Religious Experience

Question 1

definition

Answer 1

experience where God or divine is seen or observed. can happen when sleep or awake

Question 2

3 types

Answer 2

corporeal
imaginative
intellectual

Question 3

corporeal

Answer 3

seeing with eyes a form of physical person
empirical
st Bernadette of Lourdes

Question 4

imaginative

Answer 4

occur in dreams seeing with minds eye
Josephs dream in Matthew 2

Question 5

Intellectual

Answer 5

awareness of presence of Christ/ God/ Mary without sensory experience
mystical
St Teresa of Avila gave her insight into God’s true nature

Question 6

mystical experience
who

Answer 6

William James, Walter stace

Question 7

William James - 7

Answer 7

1. primary and valid evidence for existence of God
2. do not prove Judeo Christian God. overlap between religion and mental problems
   beyond our understanding proving to be true
3. having an experience meant
   a new enthusiam for life
   b new sense of peace
4. understood could be induced by drugs and alcohol
5. defined experiences with certain characteristics
6. can range with little significance to a lot
7. unique and individual based on there needs

Question 8

what was William James certain characteristics

Answer 8

1. ineffability - beyond verbal description
2. Noetic Quality - insight through revelation
3. Transciency - isn’t maintained for long
4. Passivity - moment governed by being to the mystic

Question 9

Walter stace - definition of mystical experiences

Answer 9

non sensuous and non intellectual union with the divine
wanted to show that mysticism is a way to attain union with God

Question 10

what does Walter stace conclude

Answer 10

1 Mysticism is a non sensuous and non intellectual union with dive
2. separates mysticism from other forms of parapsychological phenomena - deja vu
3. vision and voices aren’t - might expereince should be beyond sense experience
4. central characteristic is concept of unity in all things a oneness which transcends sensory and intellectual explanation

Question 11

who for numinous experience
what does it mean

Answer 11

Ruldoph Otto
awe ispirino holiness

Question 12

how does Otto describe God
how would he describe an experience
what is the 2 words

Answer 12

‘totally other…unknowable… awesome in dimensions and power but attractive and fascinating’
it is a unique experience can’t be linked to anything else
sui genesis - of there own kind

Question 13

rest of ottos argument

Answer 13

a sense of numinous is to feel the presence of an awesome power but separate from it
words can’t describe his otherness - God is ineffable
Mysterium tretendem et fascnans
call of Isaiah 6 experience is life changing and non rational

Question 14

principle of testimony and credulity

Answer 14

Swinburne

Question 15

Credulity

Answer 15

what appears to be so usually is
reliability of claim - have lied in past
true of claim
difficulty of showing God was present in experience
could be accounted for in different ways does not discount God working in other ways

Question 16

Testimony

Answer 16

in absence special considerations people usually tell truths. easily proven to see if person changed

Question 17

Swinburne conclusion

Answer 17

1 credulity - if someone had experience they can believe its from God
2. testimony - others claim to have experiences
3 without experiences probability God exists is 50/50

Question 18

freud and challenge against

Answer 18

religion construct of the mind to provide comfort in dangerous world. no more hallucination
does provide comfort, criticised for regression of religion as mental illness. based theories on thoughs who had mental illness

Question 19

temporal lobe epilepsy

Answer 19

can lead to experiences. brain is capable of creating visions
Ellen white stone

Question 20

responses to more recent research in brain

Answer 20

unclear if brain is capable of creating
if God was to generate it would be brought about in structure of Brain
allows brain to communicate with God
those mediate may learn how to open mind to God

Question 21

who created and what is the God helmet

Answer 21

Michael Persinger - generates visions - scans of people meditating shows shutting down of certain areas of brain

Question 22

LSD

Answer 22

can be induced by drugs creates a sense of divine within

Question 23

influence of religious experience for faith - 5

Answer 23

can spread religion
inspirational
25- 40% people have one
life changing
at heart of pilgrimages

Question 24

value of religious experience for faith -2

Answer 24

might lead to religion
bridge gap between belief that and belief in

Question 25

Visions being likely - 3

Answer 25

some visions experienced by more than one person at a time - 1 Corth 15 - post resurrection - Jesus appearing to more than 500 people at time
Some visions experienced to prior held beliefs - life changing
altered sense of perspective on life

Question 26

visions being unlikely

Answer 26

lack of sleep/ food can lead to hallucinations
beyond empirical proof
difficult to assess validity of any claimed experience