3A Nature of Religious Experience Flashcards
What is a religious experience?
- A unique, non-empirical occurrence that may be perceived as supernatural
- It is usually spontaneous but can be generated through intense training and self-discipline
- A deeper level of knowledge of the awareness of G is often gained
- It is possible to have one at the same time as somebody else but the exp. = individual
- It is encouraging and the person is left feeling positive
What are the four types of religious experience?
- Visions
- Conversion
- Mysticism
- Prayer
What is a vision?
- Something seen other than by ordinary sight
* Supernatural/prophetic - often conveys a revelation
Fill in the blanks and give a brief summary: visions can either be _ or _.
- Sensory: external objects, sounds or figures appear
* Dream-based: the unconscious state exp.s a series of images (e.g. Joseph w/ saw the unnAngel)
How are visions intellectual? (Hint: the three ‘i’s)
• They bring the recipient inspiration, insight or instruction
What are the three types of vision and give examples of each.
- Group: Angels of Mons (which was actually a myth)
- Individual: Bernadette of Lourdes
- Corporeal: external, seemingly a physical object only visible to some people
What are the four types of content in visions? Give an example of each.
- Message (can also be warnings): Peter’s vision
- Religious figures: St Teresa of Avila’s angel with a spear
- Place of significance: Guru Nanak’s cup of nectar
- Fantastic creatures/figures: Ezekiel
What is a conversion?
- ‘To change direction’ or ‘to turn around’; a process of change that alters one’s view of the world and one’s personal place in it
- Usually a personal exp. e.g. Acts 9 (Saul) but can be communal, e.g Acts 2 (Pentecost): the Apostles “were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues”; on the 1st day, they converted 3000 ppl
Fill in the blanks: conversions can be _ or _, _ or _, and _ or _.
- Gradual (e.g. spending a long time in a Catholic school and converting) or sudden
- Volitional or self-surrendering
- Passive or active
- G knows what the person needs, the best way for their conversion to occur
What are the five types of conversion?
- Intellectual persuasion - conflict between two thought systems
- Moral transformation - someone changes how they live
- No religion to a faith - Augustine
- One faith to another - Sundar Singh
- Faith (believing) to faith (trusting) - John Wesley = aware that he did not have a personal faith in Jesus but converted by seeing the faith of others
What is mysticism?
• A departure from a logical, rational view of r.
What is the mystical ascent?
• A ladder or staircase with steps beginning in the earthly, mundane world, but with regular practice and divine assistance, the individual can transcend their own reality and climb the staircase
What are the 5 elements of mysticism, as outlined by Ed Miller?
- Transcendent
- Ecstatic
- Unitive
- Ineffable
- Noetic
Explain the transcendent aspect of mysticism.
- Not localisable in space or time
- Feeling of moving ‘beyond’ the normal, physical realm of everyday experience
- ‘Other-worldly’
Explain the ecstatic aspect of mysticism.
- Filling the soul with bliss or peace
- A suspension of the senses
- The closest a mortal can get to the feeling of what it must be like for departed souls to be in the presence of G.
- Two states: interior sensation - the mind is focused on a subject; physical supsension of normal sense activities
- Trance-like state
