argued that God reveals himself to others on a personal level as they experience him in real life. He called such relationships 'I-Thou' because we only experience God in such meaningful relationships as he is 'the Eternal Thou'
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R. M Hare
experiences are seen as a blik which is an unverifiable way of looking at the world. The believer sees/feels something and claims it comes from god.But it can’t be proved true for everyone which makes it unreliable. Its their personal interpretation
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Otto
coined the word 'numinous' to describe the experience, something that is wholly other than the natural, physical world. then the person may feel ashamed (prophet Isiah- 'for I am a man of unclean lips..for my eyes have seen the king')
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Richard Swinburne
the principle of credulity- we should believe that things how they seem to be unless there is evidence against. The principle of testimony- we cant doubt the thousands accounts of experiences. If God is loving then he could reveal his identity to us.
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Richard Dawkins
no such thing as a mystical/religious experience, they are just expressions of a persons psychological needs. "if we are gullible we dont know lucid dreaming/hallucinations for what it is and we claim to have seen a ghost/God'
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Paul Tillich
states that its a felling of 'ultimate concern'. 2 stages to an experience firstly it is an encounter then a special understanding of its religious experience
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Ninian Smart
It involves our whole perception of the invisible world
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Richard Swinburnes states there are only 3 types of evidence that should be taken as rendering their testimonies unreliable
if there is particular evidence the person is lying, person is suffering from mental illness, or on hallucinatory drugs
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Freud
suggests the religious experiences could have a natural explanation such as drugs or alcohol. He also suggested we have psychological reactions to the hostile world, we feel helpless so create god in our minds as a great father and protector.
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Flew
argues that testimonies of believers is biased, irrational and cannot be regarded as meaningful because there is nothing that can count against it. also believers are so convinced of truth of their experience that they wont consider the contrary
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William James
explained the difficulty in describing a religious expereince and so devised 4 characteristics- PINT
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what is a religious expereince?
an encounter with the divine, which is a non-empirical occurence which brings with it an awareness of something beyond ourselves
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what type of theory?
a posteriori- based on experiences
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Prayers contributing
Prayer is communication to God. Believers claim God answers prayers and this is a sure sign of his existence. E.G. Archbishop Will Temple observed when he prayers coincidences happen, when he doesnt they dont
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Dance and music
Dance can be used for expression of faith most religions use music in worship as it offers a way to express shared beliefs together. Evangelic christians are highly dependent on music & atmosphere to receive religious experiences
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Near death experiences
Many religious believe a near death experience is a religious one. Occurs when a person 'dies' (usually in medical theatre) then is resuscitated & can recall what happened to them. Raymond Moody- extensive research into a no/ of core experiences
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7 types of experience
Going to name- Regenerative experience which is a conversion event e.g. St Paul and an interpretive experience so having prayers answered
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Other cards in this set
Card 2
Front
experiences are seen as a blik which is an unverifiable way of looking at the world. The believer sees/feels something and claims it comes from god.But it can’t be proved true for everyone which makes it unreliable. Its their personal interpretation
Back
R. M Hare
Card 3
Front
coined the word 'numinous' to describe the experience, something that is wholly other than the natural, physical world. then the person may feel ashamed (prophet Isiah- 'for I am a man of unclean lips..for my eyes have seen the king')
Back
Card 4
Front
the principle of credulity- we should believe that things how they seem to be unless there is evidence against. The principle of testimony- we cant doubt the thousands accounts of experiences. If God is loving then he could reveal his identity to us.
Back
Card 5
Front
no such thing as a mystical/religious experience, they are just expressions of a persons psychological needs. "if we are gullible we dont know lucid dreaming/hallucinations for what it is and we claim to have seen a ghost/God'
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