Experiencing God Flashcards
God revealed through scripture
“The word of god is alive and active (…) it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart”
- the bible is the word of God. All Christians believe that in some way, God reveals himself through the bible.
Fundamentalist Christians:
- they knew the bible as the word of God.
- the bible is true in all it says, and should be taken literally instead of science
- they argue that God is infallible, so it is necessary to trust the world of god rather than the ideas of humans
- held by Protestant and charismatic Christians.
- this means some people live strictly according to the bible - e.g the Amish who doesn’t adopt modern culture or technology
Conservative interpretations of the bible:
- bible writers were inspired by God but they were human and so the bible may have mistakes
- the bible needs to be interpreted to be relevant in the world today
- some accounts could be interpreted as a myth to teach us something but the event described did not really occur,
- they believe that the authority of the scripture came directly from God and not through the church.
Liberal views of the bible
- see the stories in the bible as mythical and symbolic
- scientists have a better understanding of the world than what is recorded in the bible
- there is no claim in scripture to the bible being inerrant
“All scripture is God-breathed”
God revealed through Jesus
“The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us”
Jesus “came from the father”
In Jesus, god showed himself in a way that humans can understand
He demonstrated his great love for humanity as he taught people, provided an example for godly living, carried miracles and died on the cross
Jesus, was aware of the pressures and emotions that humans experience, but being fully god was perfect.
“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”
God acting in the world : miracles
Miracle - a supernatural event or act when God intervened and breaks the laws of nature
4 main types:
- Healing miracles - when some who is unwell immediately returns to health
- miracles over nature - when the natural elements are controlled
- raising the dead - when someone who is declared dead returns to life
- exorcisms - when a person who is believed to be possessed by an evil spirit has it sent out of their body
Examples:
“Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles”
“The dead man sat up and began to talk”
“Immediately he was cured of his leprosy”
“He … rebuked the wind”
Modern day miracles:
- Christians largely agree that God is able to perform miracles today as he did in biblical accounts
- Catholic and Anglican churches accept the ongoing work of God through miracles
Many Christians today pray for Gods intervention in their lives as part of their relationship with him. Miracles help them to reinforce their faith in him.
The bible calls believers to bring their “prayers and petitions” to god.
Christians within charismatic churches believe that God is continuing to work through them to bring about miracles in the world today.
Lourdes :
- a place of miraculous healing.
- a place of pilgrimage as a girl claimed to experience 18 visions of Mary
Some Christians do not accept that God performs miracles today because he revealed himself through Jesus and the bible so further revelation is not necessary. Miracles can be seen as random and immoral. God created the laws or nature so has no reason to break these laws.
Inspirational people
As Christians hear the way God has worked in and through the life of that inspirational person, they may feel a sense of gods presence.
Examples :
Mother Teresa:
- believed that through her work she was serving God in the way he called her to
- those who met her spoke of the peace that came from her and a sense of her holiness.
Christians look up to historical figures and study their lives to understand how god has worked through people in the past. The lives of these people and the impact they has on the world is a source of revelation for many.
The transforming power of the holy spirit in a persons life is an inspiration and source of encouragement in their own faith
Religious experiences:
- when people claim to have has some kind of direct encounter with God
Conversions
cause a person to move from a state of non-belief to a belief and faith in god.
A convert will have a new sense of direction in life with god at the centre.
Paul’s conversion :
- god appears to him in a dramatic way, causing him to lose his sight “for three days he was blind”
- god speaks directly to him
“At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the son of God”.
Mystical experiences:
- an overwhelming awareness of the presence of God, leading to feelings of awe and wonder.
- may cause a sense of peace in the believer and a oneness with God.
“This man was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things”
- they provide a strengthening of faith for the person who has been subject to this but reveal nothing more about gods existence to other people.
- some Christians dismiss these experiences as they suggest that God revealed through the bible and through Jesus are not sufficient
Visions
- the person having the experience claim they can see something supernatural
- in the bible Isaiah claims to see God on his throne, surrounded by angels
There is concern that these visions add to the word of God and are not genuine revelations .
Visions are like adding something new to what is revealed in the bible which is against its teaching
Arguments against religious experiences
- cannot be certain that these experiences come from God,
- religious people are biased in their interpretation of any experience they have because they already believe that God exists
In response Some philosophers argue that we should trust their testimony because we we believe people when they give accounts of what happened to them
Charismatic experiences
Religious ecstasy is a type of altered state of mind. People become less aware of the world around them and experience intense emotional and spiritual feelings about God.
Charismatic churches use the term “slain in spirit” to describe their experience of religious ecstasy. The believer feels they are overcome by the Holy Spirit
Baptism in the Holy Spirit:
- an experience where the believer gives control of themselves to the Holy Spirit.
- they come to know Christ in a more personal way and are filled with the spirits power to enable them to share their faith and grow spiritually
- it is believed to be an action of Gods grace
Glossolalia:
- Pentecostals believe they are equipped with the gifts of the spirit
- speaking in tongues means miraculously speaking in a language unknown to the speaker as enabled by the Holy Spirit
Being filled with the Holy Spirit:
In Ephesians, Paul tells believers to be “filled with the Holy Spirit”
Jesus tells his disciples in Luke that god is ready to give his Holy Spirit to those who ask for it.
- Pentecostals believe that being filled with the Holy Spirit is part of their regular relationship with God
The believer can allow Gods spirit to have more of an influence over their lives
Claims of being given the ability to speak glossolalia are rejected as being not being in line with biblical teaching.
Pentecostalists and ecstatic experiences:
Pentecostalism is a movement within Christianity based on the coming of the Holy Spirit to the 12 apostles during the first festival of pentecost. They spoke in new languages.
“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the spirit enabled them”
- Assemblies of God churches and Vineyard churches
Pentecostalism emphasises the work of the Holy Spirit and the direct experience of the presence of God by the believer
Are ecstatic experiences really acts of God?
There are accounts in the Bible when people are recorded falling in the presence of god
“When he said to them I am He they drew back and fell to the ground” - John
“He bowed his head and fell flat on his face” numbers
There are disagreements as to whether religious ecstasies are genuine experience of God. In the Bible the apostles or Jesus never law hands on someone causing them to fall over. The only times people fell were in the presence of god when he was giving judgement.
John Edwards argued that while a religious ecstasy may be caused by several things, it was the long term affect on the believer that determined whether it had come from God. One that came from God would change the believer
Worship
When Christians participate in sacraments they believe they are giving praise to God and he is able to communicate with them in some way
Liturgical worship provides the structure through which some Christians encounter God. They have an increased sense of his presence
Charismatic services allows them a greater personal expression so they are better able to communicate with God
Sacraments - Eucharist
A sacrament is an outward act and sign of an inner and invisible grace.
Through sacraments Christ acts in the believer and makes them holy. They help believers to worship God correctly.
Eucharist :
Catholic and orthodox churches:
- transubstantiation- bread and wine are transformed into the actual body and blood of Jesus.
“A change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ”
Jesus says “eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood”
- they become untied with Christ
Church of England:
Consubstantiation - real presence of Christ at Eucharist but bread and wine remain unchanged
Protestant churches:
- Eucharist is symbolic to remember the death and resurrection of Jesus.
- in the bible there is no suggestion that the apostles were aware of any change in the bread and wine.
“Do this in remembrance of me”
