2 - the nature and influence of religious experience

Question 1

Ineffability

Answer 1

Religious experiences that are beyond words

Question 2

Noetic

Answer 2

They provide insight of knowledge (deeper truths about reality)

Question 3

Transience

Answer 3

They are temporary but leave a lasting impact

Question 4

Passivity

Answer 4

The person feels controlled or acted upon by an external power

Question 5

types of religious experience - conversion

Answer 5

change in belief of lifestyle, may be sudden or gradual

Question 6

types of religious experience - prayer and meditation

Answer 6

personal communication with the divine, examples include christian contemplative prayer

Question 7

types of religious experience - mysticism

Answer 7

direct union with the divine or ultimate reality, often described as ineffable and transformative

Question 8

types of religious experience - numinous

Answer 8

the sense of awe and wonder, strong spititual quality

Question 9

William James (842-1910)

Answer 9

• religious experience have four characteristics; ineffability, noetic, transience, passivity
• argued religious experiences are psychologically real and transformative

Question 10

Rudolf Otto (1869-1937)

Answer 10

• focused on the numinous aspect of religious experiences
• highlighted the emotional, non-rational nature of encounters with the divine

Question 11

Richard Swinburne

Answer 11

Principles of testimony -> trust others reports unless you have reason to doubt

Principles of credulity -> trust your own experiences unless theres evidence they’re unreliable

Question 12

Inductive Reasoning

Answer 12

Involves drawing general conclusions from specific observations or experiences

Question 13

Strengths of religious experiences as evidence for God

Answer 13

• transformative nature (religious experiences lead to profound personal changes eg conversion)
• universality (reports of religious experiences are found in all cultures across history)
• cumulative evidence (religious experiences contribute to a cumulative case for God)

Question 14

Weaknesses of religious experiences as evidence for God

Answer 14

• interpretation (religious experiences are subjective and often leave to multiple interpretations)
• limitations of language (mystical experiences are ineffable, meaning they cannot be adequately expressed in words)
• religious context (religious experiences are often shaped by the believers cultural and religious background)

Question 15

John Hick contribution

Answer 15

• Hick argued that religious experiences are interpreted through a cultural or religious lens, but this does not undermine their value

Question 16

the principles of credulity and testimony

Answer 16

• the principle of credulity says that our experience is normally reliable, so on the balance of probability, experience can be trusted
• the principle of testimony suggests that people normally tell the truth, if someone tells us they had a religious experience we should believe them

Question 17

william james four characteristics of religious experience

Answer 17

passive (recipient feels overwhelmed by power of god)
ineffable (cannot be described using ordinary language)
noetic (believer gains kinds of knowledge which can not be reached by reason alone)
transitory (experiencer experiences time in a different way)

Question 18

corporate experiences

Answer 18

one that happens simultaneously to two or more people, this arguable carries more weight because of the number of people testifying to it

Question 19

revelatory experiences

Answer 19

where god makes himself directly known, often within visions and dreams and the person acquires new knowledge