Religious Experience Flashcards
Who was William James?
- William James was an American Philosopher, historian and psychologist.
- He is known as the “Father of American Psychology”.
- He is known as a “pragmatist”- more concerned with practical considerations than ideals.
Define Pragmatism:
A philosophical approach that evaluates theories or beliefs in terms of the success of their practical application.
Give a quote from William James about religious experiences:
“There are states of insights into depths of truth unplumped by the discursive intellect. They are illuminations, revelations, full of significance and importance, all inarticulate though they remain; and as a rule they carry with them a curious sense of authority for after-time.”
(very important!!)
Name St Augustine’s three types of visions:
- Imaginative
- Intellectual
- Corporeal
Describe corporeal visions and give an example of one:
- They are visions that occur through physical sight. (Supernatural experiences that are mediated through the physical senses.)
- The visionary sees the figure/object in the same way someone would see a chair.
- An example could be the 18 visions of the Virgin Mary that Bernadette of Lourdes experienced.
Describe intellectual visions and give an example of one:
- They are visions with no visual image; the experience illuminates the soul.
-Also known as mystic visions - they are hard to understand as they defy description but enlighten the soul.
- An example could be Teresa of Avila. She was a mystic who had many such visions. - “I saw nothing with the eyes of the body, nothing with the eyes of the soul.”
Describe imaginative visions and give an example of one:
- They are visions seen in the mind; mediated “in the mind’s eye”. (Often take the form of dreams.)
- An example could be Joseph’s dream in which he was told Mary was pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit and that he was to marry her.
Give the name of Rudolf Otto’s book and summarise what it was about:
- Otto wrote a book on the nature of religious experiences called “The Idea of the Holy”
- He explains that the word holy means “other than”, “separate from”.
- Therefore, his book is an attempt to describe the sense some people have of a reality totally outside and beyond their experience of themselves and the world.
- He referred to the call of Isaiah in Isaiah 6:1-8 as an example of a NUMINOUS EXPERIENCE.
What does numinous mean?
Having strong religious or spiritual quality; indicating or suggesting the presence of the divine.
What is a numinous experience?
- Experience of the “wholly other”, unrelated to spatio-temporal experiences.
- It is an experience that is the basis of all genuine religions.
- It is a non-rational and unique form of experience, totally outside our everyday experience.
- The emphasis is on God’s transcendence.
- It refers to a presence and reality that cannot be understood with the sense of intellect.
- It is a sense of the holy.
What does “Mysterium tremendum et fascinans” translate to?
- Translates to: a fearful and fascinating mystery.
- Mysterium = mysterious
- Tremendum = trembling
- Fascinans = fascinating
Explain the mysterious element of “mysterium tremendum et fascinans”:
- Far removed from humanity that can be experienced but not understood.
- Elicits the response of awe and wonder.
Explain the trembling element of “mysterium tremendum et fascinans”:
- Fearsome experience of God’s overwhelming majesty and energy.
- Sense of human nothingness and sinfulness.
- Consequently, absolute dependence on God.
Explain the fascinating element of “mysterium tremendum et fascinans”:
- Compulsive and attractive nature of the experience creates a desire for a relationship with the Being.
- Creates awareness of the need for salvation, forgiveness.
Who was Walter Stace?
Walter Stace was a British philosopher best known for his writing on mysticism. He is known as one of the pioneers in the philosophical study of mysticism.
