Who first categorised types of religious experiences?
David Hume
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Public ordinary experiences
Things in nature that are experienced by everyone
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Give an example of a public ordinary experience
A sunset
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Public extraordinary experiences
An experience breaking the laws of nature that's experienced by everyone
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Give an example of a public extraordinary experience
Jesus' resurrection
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Private describable experiences
Things happening to one person that are able to be relayed to others
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Give an example of a private describable experience
Joseph's dream in the Bible
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Private non-describable experiences
Things happening to one person that are unable to be relayed to others
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Give an example of a private non-describable experience
Demonic possession
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Define Otto Rudolf's "numinous experience"
Experience of wonder in presence of God, make us realise our own insignificance
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Define Otto Rudolf's "mysterium tremendum"
God = mysterious, inducing terror.
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Define Martin Buber's "I-It" idea of God's relationship w/ humans
God is a being, outside of our understanding
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Define Martin Buber's "I-Thou" idea of God's relationship w/ humans
God has a personal relationship with his subjects
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Define mystical experience
Inexpressable, union w/ God
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Define Hume's Fork
Hume's idea that we can know things empirically and through relations of ideas
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Define Hume's Inductive Problem
We only know things happen (like sunrises) b/c they did so in the past; scientific truths can be disproven
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Name Hume's Practical Arguments against miracles (THIC)
Testimony, History, Ignorant nations, Conflict between religion
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Define vision experiences
Wherein God is seen or observed'
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Define intellectual vision
What is seen is an experience rather than just being observed, e.g Teresa of Avila
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Define corpreal vision
God seen as form or image, like physical person
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Define imaginative vision
Visions that occur in dreams (e.g Joseph's dream about Mary)
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What were Teresa of Avila's two criteria for deciding whether the voice someone hears is from God?
Does the experience match w/ Churh teachings? Does it leave the person feeling peaceful rather than distressed?
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Give three features of voices as a religious experience (RAD)
Revelatory (reveals something re God), Authoritative (message has auth. of God), disembodied
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Why are visions and voices less believable as evidence for God?
Voice may be subconscious/drug/mental health.
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What did Freud say about religious experiences?
Religion expresses people's desires, fulfills childlike need for father figure
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What did Marx say about religious experiences?
Religion stopped people seeing the reality of their own world - "opium of the people"
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Give some criticisms of Marx.
Relig. people would argue their faith exists outside society; religion = force for good (e.g MLK), religion = source of comfort, Marxist ideas = source of suffering (e.g Maoist China)
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Name Jame's characteristics of religious experiences (PINT)
Passive, ineffable, noetic, transient
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What is Richard Swinburne's Principle of Creduility?
If someone appears to be present, it makes logical sense to say that they are so, unless the observer is under particular circumstances (e.g drunk, a known liar)
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What is Swinburne's Principle of Testimony?
Makes sense to believe what people tell you as it's usually the truth - but is this too optimistic?
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What did J.L Mackie say about mystical religious experience?
Part of person's make-up --> no auth., even for experiencee
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How can conversion experiences be criticised?
Can't be verified, could be stress/hormones, no auth. for others
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How can corporate experiences be criticised?
Mass hysteria, prior beliefs make follwing more likely, no intervention in bigger events
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Other cards in this set
Card 2
Front
Things in nature that are experienced by everyone
Back
Public ordinary experiences
Card 3
Front
A sunset
Back
Card 4
Front
An experience breaking the laws of nature that's experienced by everyone
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