Religious Experience Flashcards

1
Q

What are the three main classes of vision?

A

Corporeal, imaginative, and intellectual

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2
Q

What is a corporeal vision? Support with an example

A

A vision in which something is seen that is not really present, but appears to be physically present to the person having the vision. E.g. St Bernadette’s vision of Mary at Lourdes

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3
Q

What is an imaginative vision? Support with an example

A

A vision which takes place in the mind, often through dreams. E.g. Joseph’s dream where the Angel Gabriel communicated with him / The Pharaoh’s prophetic dream of cows coming out of the Nile

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4
Q

What is an intellectual vision? Support with an example

A

A vision which does not involve seeing but a kind of intellectual perception which involves ‘seeing things as they really are’. E.g. St Teresa of Avila’s visions in which she did not see the form of Jesus but understood him to be present

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5
Q

What is the relationship between visions and other forms of religious experience?

A

Other forms of religious experience often include/overlap with visions, e.g. Moses has a vision but also a numinous experience; St Teresa has an intellectual vision but also a mystical experience

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6
Q

What is the purpose of a vision generally thought to be?

A

To deliver a message, either from God or someone representing him. This can be direct (e.g. the instructions from Mary to Bernadette) or implicit/metaphorical (e.g. the Pharaoh’s dream, which Joseph has to interpret)

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7
Q

What is a numinous experience?

A

An apprehension of the wholly other

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8
Q

Who describes numinous experiences, and in what text?

A

Rudolf Otto (The Idea of the Holy)

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9
Q

What aspect of religion does the numinous connect to?

A

The non-rational: the part outside of/beyond what can be known through reason

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10
Q

What are the main characteristics of a numinous experience?

A

Non-rational dread: a sense of dread that goes beyond rational fear

Creature-consciousness: a sense of being profane and creaturelike in the presence of something holy

Awe and wonder: being impressed and speechless by the greatness of God

Mysterium tremendum: the numinous is the apprehension of a tremendous (fearful) mystery

Overpoweringness: a sense of nothingness in contrast to the power of God

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11
Q

How does C.S. Lewis illustrate the concept of numinous dread?

A

‘The Tiger in the Next Room’: knowledge of a tiger in the next room would create a sense of rational fear about what the creature could DO; knowledge of a spirit in the next room would create a sense of non-rational dread about what the spirit IS

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12
Q

What does Otto say about the expression of the numinous in specific religions?

A

Christianity - has lots of examples of the numinous e.g. Isaiah’s vision of the temple, Moses and the Burning Bush. Otto sees Christianity as the highest form of religion because it has the perfect balance of rational and non-rational.

Islam - has the greatest emphasis on non-rational; high amount of numinous.

Buddhism - has elements of the numinous, e.g. Buddha statues in caves creating a sense of numinous dread.

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13
Q

What is a mystical experience?

A

A sense of union/oneness with God/the divine

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14
Q

Who are the two main scholars associated with mystical experience?

A

William James and Walter Stace

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15
Q

In which text would we find William James’ description of mystical experience?

A

The Varieties of Religious Experience

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16
Q

How does James define mystical experience?

A

A feeling of oneness with whatever one considers to be the divine

17
Q

What, for James, are the four main characteristics of a mystical experience?

A

Passive (the individual has no control)
Ineffable (the experience can’t be put into words)
Noetic (the experience brings knowledge that could not have been learned without the experience)
Transient (the experience is short-lasting, though its effects may be long-lasting)

18
Q

What does James say about the role of mystical experience in religion?

A

They are at the centre of religion - ‘primary religion’ arises out of religious experience and only later regresses into ‘secondary’ (institutional) religion

19
Q

What does James say we can conclude from mystical experiences?

A

They point to a higher reality, not necessarily the God of Christianity (James is a pluralist) but something which can be accessed by the human mind
We are under no obligation to accept the religious experiences of others, however individuals have the right to take their own experiences as legitimate

20
Q

What school of philosophy does William James belong to?

A

Pragmatism

21
Q

Why is James described as a ‘Pragmatist’?

A

He believes that religious experience can be verified through its effects; pragmatists focus on the ‘fruits’ (effects) of beliefs rather than their ‘roots’

22
Q

In which text would we find Walter Stace’s account of mystical experience?

A

The Teachings of the Mystics

23
Q

How does Stace define mystical experience?

A

Non-sensuous and non-intellectual union with the divine

24
Q

What does ‘non-sensuous’ and ‘non-intellectual’ mean?

A

Do not involve the senses and do not involve the intellect

25
Q

What are the two types of mystical experience identified by Stace?

A

Extrovertive - external world transfigured so oneness shines through it
Introvertive - external world ceases to be experience and oneness is experienced within

26
Q

What is a similarity and a difference between James and Stace?

A

Similarity: both focus on oneness/union with the divine across a number of cases
Difference: Stace separates into two classes whereas James focuses only on the four common characteristics

27
Q

What are the challenges of verifying religious experience?

A

They happen to individuals and are often unexpected/take place in dreams, so can’t be studied while they are happening
They are often hard to interpret
It is difficult to know whether someone is telling the truth about their experience
They do not pass the Verification/Falsification Principle

28
Q

What are the main challenges from science?

A

Drugs - psychedelic drugs such as ayahuasca can bring about religious experiences

Medical causes - e.g. Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE) which can be identified as the possible cause of religious experiences such as St Paul’s conversion

Psychological explanations - e.g. Freud suggests that religious experiences, especially in dreams, are a primitive form of wish fulfilment

29
Q

How have religions responded to the challenges?

A

Point out that some religious experiences (e.g. Fatima) are corporate (happen to large groups), which increases their probability
Follow Swinburne’s Principle of Testimony in arguing that we should believe people about their experiences
Follow William James in suggesting pragmatically that drugs/medical conditions do not challenge religious experiences if they cause positive effects - these could be God’s way of communicating with us

30
Q

What is Swinburne’s Principle of Credulity?

A

We should believe our own experiences unless any special considerations (e.g. a psychiatric condition/drug use) should give us cause to doubt them; this includes religious experiences / If x appears to us to be present, x probably is in fact present

31
Q

What is Swinburne’s Principle of Testimony?

A

We should believe other people’s accounts of their own experiences unless any special considerations (e.g. a history of lying/drug use) should give us cause to doubt them; this includes religious experiences / If x claims that y was present, y probably was in fact present

32
Q

What are three ways religious experience influence people?

A
  1. Religious experiences can influence individuals to deepen their relationship with God, e.g. a Christian who undergoes a religious experience during a pilgrimage
  2. Religious experiences can lead someone to join or change religion - this would be called a conversion experience
  3. Religious experiences can influence communities or societies, as (as James point out) they are primary forms of religion and can lead to the development of larger movements
33
Q

What are three ways religious experiences can have value for religious faith?

A
  • Many religious experiences (e.g. visions/mystical experiences) are noetic; they give knowledge not otherwise attainable
  • They are seen as proof of God, often as part of a ‘cumulative argument’ for his existence (e.g. alongside the Design argument)
  • They can bring more people to a religious tradition through conversion experiences