On the subject of Conversion, James argues
- Created by: Jess0699
- Created on: 30-03-17 10:33
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- On the subject of Conversion, James argues
- 'To say that a man is "converted" means...religious ideas, previously peripheral in his consciousness, now take a central place, and...religious aims from the habitual centre of his energy'.
- a religious experience can change someone's whole outlook on life
- Before religious experience - aware of the existence of religious ideas
- After religious ideas person's starting-point for their interruption of the world
- Psychology can describe conversion
- It's unable to account for all the factors in any given case
- It can be tested by it's results
- The final test of an experience is the way it works
- Believers might support James' view
- 1. The Bible refers the 'evidence' of the Holy Spirit as a way for Christians to test their experiences
- 2. Claims of others
- 'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace...' (Galatians 5:22)
- Believers might support James' view
- The final test of an experience is the way it works
- These experiences convincing to the person experiencing it
- '...As any direct sensible experiences can be...much more convincing than results established by mere logic ever are'.
- PROBLEM: Something is not necessarily true no matter how sincerely people believe it.
- James concludes
- Although, RE doesn't give proof of anything
- It's reasonable to believe in a personal God - who is interested in the world & individuals
- He recognised this as a hypothesis
- Perfectly reasonable hypothesis
- It was NOT reasonable for schools or ordinary people to reject clear evidence of RE
- Just because they started from a position of scepticism
- Although, RE doesn't give proof of anything
- 'To say that a man is "converted" means...religious ideas, previously peripheral in his consciousness, now take a central place, and...religious aims from the habitual centre of his energy'.
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