Religious Experience

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What is religious experience?
An non- empirical occurrence, may be percieved as supernatural.
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What does empiricism mean?
Knowledge can only be gained through sensory experience.
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What is a vision?
Individual believes they have seen something supernatural.
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What are the three ways of experiencing a vision?
Intellectual-Brings knowledge. Imaginary- Something that strengthens faith seen in the minds eye. Corporeal- The vision is externally present
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What did Bernadette see and what did it tell her?
Virgin Mary and the spring water at Lourdes was healing+to build a chapel on site.
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What does NUMINOUS mean?
The feeling of the 'holy', includes awe, fascination, religious awareness and smallness of self.
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Name 7 characteristics of a religious experience.
Subjective, non-empirical, spontaneous, vehicle, encouraging and good for the person, aware of God and unique, cannot be shared.
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What are William James' characteristics for religious experiences?
Ineffable, passive, transient and noetic.
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What did Rudolph Otto say religious experience is?
"Sense of the Holy", awe and wonder, numinous.
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What are Richard Swineburns 5 types?
Public (Normal) Public (not normal) Private (can describe) Private (can't describe) and non- sensory.
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What is the noetic?
The person comes away with insights/ truths they didn't have before.
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What is conversion?
Converting from one spiritual state to another.
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What are the two main types of conversion?
Volitional and Self Surrender
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What happens in volitional conversions?
Gradual, usually in the Roman Catholic Church. Usually last the longest.
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What happens in the self surrender type?
Usually happens in Evangelical and Charismatic churches. Born again, surrender to the experience and God.
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What is an intellectual conversion?
A change in the way somebody thinks about things.
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What is a moral conversion?
A change in behavior so the person does the right things.
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What is a social conversion?
Acceptance of a different way of life E.G. Worship.
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What happened in Billy's conversion?
After his dad was shot by the IRA, Billy becomes a gang member, who later goes on to kill. He is sent to prison. He becomes interested in religion. He is read to from the Bible and is overcome with the guilt of his crimes for the first time.
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What happened to Saul that changed him to Paul?
Persecuting Jews, on the road to Damascus, fell and was struck with a bright light, heard Jesus, was blind for 3 days.
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What are Rambo and Faradian's stages of conversion?
Context, Crisis, Quest, Encounter, Interaction, Commitment, Consequence.
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What happened to the three children of Fatima?
3 Children were sheparding sheep. Saw a vision of lady on tree stump. She returned every 13th of every month. They were told 3 secrets. Two of the girls were told they would die soon, but Lucia would remain as witness. They made sacrifices for her.
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What were the three secrets told to the three children of Fatima?
A vision of Hell. Marys instructions on how to save souls from Hell, and to convert the world. Vision of the death of a religious leader. This one was kept secret by the Catholic church. Lucia said she was told not to reveal it.
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What happened to the Pope relating to the third secret from the children of Fatima?
During his speech at a visit of Fatima, he was distracted by a girl wearing a Virgin Mary t-shirt. This turn of his head saved him from assassination. He blamed it on the Virgin Mary.
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What happened to St. Peter in his vision?
He was praying on the roof +became hungry. He saw a sheet come down with 4 legged animals on it. God told him to eat, he said he couldn't because it was unclean, but God said it was clean because he created it.
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What did St. Peters vision mean?
Meant that Christianity was the way forward, Jesus was not only for the Jews.
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Define MYSTICISM
A person feels a sense of union with the divine, spiritual recognition of truths beyond normal understanding.
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Who's 4 characteristics can be used to describe mysticism?
William James.
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Define THEISTIC MYSTICISM
Involves seeing or feeling the presence of God/higher power.
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Define MONISTIC (SOUL) MYSTICISM
The person states that the world evolves around a certain point. Everything, internal and external to the person is attracted to or comes from that central point.
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Define PANTHEISTIC MYSTICISM.
One feels that the totality of the external world is the greatest power and that one can see themselves as part of that totality.
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What are Theresa of Avila's mystical states of prayer?
Prayer of Union, Prayer of quiet, Ecstasy and Spiritual Marriage.
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What were St. Bonaventure's 3 stages of mystical experience?
Purgative-Getting rid of things that hold back from experience. Illuminative- Truths begin to be revealed. Unitive- Feel one with God (Classical mysticism)
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What are the arguments from religious experience for the existence of God?
The inductive argument, cumulative argument, direct awareness of God, Verdical experience and Swine burns principle of credulity and testimony.
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What are the arguments against religious experience as evidence for the existence of God?
Is experience of God a physically sound notion? Natural explanations. Lack of uniformity. Not everybody experiences it. God doesn't exist therefore an experience of God can't be valid.
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What are some problems with verifying religious experience?
Individuals rather than groups. Non empirical=no proof. Subjective. Emotional. Alternative explanations. Different portrayals of God.
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What was Thereas of Avila's threefold test?
Conforms to church teachings. Leads to increased humility. Meets approval of religious authority.
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What are Wainright's grounds for rejecting religious experience?
Proof that God doesn't exist. Good reason for claiming inconsistency. Evidence that the experience is caused by something we know to always cause false beliefs. He says that critics have so far not proven these grounds.
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What is Swineburn's principle of credulity?
If it seems to a subject that X is present, that X is probably present. It is reasonable to believe the world is how we experience it to be.
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What is Swineburn's principle of testimony?
Unless we have specific reasons to question religious experience, we ought to accept that it is probably true.
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Who criticized the cumulative argument? What did he say?
Flew said that 10 leaky buckets don't make one good bucket.
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What is the inductive argument?
"If an entity is experienced then it must exist" People claim they experience God, therefore he must exist.
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What are some psychological arguments against religious experience?
Freud- the minds reaction to a hostile world. Fixation on parents can't be fulfilled, so we turn to God. Personality, schizophrenia.
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What are some physiological arguments against religious experience?
Drugs, epilepsy, Persingers Helmet, Genes and external deprivation. Rama Chandler.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What does empiricism mean?

Back

Knowledge can only be gained through sensory experience.

Card 3

Front

What is a vision?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What are the three ways of experiencing a vision?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What did Bernadette see and what did it tell her?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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