Abstract
In this first of three papers, I identify three fundamental epistemological themes that have informed Christian mystical theology and then explore how these themes might be given further understanding via natural science. The first theme, the spiritual senses, is modeled after the physical senses of seeing, hearing, smelling, touching and tasting. From a scientific viewpoint, the spiritual senses are like virtual senses which perceive through the mind rather than through the body. The second theme, the energies of God, can be expressed metaphorically through cross-domain mapping, wherein physical energy is the source domain and spiritual energy is the target domain. Physical energy is useful energy for work, whereas spiritual energy represents God's work in the natural world. The third theme, negation by apophasis, disavows both affirmation and denial, thus emphasizing that God is beyond all language. Affirmation and denial imply an unveiling and veiling, a process that occurs in both science and religion. Because of its simplicity and fecundity, this third theme can also be linked with science through considerations of beauty and elegance.
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