Religious experience

William James

James argues that we are studying the very heart of religion rather than beliefs and practices, as he believs that we develop beleifs and practices later on as we reflect on our expiriences within our theological system.

"Be ready now to judge the religious life by its results exclusively"- James the varieties of Religious Expirience

James accepts that there may be pyscological or physiological explanation to RE, yet he argues that this may not be the whole explanation as even if there is a natural cause of the expirience, there may also be a supernatural cause behind it too.The imoprtant thing is when we judge whether our expiriences are genuine is not what causes them (the root) but rather the effects they have (the fruit).

Example: Just because it is possible that Paul's conversion was an epileptic episode ( V.S Ramachandran) but this does not mean that it was not also a genuine RE as his life changed after the expeirience and this counts as evidence for this.

Characterisitics of RE:

James suggests that the following characterisitics are all common in RE and mystical experiences...

1. they are ineffable- the expieirenc is beyond a proper description as words cannot describe what is felt. James suugests that this is the most obvious mark of RE as he states that only a musician can truely hear a symphony and only someone who is in love understands love; so RE has to be directly expirienced. 

2. RE have a noetic quality:…