Religious Experience

Created by: Rhianna
Created on: 18-05-13 11:18

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Religious Experience
- Rudolf Otto
  - Mysterium Tremendum et Fascinans
    - Encounter brings about a sense of awe and mystery and a feeling of strangeness
  - Divine has three main qualities
    - Mysterious quality, a realisation that God is incomprehensible
    - God is recognised as being of ultimate importance
    - God has a quality which is both attractive and dangerous
- Swinburne
  - Take reports of religious experience at face value
  - Principle of Testimony
    - On the whole people tell us the truth. It is more likely that someone is telling the truth rather than lying or mistaken
  - Criticisms
    - Mackie
      - More likely that someone is mistaken or lying
Mysterious quality, a realisation that God is incomprehensible
God has a quality which is both attractive and dangerous
Too much emphasis on the subjective
- Criticisms
  - Schleiermacher's Though
    - Religious experience is 'self-authenticating'
      - Doesn't need testing to see whether it is genuine
    - Experiences should have priority and statements of belief should be formulated around them
    - Religious Experience
      - Rudolf Otto
        Mysterium Tremendum et Fascinans
        Encounter brings about a sense of awe and mystery and a feeling of strangeness
        
        Divine has three main qualities
        God is recognised as being of ultimate importance
      - Swinburne
        Take reports of religious experience at face value
        
        Principle of Testimony
        On the whole people tell us the truth. It is more likely that someone is telling the truth rather than lying or mistaken
        
        Criticisms
        Mackie
        More likely that someone is mistaken or lying
Different forms of religious experience
- Visions and Voices
  - Samuel in the temple heard God.
  - Virgin Mary at Lourdes
Conversion
- Different forms of religious experience
  - Visions and Voices
    - Samuel in the temple heard God.
    - Virgin Mary at Lourdes
Toronto Blessing
- The same or similar religious experience, experienced by a number of people
  - Corporate
Doesn't have to be dramatic
- Conversion
Although this isn't really possible
- Objective
  - William James
    - Pragmatist
      - Truth of something can be found in its effects
        Russell rejects this
        Example of myth
    - Doesn't have to be marked by supernatural events
      - Truth of something can be found in its effects
        Russell rejects this
        Example of myth
    - Recognised that there are psychological explanations of conversion
    - Four main qualities
      - Passive
    - Criticisms
      - Flew, religious language is meaningless
    - Conclusions
      - R.e does not give proof of anything
        Though it is reasonable to believe in a personal God who is interested in the world and individuals
Can't be repeated or scientifically tested
- First-hand accounts
  - William James
    - Pragmatist
    - Doesn't have to be marked by supernatural events
    - Recognised that there are psychological explanations of conversion
    - Four main qualities
      - Passive
    - Criticisms
      - Flew, religious language is meaningless
    - Conclusions
      - R.e does not give proof of anything
        Though it is reasonable to believe in a personal God who is interested in the world and individuals
Said that this doesn't lessen the value of r.e.
- Doesn't mean God isn't responsible for others.
It is more likely that experience is to be trusted than not
- If it looks like Grace, walks like Grace etc we should accept that there is
  - There has to be a point in which we accept
Davis, not the kind of trivial thing we can just accept

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Religious Experience

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