have you been stopped in your tracks, transfixed by grandeur?.”
In conclusion, awe is an often misunderstood and neglected emotion central to Christian experience. Christians would do well to reflect on the role of awe in faith. As Michael Yaconelli stated in his book, “Dangerous Wonder:”
“Tameness is not an option. Take surprise out of faith and all that is left is dry and dead religion. Take away mystery from the Gospel and all that is left is frozen and petrified dogma. Lose your awe of God and you are left with an impotent Deity. Abandon astonishment and you are left with meaningless piety.”
