Religious Experience Flashcards
Theme 4A
What is the definition of a religious experience?
The irruption of a divine power into human life with vital contact with the divine being
What are some of the different types of religious experience?
Direct, Indirect, Public, Private, Visions, Voices, Conversion, Mystical, Numinous and Prayer
What religious experiences are focussed here?
Visions, Conversion, Mystical and Prayer
What are the strengths to a vision religious experience?
There is a connection between what we are seeing and the divine power
An appearance can support historical claims
There is a tangible (touch) vision
What are some weaknesses of a vision religious experience?
It could be a hallucination
It can be difficult to believe
If a vision of God is illustrated it can contradict what the nature of religion states.
What are some of the different types of visions that occur?
Sensory, Dream-based
What are sensory visions?
External objects, sounds or figures that appear
Visions can be intellectual if they convey a message eg 1 Corinthians 10 1-14
Based on images or a dream-narrative experienced unconsciously
What are the different types of sensory visions?
Individual, Group or Corporeal
What is an individual sensory visions?
Only seen by one eg St Bernadette’s vision @ Lourdes
What is a group sensory vision?
A vision seen by >1 person eg Angel of Mons
What is a corporeal sensory visions?
A slight variation where the object is external and appears to physical in nature, but only seen by certain people
What are dream-based visions?
They are internal visions where an image is produced in imagination eg John vision’s of throne
May bring a message for understanding, therefore also making it intellecutal
What do other religious experiences may contain?
May contain religious figures eg St Teresa of Avila - Angel holding a spear with fire
Visions can have a place of significance
What is a example of Islam of religious experience?
Laylat ul Qadr - Muslim celebration of the Night of Power where Muhammad pbuh had a religious experience
What did St Teresa have in terms of a religious experiences?
An intellectual visions that was “inner visions described by her”
What are some examples of a religious vision?
3 children from Fatima in Portugal May 1917 experienced 1 of 6 visions
Dances of the Sun in Bosnia by children over 5 years claiming to see the Virgin Mary each day.
What is conversion?
An adoption of a new religious belief that was different from before the experience
It is life changing and can be permanent or temporary.
What do conversions lead to?
A greater understanding of faith
What are the two types of conversion?
A gradual one where it is conscious and voluntary
A sudden one where it is unconscious and involuntary
What can conversions be in terms of activity?
Passive active and or transforming
Some may convert because of past sins and that they want to change or they want to make positives changes with this experience.
What conversion type would be the most significant?
A sudden conversion due to the fact that it is a intense act.
Who does this commonly affect?
Atheists or non-conforming people
What 3 types of conversions are there?
Intellectual - Change in thinking
Moral - change in behavior to do what is right
Social - acceptance of a way of life
Who was Davey Falcus?
He was a renowned criminal who turned into a religious preacher
He was involved in the drug scene but converted to Christianity after prayer in prison and he had a religious experience with Jesus.
Drug habit ended instantly.
Who was Nicky Cruz?
Renowned criminal in the Mau Maus criminal gang in South Africa who turned into a religious preacher
He turned into one after determination and persistence with a guy called David Wilkerson
They eventually prayer together.
What was St Paul’s religious experience?
Heard voices of Jesus saying “Why do you persecute me?”
He changed his name and converted spending the rest of his life spreading the Christian message
Died a martyr’s death.
What did Edwin Starbuck believe?
Studied conversion and believed there was parallels between psychology and conversion
He said that most experiences occurred between 15 and 24 yo’s
What did William James believe with conversions?
Truth could be found in results and because of the dramatic changes that occur the evidence favours spiritual claims
A sudden conversion is very good to receive - it was caused by God
By having a sudden conversion it was a miracle and believed it was inspired by the divine even if there was a natural aspect to it
Who was St Teresa of Avila?
Born in 1515 in Avila - family inspired her to take a serious religious life
She had a severe illness and she became paralysed for 3 years - this disillusioned her faith and especially prayer
She had a vision of a sorely wounded Christ which re-energised her to go back on her journey
What was her garden analogy?
She used an analogy using everyday imagery that a garden can be watered 4 different ways
Great labour
Some Labour
Saturated without the need for watering via humans
Lord waters it without human labour
We should desire to engage in prayer for the sake of acquiring strength”
What was the mansion of prayer?
A way of classifying how devout and structured a person in the prayer journey is
Doing it repetitively will lead to a spiritual marriage etc
