Terms
Let us get a few terms out of the way first.
- MYSTERY: this is something which is known only through revelation -- not through human reason or experience. It is not the 'we don't really have an answer' fallback, but the knowledge that we do not fully understand. We speak of the mystery of God the same way we speak of the mysteries of Space. It is from the Greek mysterion and is translated into the Latin as sacramentum. It speaks of the connection between the sacred and the profane as well as their separateness.
- FAITH: Faith is with a capital 'F' and is a noun, not a verb. Faith is the sum of all revealed truths. We have Faith, we believe. Having Faith means that you have access to the truth. Faith is not, as some posit, the belief in the unprovable. 'Provable' is, like 'Verifiable' a word which means different things to different people.
- BELIEF: Belief is the action of Faith. It is not blind, nor is it irrational. Belief is a form of active knowledge, that is, when we trust, we believe some truth. Not to be confused with Faith but analogous to having Faith.
- UNDERSTANDING: this is the rational and emotional knowledge of a thing. It is not complete knowledge, but perhaps the 'common-sense', sufficent knowledge of the thing.