Religious Experience Flashcards
What is a mystical experience?
A mystical experience is a religious experience in which a person feels they have direct contact with a divine being or God.
What is a conversion experience?
A conversion experience is when a person undergoes a gradual or sudden change in their religion, loses their religion, or becomes religious.
What is an intellectual vision?
An intellectual vision brings knowledge and understanding, often involving a revelation from God.
What is an imaginary vision?
An imaginary vision is a mental image or vision that strengthens faith, seen with the mind’s eye.
What is a corporeal vision?
A corporeal vision involves a figure or presence of a divine being that is externally present to the person experiencing it.
Who was Rudolph Otto?
Rudolph Otto was a German scholar who coined the term ‘numinous’ to describe the feeling of the divine.
What does the term ‘numinous’ mean?
Numinous refers to the feeling of the presence of something greater than oneself, often associated with divine or sacred experiences.
Who was William James?
William James was a leading philosopher at the turn of the 19th century and wrote the book ‘The Varieties of Religious Experience’.
What is a passive religious experience?
A passive experience is one where the person is not in control, and the experience happens to them, often seen as originating from God.
What does ineffable mean in religious experiences?
Ineffable refers to an experience that cannot be adequately described in words.
What is a noetic religious experience?
A noetic experience is when someone receives new knowledge or information from God.
What does transient mean in religious experiences?
Transient refers to an experience that lasts for a short period of time, although its effects may be permanent.
What is a volitional (gradual) conversion?
A volitional (gradual) conversion occurs when a person decides to make spiritual changes in their life, actively working to make those changes.
What is a self-surrender (sudden) conversion?
A self-surrender (sudden) conversion is an involuntary change where a person’s life changes suddenly and significantly without prior planning.
What is a religious experience?
A religious experience is when a person believes they have had an experience of God or another religious figure.
What are the main classifications of religious experience?
The main classifications are: Mystical Experience (contact with the divine) and Conversion Experience (a change in life toward belief in God).
What are the four main characteristics of mystical experiences, according to William James?
The four characteristics are: Ineffability, Noetic, Transient, and Passive.
What does ineffability mean in religious experiences?
Ineffability means the experience is so profound that the person cannot describe it or do it justice.
What does noetic mean in religious experiences?
Noetic means the person receives knowledge from God that is not available in any other way, often perceived as a direct revelation.
What does transient mean in religious experiences?
Transient means the experience doesn’t last long in time, but its effects are long-lasting, changing the person’s view of the universe and their life.
What does passive mean in religious experiences?
Passive means the person is not in control of the experience, which happens to them, rather than being willed or directed by them.
What is a corporeal vision?
A corporeal vision is when a supernatural figure appears externally to the person, either as a physical presence or as a bright light with a voice.
What is an imaginative vision?
An imaginative vision is when a supernatural figure is seen with the mind’s eye rather than physically. It’s usually a short experience and often occurs during sleep.
What is an intellectual vision?
An intellectual vision involves direct knowledge from God without any images or objects. It provides immediate understanding and leads to feelings like peace, love, and stronger belief in God.
What is the main difference between a corporeal and an imaginative vision?
A corporeal vision involves seeing a real external figure, whereas an imaginative vision is a mental image that is not seen physically.
How does the Catholic Church view corporeal visions?
The Catholic Church views corporeal visions as either an actual physical presence of a person (like Jesus or saints) or a bright light with a voice (such as in apparitions).
What is the significance of imaginative visions happening during sleep?
Imaginative visions are often more likely during sleep, when the mind is more passive and less divided by other thoughts.
What is the effect of an intellectual vision?
The effect of an intellectual vision is the immediate understanding of God’s intervention, leading to feelings of peace, love, and deeper belief in God.
What is a corporeal vision?
A corporeal vision is a supernatural sighting where a real figure (such as a saint or religious figure) appears externally to the person. For example, Bernadette Soubirous experienced corporeal visions of Our Lady in 1858.
What happened during Bernadette Soubirous’ visions?
In 1858, 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous had 17 visions of Our Lady and discovered a clear spring in a cave. Some believe she experienced an 18th vision before leaving Lourdes.
What is an imaginative vision?
An imaginative vision is a vision produced in the imagination, either while awake or asleep, often attributed to God or angels. For instance, St. Joseph received instructions through dreams in the Gospel of Matthew.
Who experienced an intellectual vision and what is it?
Julian of Norwich, a 14-15th century mystic, had intellectual visions. These are experiences where the person receives direct understanding or knowledge from God. Her “Revelations of Divine Love” describes such vivid experiences.
What is the numinous?
The numinous refers to the sense of awe and wonder one feels in the presence of God. It’s the realization that God is vastly different from us, often felt in places like churches, cathedrals, or even while observing nature (e.g., a sunset).
Who coined the term “numinous” and what does it mean?
The term numinous was coined by the German thinker Rudolf Otto. It describes an awe-inspiring and mysterious experience of encountering the “Wholly Other”—something that is threatening, yet attractive and of supreme value.
What did Rudolf Otto say about the numinous experience?
Rudolf Otto argued that the numinous experience is incommunicable and indescribable. It involves feelings like “creeping flesh”, the fear of ghosts, and a sense of encountering something uncanny or eerie.
What phrase did Rudolf Otto use to describe the numinous?
Rudolf Otto described the numinous with the Latin phrase mysterium tremendum et fascinans, meaning a magnificent, tremendous, and fascinating mystery—a reality beyond human comprehension.
What is religious conversion?
Religious conversion is when a person undergoes a dramatic spiritual change. This can be a shift from no religion to religious belief, from one religion to another, or even a shift to atheism or agnosticism.
How is religious conversion like a set of scales?
Religious conversion is compared to a set of imbalanced scales: the person often feels unhappy or unfulfilled, and an experience helps restore balance, bringing them emotional and spiritual peace.
What are the two types of conversion?
There are two main types of conversion: volitional (gradual) and self-surrender (sudden). Volitional conversion involves a person actively making spiritual changes, while self-surrender is involuntary, often triggered by a profound religious experience.
What happens in a volitional conversion?
In a volitional conversion, the person chooses to change spiritually, such as becoming Catholic and undergoing rituals like baptism and Eucharist. Over time, they experience a deep spiritual connection.
What happens in a self-surrender conversion?
Self-surrender conversions are more sudden and profound, often occurring with individuals who previously had no religious belief. These conversions can transform a person’s life dramatically.
What are the three types of change in religious conversion?
Conversion can lead to intellectual (change in thinking), moral (change in behavior), and social (change in lifestyle) transformations.
How did St. Paul convert to Christianity?
St. Paul was converted after hearing the voice of Jesus on the road to Damascus, which led him to Christianity. He changed his name from Saul to Paul, symbolizing his conversion.
Who is Davey Falcus and what was his conversion?
Davey Falcus, a former criminal and drug addict, had a dramatic conversion at age 29. He picked up a Bible and experienced a vision of Jesus, breaking his 15-year drug habit instantly.
What does William James say about personal testimony?
William James believes that personal testimony of religious experiences is valid and compelling. He argues that religious experiences happen to normal people, have a profound effect, and the strength of testimony makes them credible.
How do religious experiences affect people, according to William James?
James states that religious experiences have a profound effect on individuals and societies. They lead to fulfillment and purpose in life, and real experiences bring about positive changes.
What is the quality of religious testimony?
James asserts that the strength and quality of testimony are key. The certainty of testimonies from people who have experienced religious events confirms that the experiences are genuine, even if they don’t prove God in the classical theistic sense.
What is James’ view on the reality of religious experiences?
James argues that the cause of religious experiences, which many believe to be God, is real. Though this doesn’t prove the God of classical theism, it suggests that the source of these experiences (God) exists.
What is Richard Swinburne’s argument about personal testimony?
Richard Swinburne argues that personal testimony is reliable and should be accepted unless there are good reasons to doubt it. His argument is based on the principles of credulity and testimony.
What is the principle of credulity?
The principle of credulity states that if it seems to someone that X is present, then probably X is present. It suggests that what we perceive is likely to be true unless proven otherwise.
What are the four key challenges to the principle of credulity?
The four challenges are: 1) The circumstances of the experience might be unreliable, 2) The recipient might lack understanding to interpret the experience, 3) It could be shown that the experience wasn’t real, 4) It might be shown that the experience was real but not responsible for the claimed effect.
What is the principle of testimony?
The principle of testimony states that we should accept others’ accounts of their experiences unless we have positive grounds to doubt their truth. People usually tell the truth about their experiences.
What does Freud argue about religious experience?
Freud argues that religious experience is a form of neurosis and that people create religious beliefs in their unconscious mind. He suggests that these experiences are illusions produced by psychological needs.
What is collective neurosis?
Collective neurosis suggests that religious experiences are illusions created by the unconscious mind. Unpleasant memories and traumas from the past manifest as religious visions, voices, and feelings.
What is Freud’s theory of wish fulfillment?
Freud argues that religious experiences are a form of wish fulfillment. People desire these experiences so much that their minds create them, even without evidence to support them.
What is conversion syndrome?
Conversion syndrome is a psychological disorder where stress or trauma manifests as physical symptoms, like temporary blindness. Freud suggests that religious conversions could be a form of conversion syndrome, triggered by psychological distress.
How does Freud explain St. Paul’s conversion?
Freud might explain St. Paul’s conversion as a form of conversion syndrome, triggered by the stress of his life as a persecutor, leading to a psychological episode that he interpreted as a religious vision.
What is the physiological explanation for religious experience?
V.S. Ramachandran and Michael Persinger argue that religious experiences are caused by conditions like temporal lobe epilepsy or brain stimulation. These conditions can cause sensations of the numinous or visions of God.
What did Ramachandran discover about temporal lobe epilepsy?
Ramachandran found that people with temporal lobe epilepsy had strong reactions to religious imagery, suggesting that the temporal lobes are linked to religious experiences.
What is Michael Persinger’s view on religious experience?
Persinger argues that religious experiences are not divine but are the result of brain activity. By stimulating the temporal lobes, he can artificially induce feelings of the presence of God or other religious experiences.
What are the strengths of the psychological and physiological challenges to religious experience?
The psychological and physiological challenges offer more reliable explanations, such as neurological conditions or mental health issues, as alternatives to interpreting religious experiences as encounters with God.
What is a corporate religious experience?
A corporate religious experience occurs when multiple people experience the same religious event or encounter, making it harder to doubt its validity compared to individual claims.
How does a corporate religious experience strengthen the argument for religious experience?
When multiple people experience the same event, it reinforces the credibility of the experience. It becomes more difficult to dismiss as a personal delusion or misunderstanding.
What is the example of the Fatima experience?
In Fatima, Portugal, in 1916, three children saw visions of an angel and later the Virgin Mary. On October 13, 1917, around 70,000 people gathered to witness a miracle, which many reported witnessing, even though only the children saw the Virgin Mary.
How did the Fatima experience strengthen the claim of religious experience?
The large crowd witnessing the same event, with some reporting a miracle, added credibility to the children’s individual experiences. It was difficult to dismiss the event as a personal vision.
What is the Toronto Blessing?
The Toronto Blessing refers to a Pentecostal experience in 1994, where a congregation at the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church engaged in dramatic behaviors (laughing, dancing, shaking, etc.), attributed to the Holy Spirit entering their bodies.
What happened during the Toronto Blessing?
On January 20, 1994, after a pastor’s testimony, the congregation erupted in uncontrollable laughter, shaking, dancing, and even paralysis. These experiences were attributed to the Holy Spirit, and the event became widely known as the Toronto Blessing.
What significance does the Toronto Blessing have in terms of corporate religious experience?
The Toronto Blessing involved many people experiencing dramatic physical manifestations simultaneously, which strengthened the argument for the presence of the Holy Spirit and made it harder to dismiss as an individual anomaly.
What is William James’ view on religious experience as evidence for God’s existence?
William James argues that religious experience is strong evidence for God’s existence because people are more likely to believe something based on personal experience. If many individuals claim to experience God, this supports the belief in His existence.
What does Richard Swinburne’s principle of credulity state?
Swinburne’s principle of credulity asserts that if a person believes that something is present (e.g., God), it is probably true, and we should accept their perception unless we can prove otherwise.
How does Swinburne’s principle of testimony support the validity of religious experiences?
Swinburne’s principle of testimony suggests we should accept people’s reports of their experiences unless there is strong evidence to suggest they are mistaken. This applies to religious experiences, meaning we should trust someone’s account unless proven false.
What does William James say about the effects of religious experiences on people’s lives?
James observes that religious experiences often have profound, positive effects on individuals and societies, making it unreasonable to attribute them to hallucinations. It is more plausible to believe that a real God is behind these experiences.
How does the sheer number of religious experiences support the existence of God, according to William James?
James argues that since so many people worldwide claim to have had religious experiences, the amount of testimony provides strong evidence that God is likely responsible for these experiences and therefore probably exists.
What is Thomas Aquinas’ argument against religious experience proving God’s existence?
Thomas Aquinas argues that God is an infinite being outside our universe, and since humans are finite, it is impossible for us to experience God or prove His existence through our experiences.
What is Immanuel Kant’s perspective on religious experience and God’s existence?
Immanuel Kant argues that since God is infinite and we are finite, it is impossible for humans to experience the infinite, meaning we cannot prove God’s existence through religious experiences.
Why are religious experiences considered subjective and not scientific proof of God’s existence?
Religious experiences are subjective because they cannot be measured or tested objectively. As such, they cannot be used as empirical or scientific evidence to prove God’s existence.
Why can individual religious experiences not be accepted as reliable proof of God’s existence?
Since religious experiences are personal and not corroborated by others, we only have one person’s testimony and cannot verify its truth, making it difficult to accept as definitive proof of God’s existence.
How can drugs and physiological conditions challenge the validity of religious experiences as evidence for God?
Drugs, alcohol, and conditions like temporal lobe epilepsy can produce similar effects to religious experiences, making it difficult to prove that the source of the experience is actually God rather than a physiological issue.
What does AJ Ayer argue about religious experiences?
AJ Ayer argues that religious experiences are not factual accounts of a divine encounter but rather stem from dysfunctional minds, meaning they provide insight into the mental state of the person rather than actual evidence of God.
What is the core idea behind the Argument from Religious Experience?
The Argument from Religious Experience suggests that because people have experiences of the supernatural (such as encounters with gods, angels, or heaven), we should trust these claims just like we trust other experiential claims (like going to the store or owning a car).
How do skeptics apply different standards to religious experiences?
Skeptics are often accused of applying higher standards for religious experiences than for other types of experiences. This is seen as a form of prejudice, preventing them from fully understanding or accepting the validity of religious claims.
What does William James argue about religious experiences?
In his work Varieties of Religious Experience, William James argues that all normal people have religious experiences. Since experience is the final arbiter of truth, religious experiences of God should be accepted as factually true.
What does James say about the effects of religious experiences?
James observes that religious experiences have profound effects on individuals and societies, suggesting that these effects cannot be explained by hallucinations. This leads to the conclusion that a real God is likely responsible for these experiences.
What is one problem with James’ claim that “all normal people” have religious experiences?
One problem is that not everyone has supernatural experiences like encountering gods or angels. James may be referring to a vague sense of awe, but this does not support his argument in the context of religious experiences of the supernatural.
What is the problem with the variety of religious experiences?
The variety of religious experiences is a problem because if there is only one God, the contradictory nature of these experiences suggests that some must be false. It raises the question of how to determine which experiences are authentic.
What issue arises with using the effects of religious experiences to prove their truth?
The profound effects of religious experiences don’t necessarily mean that the experiences are supernatural. They can have natural sources such as psychological states, drugs, or even mechanical equipment, so we can’t automatically conclude that these effects are divine.
Can mystical experiences be artificially induced?
Yes, mystical experiences can be induced through methods like chemical substances or mechanical devices, raising doubts about whether the effects of religious experiences are truly supernatural.
How does Richard Swinburne view the probability of religious experiences being true?
Swinburne argues that if something seems to a person to have happened (like a religious experience), it should be taken as probably true. However, this only applies to mundane experiences we all understand, not to extraordinary claims like the presence of a god.
What is a critique of Swinburne’s principle applied to religious experiences?
A critique is that if we accept religious experiences as probably true based on how strongly they seem to someone, we must also accept that experiences of nonbelievers who fail to encounter God suggest that God probably does not exist. This challenges the bias in accepting the experiences of believers but dismissing the experiences of skeptics.
