Religious Experience
- Created by: Keshena
- Created on: 26-09-16 19:56
Introduction
Religious Experience
- It is when a person believes that they had an experience with God or another religious figure.
- It can range from God speaking to them, being aware of a presence or a miracle.
- People say that what happens draws them into a 'deeper' awarenss of God.
- It can be spontaneous and only happens to the individual, it makes it an unique experience that cannot be shared by anyone else.
It is not...
- A paranormal experience
The 4 types
1. Conversion; This is changing beliefs due to a religious experience. An example of this is Saul.
2. Numinous; This is a sense of awe or wonder. An example of this is a sunset or entering a church.
3. Mystical; This is being aware of the presence of God. An example of this is a sense of union or a transcending sense of joy and well being.
4. Miracles; This is when God acts in a special way as they go against the laws of nature. An example of this is Jesus turning water into wine.
William James
William James (1842-1910)
- James did not want to make a juddement about religion as a whole as he did not want to prove that religious expereiences were either true or false as he looked at it objectively.
- The two questions he believed we should be asking are;
- 1. Can experience such as these be used as evidence for the existence of God?
- 2. Does James' test show that religious experiences come from a real encounter with a God who exists 'out there' objectively?
- 3. Or does it show only the force of the experience within the mind of the individual, subjectively?
Key Words
Key Words
- Monotheism; the belief that there is only one God.
- Foundational beliefs; a belief that is not derived from any other beliefs.
- Mysticism: the experience of having apprehended on ultimate reality.
- Ineffable; indescribable, cannot be expressed in words.
- Noetic; relating to the mind
- Transcency; not permanent, lasting for a short time only.
- Passivity; not active, not participating in the activity.
- Numen; something that is 'wholly other' than the natural word.
- Glossolalia; speaking in tongues, speaking in an unknown language.
Mysticism
Mysticism
- William James- 4 characteristics
- Buber-I-Thou
- St Teresa of Avila
- Otto-numen
- Monistic, Theistic
- Introvertive, Extrovertive
Conversion
Conversion
- St Paul, John Wesley
- Gradual- sudden
- Change from one faith to another
- Changing from faith (believing) to faith (trusting)
- Change from no faith to a faith
Prayer
Prayer
- George Miller
- Communion or conversation with God
- Glossolalia
- Seven types of Christianity
Richard Swinburne
Richard Swinburne
- He bases the existence of God on religious experience.
- He accepts that there are arguments against religious experiences. Caroline Franks-Davis put forward 4 challenges;
- 1. The circumstances in which the experience occurred can produce unreliable results. For example if the person is intoxicated or a pathological liar.
- 2. The recipient did not have the ability to interpret the experience. For example the person is young.
- 3. Is it possible to show that whoever is claiming to have experienced was not there.
- 4. Whoever / whatever the recipient is claiming to have experienced was there, but not involved or responsible for the experience.
Other Opinions
- Some believe a religious experience to be objective or subjective. (Objective= external to the mind and existing. Subjective= having the source within the mind)
- Freud saw religious experiences as a reaction to a hostile world. We feel helpless and seek a father figure. Therefore we create God to satisfy our needs.
- If there is no God, the experience of God cannot be valid.
- We dont all experience it. Surely, if there was a God, He would want everyone to know about Him and not just a selected few?
- If there is a reason why people who are not crdible are chosen? Can they be trusted?
Examples of Religious Visions & Voices
John of the Cross (1542-1591)
Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)
Bernadette of Lourdes (1844-1879)
- Mystical; whe you become overwhelmingly aware of the presence of God.
- A sense of union & unity with the divine, transcending of time and a sense of joy & well-being.
St John of the Cross
St John of the Cross (1549-1591)
- He was brought up with his parents but then his father left the family.
- He got a job looking after hospital patients.
- He supported Saint Teresa but was kidnapped and tortured by his own order.
- He escaped and lived in a covent infirmary to escape his pursuers.
- He was praying and saw Jesus on the cross and created a picture of it.
- He created poems and literature that was religious.
St John of the Cross
St John of the Cross (1549-1591)
- He was brought up with his parents but then his father left the family.
- He got a job looking after hospital patients.
- He supported Saint Teresa but was kidnapped and tortured by his own order.
- He escaped and lived in a covent infirmary to escape his pursuers.
- He was praying and saw Jesus on the cross and created a picture of it.
- He created poems and literature that was religious.
Bernadette of Lourdes (1844-1879)
Bernadette of Lourdes (1844-1879)
- She was illiterate and had several illnesses in her childhood.
- She saw the Virgin Mary in several occasions.
- Once by a stream at a spring which she was dug & found.
- Also to build a chapel.
- Her body remaind intact over 100's of years after her death.
Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)
Terea of Avila (1515-1582)
- She was a religious child then got involved in romantic literature and after an illness-she went back to religion.
- She had a shattering experience where she saw Christ wounded and from then she experienced visions.
- She was aided by St John of the cross in her endeavors.
- She had heights of mysticism, enjoyed countless visions and experienced various mystical favours.
- She enjoyed the delights of prayer and the pleasures of secular conversation.
Numinous Experience
Richard Otto (1869-1937)
- He suggested that religion must derive from a being thar is totally separate from this world.
- A numinous experience reveals something about God, but cannot be explained in words, as the whole experience is at an emotional level
Martin Buber (1878-1965)
- He believes that you can have a personal relationship with God that can exist regardless of the concept if the numinous 2 relationships;
- 1. I-IT relations; when we stand in relation to something as an object which is entirely sepratae from us (how a doctor views a patient)
- 2. I-THOU relations; a shared intimate personal relationship. A mutual interaction (deep friendships, religious experience of God)
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