Religious Experience Flashcards
Numinous
Relating to the power and presence of a deity
Empirical
Things experienced by the senses
Eg. A corporeal vision
Immaculate conception
The Catholic doctrine that Mary is born without Original Sin
Original sin
The first sin of Adama and Eve
St Augustine taught that original sin is inherited seminary by all their descendants
Imaginative
A vision seen in the mind usually through a dream experience
Corporeal
A vision seen in the real world eg. At Bernadette. Not a dream, it actually appears.
Intellectual vision
A vision without any kind of visual image - it is an illumination of the soul
Sui generis
In a class of its own, one of a kind.
transcendent
God is above and beyond the space time universe
Noetic
An aspect of mystical religious experience
The knowledge is spiritual and non transferable as well as authoritative
Transiency
An aspect of mystical religious experience
Though they are generally short the effects are long lasting
Passivity
An aspect of mystical religious experiences
The experiencer isn’t in control but is controlled
Non sensous
Not involving the physical senses
Non intellectual
The ‘I’ of the rational intellect is replaced by pure consciousness
Clairvoyance
The ability to gain information about things by means that are beyond the normal methods of perception
Extrovertive
A half way house to introvert is religious experience
Sense experience is still active but objects are transformed by the unity that shines through
Introvertive
Sense experience is totally suppressed and the conscious ‘I’ is replaced by pure consciousness/the one/ the void
Ineffable
The aspect of mystical religious experiences not describable in words
Entheogen
Drugs like LSD that are known to generate religious experiences
Hallucinogenic
Drugs that cause hallucinations
Ineffable define
When the experience goes far beyond human powers of description - it cannot be described or transferred
Noetic define
When the person received knowledge or feeling directly from God - authoritative and non-transferable
Transient define
Non permanent, generally no longer than 2 hours but long term impact - a changed view of the universe
Passive define
The person is not in control but is taken over by the experience from God
William James’ basis quote ‘God meets’
‘God meets the individual on the basis of his personal concerns’
St Teresa quote on ineffable
‘I wish I could give a description of at least the smallest part of what I have learned but.. I find it impossible’
William James 4 characteristics of mystical experiences
Ineffable
Noetic
Transient
Passive
Mysterious tremendum et fascinans
A tremendous and fascinating mystery
Otto quote on religious experience
‘The idea of the Holy’
2 stories in the Bible about numinous experiences
The call of Moses
The call of Isiah
CS Lewis on a ‘mighty spirit’
If you were told there was a tiger in the room next to you, you would feel fear of the danger you were in
If you were told it was a mighty spirit, the disturbance would be profound but not necessarily fear
CS Lewis quote on the ‘other’
‘Wonder and a shrinking feeling of inadequacy to cope with this ‘other’ ‘
Mysterium
Wholly other
Blank wonder
Stupor
Tremendum
Full of awe, terror, dread of the ‘wrath of God’
Fascinans
Potent charm, attracted to it in spite of fear
Otto holds that, although the numinous is inconceivable..
It is somehow within our grasp. We apprehend it in a feeling JOHN MACQUARRIE
STACE quote on proof of God
‘Either God is a mystery or He is nothing at all. To ask for proof of the existence of God is on par with asking for proof of the existence of beauty’ STACE
STACE 5 characteristics of mystical experiences
Non sensuous and non intellectual Not occult Not Visions and voices Transcends our consciousness Extroversive and introversive
Introvertive
Unitary consciousness
Non spatial but a sense of reality
Feeling blessed, peace, holy, divine
Extrovertive
The unifying vision, all things are one
Concrete apprehension of the One - inner subjectivity and life in all things
Objects in the physical world are transfigured
