Protestantism and Mysticism from the Perspective of Neuroscience

Protestantism has historically been wary of mystical encounters with the Divine, partly due to concerns about self-salvation. This article argues that modern neuroscience can clarify the nature of mystical experiences, leading to a revised theological appreciation of mysticism within Protestant thought.

Study at a glance

Abstract

AbstractProtestantism has always been suspicious about a mystical encounter with the Divine. Although the early Luther was influenced by mystical writers like Johannes Tauler the subsequent dogmatic evaluation of mystical forms of religiosity remained ambiguous. Nevertheless the real nature of mystical experience is still unclear and therefore the dogmatic judgments about mystical encounters with the Divine are based on unsound arguments like self-salvation. In this article we want to show that modern neuroscience can help to understand the nature of mystical experiences better and based on this we come to a new dogmatic appreciation of mysticism.