Religious Experience

Why is religious experience so important to religion?

1. If no one ever had a religious experience, we would wonder why people still talk of God. 2. A religious experience (once had) = make someone see their life differently.

1 of 59

Types of experiences

Mystical = direct contact with God or ultimate reality.

2 of 59

Conversion = an adoption of a new religious belief thats different from their previous one.

Visions = experience of God or another religious fig, appearing with a message.

3 of 59

Voices = hearing God, or converting by hearing.

Prayer = communicating with God through prayer.

4 of 59

David Hays

RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE TODAY - religious experiences show theres more to reality than this physical world.

5 of 59

Can change someones behaviour and attitudes, increasing self esteem &feeling of purpose.

Direct experience = directly encountering God - Pauls experience on the road to Damascus: met the risen Jesus, who communicates to him. God revealed himself directly (visually). Saul became Paul.

6 of 59

Indirect experience = thoughts or feelings about God triggered by events in daily life = looking at Gods creation (observing a sunset) and thinking about His greatness. Person learns something by looking for it.

Visions = awake/dreaming. Info revealed to a person. 3 types of vision experiences =

7 of 59

1. Corporeal = the figure is externally present

St Bernadette experienced several visions of the Virgin Mary. Once told to dig in the ground at the feet of Mary, she discovered a mountain spring that today heals people in different ways at Lourdes.

8 of 59

Saul = wanted to kill all Christians. Walking down the road of Damascus, he found Christians and chained them. He saw a flash of lightening and a voice saying...

''I'm Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up, go into the city, and you will be told what you are to do.''

9 of 59

2. Intellectual = brings knowledge & understanding

St Teresa of Avila = said she 'saw Christ at my side'. She was aware he was there but couldn't see the full form or the vision.

10 of 59

Saul = ''He beheld the blinding light with his eyes... and his mind understood the will of God'' - Acts 9:3-12

3. Imaginative = strengthens faith & is seen with the minds eye.

11 of 59

Joseph = when engaged to Mary, he dreamt an angel told him to not be afraid of marrying Mary. Refers to a dream, recieving a message from God.

Jacob = visioning a ladder to heaven in Genesis strenghtened his faith.

12 of 59

Moses = dreamnt God spoke to him, telling him to take the Isrealites to the Promise Land.

''God spoke to Isreal in the visions of the night and said, '' Jacob, Jacob!'' he said ''here I am'' - Genesis 46:2

13 of 59

Voices - 3 noticable features: 1. Shows the presence of God. 2. Voice communicates a revelation from God. 3. Voice is authoritative & passes on His authority.

Augustine = '' weeping...with the most bitter sorrow in my heart, when all at once I heard the sing-song voice of a child in a nearby house...it repeated... 'TAKE IT AND READ, TAKE IT AND READ'.

14 of 59

Are these genuine experiences?

Some thinkers thought not all these experiences are from God. Schizophrenics hear voices telling them to kill people... (messages from God). Linked to fasting & illness.

15 of 59

Scientists suggest = John the Baptist saw a 'bright light' & felt faint and floaty. Likely to be epilepsy/fit. At the time, it wasn't a known illness.

Conversions

16 of 59

May occur over days/weeks. For believers, it's powerful in proving the existence of God.

Communla conversion = group experience. Changes behaviour/beliefs of everyone.

17 of 59

Converting from one major religion to another. From a faith (believing) to a faith (trusting) one.

C.S. Lewis' conversion = intellectual

18 of 59

In 1931, J.R.R. Tolkien told him about myth and Christianity. He was convinced that Jesus was the son of God.

Augsutine = his life was challenged by the scriptures.

19 of 59

2 types of conversions

1. Conscious & voluntary 'volitional type' = GRADUAL. Conversion takes place over a length of time, years.

20 of 59

2. Unconscious & involuntary 'self-surrender type' = SUDDEN. Conversion takes place suddenly.

Mystical

21 of 59

person is transformed & can gain union with God. Special mental states/events allow an understanding of ultimate truths.

Several features of mystical experiences = 1. Union with the divine. 2. Joy, wellbeing. 3. Dependence on God.

22 of 59

Paul Tillich

2 stages of mystical experience = 1. An event/encounter. 2. A special understanding of that event as a result of ecstacy. Looking at the event which reveals it's religious importance.

23 of 59

Can be invoked e.g. by meditation, pilgramige, fasting, hypnotic movement etc

Jacon Boehme's mystical experience = believed he saw the origins of all things in a vision. Looked into a pewter dish reflecting the sunshine, he fell into an inward ecstasy. He saw '...the heart of all things...'

24 of 59

Simone weil

Observed a celebration of a saints festival in a portuguese village. The chanting monks captured her. She experienced Christ coming down & seizing her. He entered her whole being.

25 of 59

Prayer

Communicating with God

26 of 59

St Teresa of Avila

Purpose of life was union with God (& the purpose of prayer). Therefore, the purpose of life is union with God through prayer.

27 of 59

THE INTERIOR CASTLE

7 MANSIONS = 7 dwelling places. Represent a step towards unity with God.

28 of 59

Introduced to those outside the castle who were paralysed & crippled by sin. Rep those who are spiritually & morally bound by evil.

MANSION 1 = Those of good desires, those who pray. Still absorbed in their posessions/business affairs.

29 of 59

MANSION 2 = those searching for something deeper. Struggle against evil but read the Bible & seek good friendship.

MANSION 3 = Those not desiring to sin. Attend retreats & days of collection. Still desires something deeper.

30 of 59

MANSION 4 = Peaceful & passive prayer. Most important virtue = love.

MANSION 5 = person begins prayer of union. Soul is suspended. A period of darkness. Soul grows more love for neighbour.

31 of 59

MANSION 6 = Soul is drawn out of the senses. Deeper know. of God & self. Special 'secret' between soul & it's beloved.

MANSION 7 = Spiritual marriage. Lord removes scales from the eyes & they see/understand how beautiful they are/have been made.

32 of 59

The Garden Analogy

St Teresa of Avila gives the metaphor of a garden; the earth represents the soul & water is the understanding of grace.

33 of 59

'' a beginner must look on himself...to make a garden for his Lord's pleasure, on most unfruitful soil which abounds in weeds...''

4 stages of prayer

34 of 59

1. First water (mental prayer) = ''we shall do alright if we walk in righteousness and cling to virtue, but we shall advance at a snails pace'' = our lives will be good if we're virtuous, but in good time.

Grasping water that isn't there = shouldn't try to grasp understanding of God. Wait for him to reveal parts of himself to us.

35 of 59

2. Drawing water (prayer of quiet) = God helps us understand him, recollecting the soul .Won over by God.

''...the soul begins to lose desire for earthly things.'' - becoming more attached to God. Craving spiritual things.

36 of 59

3. Irrigated Garden (imperfect union) = soul is open to understanding. A perfect union with God is possible. Almost perfect union.

4. Rain (perfect union) = no effort or strain. No longer consciously analyse our experiences. Time, memory & imagination melt away, leaving her with God! < feels like being lifted into heaven.

37 of 59

William James' Varieties of Religious Experience

Thought that re is at the heart of religion. Religion was ''the feeling, acts, and experiences of individual men...they may consider the divine...''

38 of 59

Re have great authority for those who have them. Can have a marked effect on their life.

Conversion experiences can become central to a persons life. They can change someones behaviour! Suggested that re were the inspiration & source for all rel institutions.

39 of 59

4 characteristics in mystical religious experiences

1. Ineffable = exp is beyond human powers of description. 2. Noetic = mystics recieve knowledge of God that isn't otherwise available. Direct revs = St B

40 of 59

3. Transient = exp is temporary. May have long lasting effects = St P

4. Passive = mystic feels something acting upon them (evidence against critics saying people willed it).

41 of 59

Re were 'psychological phenomena' - re is natural to a person, just like other psychological exp such as thinking.

Empiricism = empirical evidence gives us clues as to the reality beyond what we see and hear. We interpret all our exp.

42 of 59

Pluralism = those from different religions can experience the same ultimate reality, but interpret it as their religious belief structure.

Pragmatism = truth isn't fixed. Truth is whatever holds great value to us. A re has great value to all it effects. Must conclude...theres truth to be found in religion.

43 of 59

James believed all re indicate the probability of God. The validity of a re rests on the effect it produces...are lives changed? This phenomena points to a higher order in reality.

Rudolf Otto

44 of 59

A major part of direct experiences of God was an 'apprehension of the wholly other'

Wholly other = the Numinous = the world beyond the physical observable one that we live in.

45 of 59

Direct experiences of God = completely outside of our possible knowledge. Noticed those who had re described them using words e.g. 'awe' & 'wonder', but actually, the experience was ineffable (beyond our power to describe)

Numinous = re of awe & wonder in the presence of an almighty & transcendent God. He is the Holy.

46 of 59

...So different from what we have experienced in normal life, brings the reaction of silence. MT provokes terror (overwhelming power), whilst the F is merciful and gracious.

Mysterium tremendum et fascinans = fearful & fascinating mystery.

47 of 59

Example = Ezekiels vision of Seraphim found himself indescribably sinful in comparison to the majesty of his vision.

Criticisms = 1. Believers say numinous exp make God impersonal, contradicting their personal Gods traits.

48 of 59

2. Kant = can't use senses to exp God. He exists in the noumenal world (of philososphical ideas), whereas we're stuck in the phenommenal world.

Caroline Franks-Davis = 3 categories to challenge re

49 of 59

1. Descriptive related. a) St Teresa of Avila first said she 'saw Christ at my side', then said she didn't really 'see' him but experienced him. - which one = true?

b) Someone who claims to be at 1 with God by rejecting belongings but then charging people £££ to listen to accounts of his experience???

50 of 59

c) Could be unreliable. History of making false claims.

d) Unreliable memory = Augustine. Remembered differently every time?

51 of 59

e) Could misunderstand it. (medication might not get immediate results...)

2. Subject related. a) Dreams, visions & hallucinations = generally unreliable.

52 of 59

b) Conflicting claims between different re, in terms of a persons cultural background. Who's right?

c. Doubtful state of person at the time of re. Davey Falcus = 'I've had every drug on the planet, and nothing felt like that'.

53 of 59

3. Object related. a) Yorkshire Ripper = the voice of God told him to murder prostitutes. Would an all-loving God say that?

b. Other people present. They might not experience with you. Won't believe unless they see.

54 of 59

Richard Swinburne = The Existence of God

Types of religious experience - 2 groups =

55 of 59

1) Public exp = 1. Ordinary exp = person interprets natural events as having rel signifigance e.g. beuty of nature.

2. Extraordinary exp = violate normal understanding of the workings of nature. ex = Jesus turning water into wine.

56 of 59

2) Private exp = Describable in ordinary lang = dreams. Josephs dream to flee to Egypt in the Bible.

2. Non-describable exp = direct exp of God where he's revealed. Ineffable exp (indescribable)

57 of 59

3. Non-specific exp = looking at the world from a religious perspective.

2 ideas = 1. Principle of Credulity = must accept what appears to be the case unless we have evidence to prove not.

58 of 59

2. Principle of Testimony = unless we have evidence that they're misremembering or are untrustworthy, we should believe them. "we usually think what others tell us...probably happened" - Swinburne

Karl Marx = "Religion is the opium of the people"

59 of 59

Get Revising

Religious Experience

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Back

Card 3

Front

Back

Card 4

Front

Back

Card 5

Front

Back

Comments

Similar Philosophy resources: