Religious experience Flashcards
What is a religious experience
An encounter with or sense of God or the spiritual world
Why is it hard to define religious experiences in a more specific way
This is because religious experiences vary significantly - almost every one is different, and they are often intangible and ineffable. As with many other religious or philosophical ideas, there are many definitions
How does William James define RE
As an overwhelming feeling of reverence and belonging to God, and which renewed one’s approach to life
How did Ninian Smart define RE
As ‘some kind of perception of the invisible world, or a perception that some visible person or thing is a manifestation of the invisible world’
What is a direct RE
Those that involve contact with God
What is an indirect RE
Involve an internal sense of something other than this world, such as a sense of wonder in creation
There are lots of different types of RE. What is the common thread that links them together and leads to them all being seen as an RE
Usually the unifying factor is the experience in some form of the supernatural: the experience of something which is distinctly beyond the scope of humanity
What has the fact that REs are beyond the scope of human experience led some to argue that they are evidence for?
The existence of God
List all the different types of RE outlined in the ZZ
Meditation
Corporate
Conversion
Numinous experience
Seeing visions
Hearing voices
Prayer
Define meditation as a type of RE
The practise of concentrated peace where a person will focus on entering a state of calm. It is not uncommon for an RE to occur here, and in some faiths this is considered to be an RE in and of itself
Define corporate RE as a type of RE
Experiences involving more than one person
Where can example of this be found in the Bible
Within Acts 2 and its account of the Pentecost
Define conversion as a type of RE
Conversion to faith in a new or different religion can be considered an RE. It can also be a consequence of RE, such as a vision
Give an example of a biblical figure who converted due to a vision
St Paul
Define numinous experience as a type of RE
Experiencing something ‘totally other’ which inspires awe in the experiencer. The word comes from the Latin ‘numen’, meaning stirring of emotion with religious conviction. It is the nature of religious experience that removes it from the mundane to the divine or spiritual
Define seeing visions as a type of RE
Visual RE, seeing something that represents or is revealed to you by God. It can take place while awake or during sleep in the form of a dream
Define hearing voices as a type of RE
Refers to the experience of hearing the voice of God, or the voice of an angel, usually delivering a message from God. It is not uncommon for this to be combined with visual experience
Define prayer as a type of RE
The practise of prayer is thought of in many religions to be communicating with God. Some people report emotional feelings provoked during prayer which seems to come from outside of themselves
Give some examples of RE within Christianity
Various examples within the NT (SL), with one of the most striking being that of St Paul described in Acts 9. Saul was a pharisee who purposefully persecuted the early church. He was travelling on the road to Damascus when he was confronted by a bright, blinding light, accompanied by a voice which asked ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’. The voice claimed it was ‘Jesus, whom you are persecuting’. Following this, Saul believed in Jesus, becoming a disciple and eventually being known as Paul the Apostle. This is an example of both a vision based and a voice based RE
What is an apostle
An important early Christian teacher or pioneering missionary
Give some examples of RE within Islam
The main RE is the receiving of the Qur’an by Muhammad. The account of this religious experience is found within the Qur’an, in Surah 96 and 97
It describes how the angel Jibril appears to Muhammad while he is meditating and commands him to ‘recite’. Muhammad says he cannot because he is illiterate, however, on the third command he recited the Qur’an. This is another example of an RE that is both vision based and voice based
Give some examples of RE within Judaism
Wealth of examples within the Torah, as it is viewed as the story of God’s interaction with his chosen people.
Exodus 3 tells the story of the shepherd Moses and his RE with the burning bush. This is another example of an RE that is both vision based and voice based. From out of the bush with was on fire without burning, the Torah states that ‘God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”. He then went on the outline his plan for saving the Jews from slavery in Egypt
What religious beliefs did Rudolph Otto hold
He was a protestant theologian
What did he want to find out about REs
He wanted to find out what part about REs it was that made them ‘religious’
Why did Otto think REs were important
He believed that having one was central to the faith of the individual believer, therefore it is important to a person of faith that they had an RE in some form of the God or power in which they believed
Give three examples of functions he believed REs had
Mysterium
Tremendum
Fascians
Define mysterium
Refers to the mystery of the religious encounter as experienced by the individual which cannot be adequately articulated
Define tremendum
Refers to a particular nature of the experience of the feeling of awe: a sense of dread of the impact of the greatness of the experienced impending power
Define fascians
Refers to the nature of the believer being drawn into an RE by a fascination with the divine
What must we remember about Otto when looking at how he presents REs
That he is a Protestant Theologian so this leads to bias. However, this is the case with most philosophers and theologians
List the ways in which he thinks God relates to RE
Does not think God can be known through logic or sensory experience as God is greater than and transcendent to these things
Viewed God to be completely separate from, different from and ‘other’ to humans and human experience
RE is ineffable because it can’t be put into words
Views RL as an attempt to represent with words concepts which cannot be adequately conveyed with words
Believes God chooses to allow humans to experience him, and without this choice he cannot be experienced
Refers to the experience of God on an emotional level as being numinous
When did the theologian William James do his work
19th century
Why did he take an interest in RE
He was specifically interested in the RE of the individual, and the influence of the psychology of the individual in terms of the RE. He also lectured on mysticism and was interested in the mystic nature of RE
What did he aim to do in his work ‘The Varieties of RE’
Define the nature of RE
What 4 terms have we garnered from his works
Ineffability
Noetic quality
Transciency
Passivity
Define ineffability in relation to RE
Refers to the nature of RE as being beyond the scope of human description
Define noetic quality in relation to RE
Refers to the nature of RE as being beyond the knowledge of normality; the person having the experience is gaining some sort of knowledge beyond what humans have: knowledge of the unknown. It is knowledge beyond the experience of the everyday, mundane and familiar
Define transiency in relation to RE
Refers to the way in which the RE should effect the person having it; that a small event may effect a great change in this person. What may constitute a small event temporally, lasting usually only a matter of minutes or hours - could affect the direction of the life of the experiencer for the rest of their life
Define passivity in relation to RE
Refers to a phenomenon experienced by those who encounter an RE - the feeling that their free will is being subverted by another force of higher power which temporarily takes control of their body and or actions
What does Vardy think that people’s views on RE depend upon
Their presuppositions
What are presuppositions
Pre-existing assumptions and beliefs
What does Vardy mean when he says our interpretations of RE depend upon our pre-suppositions
People of faith are more likely to interpret events as an RE, whereas those without faith are less likely to
Give a quote from Vardy which summarises his idea that interpretations of REs depend on our presuppositions
It seems unjust to say that one group is less rational or more hard hearted than the other. They may simply start from different positions
What does this mean in terms of how REs can be used to prove the existence of God
Points to the idea that whether they can be used to support the existence of God is a matter of subjective interpretation. This means that with the same evidence, people may fairly come to different conclusions about the validity of REs. It is a matter of personal opinion rather than being objectively right of wrong
What is a subjective truth
Whether it is considered true will vary from person to person depending on their views
What is an objective truth
Factually true for all people regardless of personal opinion
How does John Hick’s idea of eschatological verification relate to what Vardy is saying
Because Hick agrees that theists and atheists can interpret phenomena very differently, adding that only at the end of time will one person be proven right and the other proven wrong. This means that both sides can argue as much as they want but there is no way of proving either side correct until after death
Why does Hick think that REs are important
He places great importance on RE as being the foundation of religion itself, with all RE being directed towards an ultimate reality that is then filtered through cultural presuppositions
What is the upside of concluding the RE is subjective for the theist
Avoids the problem of having to come to definite answers about whether they are truly experiences of God. Possibly the best conclusion to come to because of how difficult it is to argue conclusively either way
What is the downside of concluding that the validity of RE is subjective for the theist
Lessens the value of REs. People who claim to have had one believe that it was objectively an experience of God. It also means that the arguement from religious experience cannot be used to try and convince others that God exists, as someone could respond by saying that it is simply a matter of opinion
What is the naturalistic counter arguement to the arguement from RE
That argue that the RE is actually caused by something other than an experience of God; such arguements do not deny that something has been experienced but rather point to naturalistic explanations for what caused the event
Whose psychological explanation will we look at in this chapter
Sigmund Freud’s
What is Freud’s psychological explanation
Says that RE can be explained as arising out of a psychological need to have God’s protection in a hostile world. Religion is a means by which individuals project or transfer their psychological needs or fears onto a higher being as an attempt to alleviate them
Freud calls religion a neurosis in the sense that it is a form of mental illness. Religion and God are therefore a creation of the human mind, rather than being objectively true
Freud believes that now science can explain the natural world, belief in God is shown to be unreasonable since anxiety about the chaos/disorder of the natural world is not needed.
This is supported by the way God is depicted - often in response to primal desires
Give an example of God being depicted in a way that seems to be a response to primal desires
The idea of the Christian God as Father comes from the security offered by parents
How does William James, another pyschologist and philosopher, respond to this arguement
Accepts that this is possible but does not refute the meaning of REs or necessarily deny the existence of God
What kind of physiological effects have others argued that REs are a result of
Physical changes in the body such as epilepsy
Hallucinations
Drugs
Brain patterns as a result of certain situations
How far can these 4 factors go in explaining REs
Not all people who have had them have hallucinated, taken drugs or suffered from such conditions. REs could be the result of brain patterns that naturally occur in humans in certain situations, in which case everyone who has had an RE has in fact had such brain patterns
What factors do sociological explanations look to attribute REs to
Social factors
Give an example of how REs might be the result of a social pressure
Group hysteria in worship
How is the idea of a sociological explanation supported by the nature of most REs
They generally take place in the form of the religion the experiencer already familiar with through their societal upbringing. Very rarely does a Christian have a vision of a Hindu God, for instance. This suggests that REs are culturally conditioned and that the mind, in creating REs, draws on familiar ideas and concepts
Give Nicky Cruz’s experience of RE and conversion
Originally from Puerto Rico and moved to NYC at 15. Became heavily involved in street violence and became the leader of a street gang, the Mau Maus. Nicky came into contact with a Christian preacher called David Wilkerson, who told him that JC loved him. Two weeks later the gang decided to disrupt a meeting he was holding. Upon hearing David preach, Nicky began to remember all the bad things he had done and felt guilty. He silently prayed to God for forgiveness and then prayed with David aswell. Nicky was converted and, after studying, became a preacher. He and some of the other gang members handed in all their guns and knives to the police
Who recorded Stephen H Bradley’s conversion experience
William James
What book did he record this in
The Varieties of RE
What was his first RE
At the age of 14 he had a vision of JC with arms extended appearing to him and saying ‘come’, which lasted about one second. Later in his 20s he attended a couple of church services and felt nothing. Later that evening he had another conversion experience
What was this conversion experience like
Felt his heart began to beat very quick all of a sudden, which made him think at first something was wrong, but he was not alarmed as he felt no pain. His heart increased in beating to the point that he felt as though he was under the influence of the paraclete. Felt exceedingly happy but also humble and unworthy. He said something like ‘lord I do not deserve this happiness’. Felt a stream of something entering his mouth of heart for five minutes or more, which appeared to be the cause of the heart palpitations. Took complete possession of his soul and he was convinced that he desired the lord while it was happening, but not so he could have more happiness, for it seemed as if he could not contain what he already had
What is the most important and famous conversion for Christianity
St Paul
Where did this occur
On the road to Damascus
Where is his conversion experience recorded
Acts 9:1-19
Describe this conversion
He had persecuted Christians, hounding them to death, and delivering men and women to prison. Did this because he was a Jew. Bright light from heaven shone around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying ‘Paul, Paul, why are you persecuting me?’. ‘Who is speaking to me, Sir?’, I asked. And he replied, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, the one your are persecuting’.
The are various version of the arguement for the existence of God from RE. Which two will we look at in this chapter
Inductive arguement
Cumulative arguement
What is induction
Drawing on a conclusion based on a number of particular experiences
Why is it not unreasonable that this arguement uses inductive reasoning
Because we draw conclusions on the basis of induction all the time. It is on the basis of induction that we have developed scientific laws and can generally predict how the world works (Hume’e theory of induction)
Give an example of how using induction to gain knowledge can sometimes be wrong
If every car I saw was blue, it would be wrong to assume that all cars are blue
How does the inductive arguement say that REs prove the existence of God
Argues that if you experience God, then, like other inductive experiences, you can generally conclude that God exists
Give it in its syllogistic form
P1: Experience of objects indicates they exist
P2: God is experienced by humans
C: God exists
Does this arguement use a priori or a posteriori knowledge
A posteriori
In what work does William Alston support this inductive arguement
Perceiving God
Give a quote from this work where Alston expresses his support for this inductive arguement
Any supposition that one perceives something to be the case, that there is a zebra infront of one or that God is strengthening one - is prima facie justified. Beliefs formed on the basis of experience possess an initial credibility by virtue of their origins
What is Alston saying here
That if we see a zebra we inductively believe it exists, so we should apply the same logic to God. He argues that such experiences are a credible source of knowledge
What is a cumulative arguement
An arguement which increases in likelihood the more evidence is given in its favour. Something that is cumulative is increasing in quantity or force by successive additions
How do people make a cumulative arguement for the existence of God based on REs
State that the number of people who have had an RE has accumulated to such an extent that it is highly probable that REs are real - that many people could not have been mistaken or lying. David Hay in ‘Exploring Inner Space’ demonstrates the high proportion of people who claim to have had an RE
Therefore in weighing up the evidence it seems likely that God exists. The weight of tesitmony is the theist’s favour
What is the ‘weight of testimony’
Refers to the amount of testimony that can be provided to support and arguement - if there is more evidence for something than for something against, then the logical conclusion is to favour that thing
What is verification
A way of proving something to be true
What is validity
Relating to how logical or factual an arguement is
Explain why it is so difficult to verify REs
For most experiences, like claiming to see one’s neighbour - it would be possible to carry out certain investigations to determine whether this claim was true. This cannot be done for religious experiences because they are internal, private and personal experiences
1) We could ask whether someone else had seen the neighbour. However, most REs are private, meaning nobody else is witness to them. Therefore nobody else can support the testimony, and we have to rely on the experiencer’s testimony alone. There is no way of knowing whether the experiencer is mistaken or lying
2) We could ask whether your descriptions of the neighbour match that of other people’s. While some REs do have similar features, such as the experience of awe, we ultimately do not know what God is like so we cannot know which, if any, descriptions are true
3) Did the person behave in the way one would expect the neighbour to behave. We do not know how God behaves so we cannot check whether the RE is consistent with how God behaves, apart from our understanding of God through religious traditions
4) If someone goes to the house next to yours, will someone of the same descriptions as the one you gave answer the door. It is obviously not possible to go and check whether God matches the description of an RE
5) Is there evidence of the neighbour - e.g., a car and a house next door. Religious experiences do not leave behind any evidence because they are internal, not external circumstances
What has this difficulty in verifying REs led many to conclude
Some people therefore conclude that they are not an acceptable source of knowledge, or the basis of valid arguement, because the experience cannot be verified. From a scientific perspective it is only through empirical observation that something can be considered to be true, and this does not apply to religious experiences. This does not prove them to be false, but also suggests that cannot be proved true either
Swinburne developed two principles which he held gave weight to the likelihood that REs are as experiants claim
Principle of testimony
Principle of credulity
Explain the principle of testimony
Unless there is evidence to the contrary, we should believe testimony about REs because people generally tell the truth
Counter the principle of testimony
They may think they are telling the truth, being genuinely mistaken
Explain the principle of credulity
Unless there is evidence to the contrary, we should believe taht things are as they seem to be: ‘How things seem to be is a good guide to how things are’. If something seems to be an experience of God it is: ‘substantial grounds for belief in the existence of God’
Counter the principle of credulity
Things can often not be as they seem, such as mirages or hallucinations. There could be other explanations for the experience
Swinburne assumes that experiences of God are the same as experiences of other things in the world. This is not the case because the nature of REs is inherently different from experiences of the natural world because of their supernatural nature
Evaluate Swinburne’s arguement
Makes a common sense appeal that we should not instantly assume people who have had an RE are lying or mistaken. While these principles might be good to live by in daily life, the questions remains whether they are applicable to a very different aspect of life. Questions over whether this arguement is strong enough to prove the existence of God. At best it only shows why the arguement from RE shpuild not be immediately dismissed
In which work did Vardy discuss Swinburne’s principles of testimony and credulity
The Puzzle of God
What does he think about the principles
Says that the nature of REs need to be more thoroughly questioned and critiqued
Explain this more critical view of REs
Starts from the premise that REs have a low probability of being true. They are supernatural and incredible experiences that happen infrequently. This makes them less likely to be true than other everyday experiences. Vardy argues that because of this the evidence needs to be high in order to be convincing
What analogy does he use to illustrate this idea
Compares religious experiences and claims to have seen a UFO or the lock ness monster. Says that for both we should be ‘rightly sceptical’…
Great numbers of people claim to have seen UFOs - many people in different countries claim to have had alien encounters. However, most of us are rightly sceptical about such claims. I would try and think of other possible explanations, experience of an unusual object can be veridical, but I would have to be very sure indeed about the experience before accepting that it was indeed what it appeared to be to me
Explain Vardy’s idea of being sceptical
Being sceptical is about not being easily convinced, and questioning rather than just accepting what someone says. Therefore when approaching REs, we should not assume they are true and thnk ab\out other possible explanations for what could have caused them abd ask questions about the health and sanity of the experiment, and about the content and nature of the experience
What does John Hick say about REs
Argues that it is not they are false, but that the mistake lies in the way individuals interpret them. Hick was a pluralist - he believed that truth could be found in every faith - he posited the idea of The Real. The Real is transcendent and immanent - beyond the capability of mankind to be able to understand, or confine into the box of one religion. Therefore concerning RE, he believes the experience is real, but that the error lies in the strict interpretation of the experience as being directly tied to one religion. This, he argues, is the interpretation of the individual. It is important to note that REs are different between different cultures because of cultural presuppositions - this explains differences in religious evidence, but still provides that idea of a common core to RE
Brian Davies in Introduction to Philosophy of Religion outlines four common reasons for rejecting the inductive arguement from RE
1) Experiences are frequently deceptive - we often make mistakes due to things like hallucinations and tricks of the light
2) Psychological or social pressures can lead to REs - some REs happen during worship or prayer with others and could lead to group hysteria or wishful thinking in response to others having an RE
3) There is no way of verifying such claims
4) There is no ‘uniformity of testimony’ - accounts of REs vary considerably. The assumption is that if an account is a true experience of God, there should be certain similarities
Davies goes on to give reasons against such arguements, suggesting that the arguement from RE can be upheld
Not all experiences are deceptive, and given the number of REs, it is unlikely that they were all deceptions. Other factors should be considered before deciding if someone was deceived, such as whether they were in good health, mentally sane, or in a pressured group environment
REs do not always occur in cases where there is psychological or social pressure. If an RE does occur in such an environment then this should be taken into account when assessing its validity, but that does not rule them all out
There are some ways of verifying such claims using forms of empirical evidence, in particular the effect on the experiencer - if their behaviour or views change in response to the experience, like if they have a conversion. If the experiencer remains much the same, then one can only assume they themselves were not very convinced of the validity of the experience, or that it was not an experience of God because it was not profound enough to impact them
Davies argues it is possible to agree something exists without agreeing about its exact nature. Therefore we can know God exists through REs but cannot be sure exactly what God is like on the basis of RE alone
What does Dawkins say about REs in The God Delusion
He equated RE with pyschosis. He takes issue with the idea that REs must have come from a higher being. He does not necessarily refute the experience itself but argues that the source of it could be found in psychosis
How does the NHS define psychosis
As a state of mind where a person may experience or understand reality in a different way from the way a sane person would interpret it. Includes things like hearing voices and seeing visions that are not observed by others. While these things are not experienced by others within reality, the person with psychosis firmly believes them to be true. This diagnosis is usually attributed to people whose experience is extreme and whose experience and quality of life is diminished as a result - for instance, extreme paranoia resulting in mistrust of others and an extreme obsessions or fear
The NHS defines the main symptoms as…
Hallucincations - Where a person hears, sees and in some cases feels, smells or tastes things that aren’t there: a common hallucination is hearing voices
Delusions - Where a person has strong beliefs that aren’t shared by others; a common delusion is someone believing there is a conspiracy to harm them
How does Dawkins link psychosis to RE
He argues that the symptoms of RE and psychosis are very similar, leading him to believe this is an explanation that need not lead to an arguement for the existence of God
Equates RE with something psychological. Argues that people with psychosis honestly believe their experience to be true in the same way that those who have an RE believe their visions to be true; however, this is not the case in reality.
Where does Dr Michael Persinger say REs come from
Argues that the source is not necessarily from outside the body, but within the temporal lobe of the brain. He argues that natural appearances are perceived to be from God, but can actually be explained by the brain
Persinger invented ‘The God Helmet’, what is it
A device used to stimulate the electromagnetic fields in the temporal lobe using electrodes. The results in some people sound very similar to what could be termed an RE. The sensations felt in the right side of the brain as a result of the electrodes trigger the right temporal lobe to trigger an explanation for why this sensation was felt in the left side of the brain. Often, the explanation manifests as the brain attributing this to something like an RE; for example; describing ‘a sense of presence’
What did Dawkins experience when he undertook The God Helmet
Reported only minimal change - a light twitching and being a little dizzy
How does Persinger explain different people having different experiences when undergoing The God Helmet
He believes that there are those who are genetically more likely to experience these occurances in the brain; there are those who are hardwired to have REs. This is a conclusion he has come to as a result of a variety of experiments on different people whose brains reacted to stimuli in different ways. He also found that people who had conditions like epilepsy reacted more to religious based words such as ‘god’, whereas those without reacted more to provoking words that had no religious connotations, such as ‘sex’. For Persinger, this explained the phenomena of RE - the roots were found not within the divine, but the answer the the question left by supernatural experiences is in the brain itself
