Abstract

In his book The Darkness of God, Denys Turner claims that medieval mysticism was not based on mystical experiences. This view is called ‘anti-mysticism’; its opposite is ‘experientialism’. After giving a brief account of the theology of Dionysius the Areopagite, I argue that an experientialist interpretation of this theology is more plausible than an anti-mystical interpretation. Robert Forman’s classification of apophatic mystical states helps to understand the experiences behind the texts