“For Darkness is as Light to You” — Why Mysticism Isn’t Afraid of the Dark

One of the most powerful images in the Bible is the distinction between light and dark. Light represents God, or Christ, or goodness; darkness, by contrast, represents ignorance, or evil, or sin.

Consider, for example, this passage from the first letter of John:

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him t…