Religious experience Flashcards
(185 cards)
1
Q
What is the problem with religious experiences?
A
Whether or not they are veridical. In other words, can we check the truth of them, and can we actually demonstrate that they are what they seem to be- experiences of God.
2
Q
What did William James conclude about religious experiences?
A
He said that religious experiences on their own do not demonstrate God’s existence, although they can suggest the existence of something larger.
3
Q
What general argument for God does William James offer?
A
He says that the phenomena of religious experiences point ‘with reasonable probability’ to a higher order of reality.
4
Q
What does William James say about religious belief in regards to religious experience?
A
In Varieties of Religious Experience he makes it quite clear that religious experience is central to religious belief. Not everyone takes this view, but even the Church was founded on religious experiences, such as those recorded in the Bible.
5
Q
What quote does William James about religious experience and proof of God?
A
“I feel bound to say that religious experience, as we have studied it, cannot be cited unequivocally supporting the infinitist belief. The only thing in unequivocally testifies to is that we can experience union with something larger than ourselves and in that union find our greatest peace.”
6
Q
What quote does William James use about religious experience and the higher order of reality?
A
“I think it may be asserted that there are religious experiences of a specific nature…I think that they point with reasonable probability to the continuity of our consciousness with a wider spiritual environment from which the ordinary man is shut off.”
7
Q
What did Ninian Smart say about mystic experiences?
A
That mystic experiences could be classified into types but he distinguished between the experience of the numinous (the prophetic experience) and the mystical experience.
8
Q
How did Ninian Smart distinguish between the numinous experience and the mystical experience?
A
- The numinous always involves an awareness of how different the experiencer is to the Deity. In mysticism there is an emphasis on union.
- The numinous experience involves a sense of dependency on something external, whereas the mystic experience focuses on the internal.
- The numinous usually happens suddenly and unexpectedly, whereas in mysticism there is often preparation.
9
Q
Who coined the term ‘numinous’?
A
Rudolf Otto
10
Q
What did Rudolf Otto say that all religious experiences have in common?
A
He argued that the one common factor in all religious experience, independent of cultural background, and it is this experience that he identifies as the numinous.
11
Q
What is religious experience about for Rudolf Otto?
A
A feeling; in particular, the experience of the holy.
12
Q
What term did Rudolf Otto apply to numinous experiences?
A
Mysterium tremendum et fascinans
13
Q
What quote does Rudolf Otto use to explain numinous experiences?
A
“Beyond our apprehension and comprehension, not only because our knowledge has certain irremovable limits, but because in it we come upon something inherently ‘wholly other’, whose kind and character are incommensurable with our own and before which we therefore recoil in a wonder that strikes us chill and numb.
14
Q
What elements does the tremendum component of the numinous experience comprise of according to Rudolf Otto?
A
Awefulness- Inspiring awe, a sort of profound unease.
Overpoweringness- That which, among other things, inspires a feeling of humility.
Energy or urgency- Creating an impression of immense vigour, compelling.
15
Q
What elements does the mysterium component contain according to Rudolf Otto?
A
Wholly other- Totally outside our normal experience.
Fascination- Causes the subject of the experience to be caught up in it.
16
Q
What quote does Rudolf Otto use about Christianity?
A
“Christianity…stands out in complete superiority over all sister religions.”
17
Q
What are some examples of numinous experiences?
A
- Moses at the Burning Bush (Exodus 3:6)
- Isaiah’s vision (Isaiah 6:5)
- The calling of Simon Peter (Luke 5:8)
- The writings of Julian of Norwich (revelations chapter 75)
18
Q
What aspects of the numinous experience can be seen at Moses at the Burning Bush?
A
Moses experiences fear and terror “He was afraid to look at God.”
19
Q
What aspects of the numinous experience can be seen in the writings of Julian of Norwich?
A
The aspect of awe and dread and resulting humility.
20
Q
Why is Martin Buber’s view seen to be a contrast to the numinous experience proposes by Rudolf Otto?
A
The emphasis in the numinous experience of the ‘otherness’ of God tends to put an impersonal idea at the heart of religious, whereas Martin Buber stresses personal relationships and that which underlies them.
21
Q
What two kinds of relationships does Martin Buber argue for?
A
The I-It and the I-Thou.
22
Q
What is the I-It relationship according to Martin Buber?
A
When we view people and things as merely phenomena.
23
Q
What is the I-thou relationship and how do we reach it?
A
By probing more deeply we can enter an I-thou relationship with both people and things, such as that we can call a personal relationship.
24
Q
What quote does Martin Buber use about I-Thou relationships in regards to God?
A
“It is here that we encounter a Thou over against our I. And this is the realm also where we encounter God.”
25
What is Martin Buber's approach often interpreted as?
This approach is interpreted as an experience of God through our relationships with people and the world.
26
What is a direct religious experience?
This refers to events where God reveals themselves directly to the person having the experience. The religious experience is not chosen or willed by the person; the person experiences or observes God in some way.
27
What is an ineffable experience?
Used to refer to experiences which are beyond human powers and abilities to fully describe and communicate.
28
What is an indirect religious experience?
Experiences, thoughts or feelings about God that are prompted by events in daily life, for example observing the stars in the sky and having thoughts about the greatness of God the Creator.
29
What did Rudolf Otto mean by numinous?
He meant the world that is beyond the physical observable universe in which we live. Hence Otto refers to direct experiences of God as experiences of the 'wholly other'- meaning completely outside of our possible knowledge and experience.
30
What did Rudolf Otto say was a central element of direct experiences of God?
Was the 'apprehension of the wholly other' which Otto called the numinous.
31
What did rudolf Otto notice about religious experiences?
That the people who have them described them with words such as awe, wonder, beauty, but the actual nature of the experience was ineffable.
32
How does William James describe religious experience?
He refers to religious experiences involving the individual's experience of the 'divine.'
33
What have some people suggested about indirect religious experiences?
That they are not necessarily different from ordinary experiences; they are made significant by the person who has the experience and for whom the experience has religious meaning.
34
Who suggested that there are five recognizable types of religious experience?
Richard Swinburne.
35
How does Richard Swinburne divide the five types of religious experiences?
He divides them into two groups; the public experience and the private experience.
36
What type of religious experiences does Richard Swinburne classify as public experiences?
1. Ordinary Experiences.
| 2. Extraordinary Experiences.
37
What types of religious experiences does Richard Swinburne classify as private experiences?
1. Describable in ordinary language
2. Non-describable experiences
3. Non-specific experiences
38
What does Richard Swinburne mean by the type 'ordinary experiences?
Experiences where a person interprets a natural event as having religious significance. (e.g. the beauty of nature of the natural world)
39
What does Richard Swinburne mean by the type 'extraordinary experiences?'
Experiences that appear to violate normal understanding of the workings of nature (e.g. Jesus turning water into wine at Cana (John 2) )
40
What does Richard Swinburne mean by the type 'describable in ordinary language?
Experiences such as dreams (e.g. Joseph's dream in the Bible (Matthew 2))
41
What does Richard Swinburne mean by the type 'non-describable experiences?'
This refers to direct experiences of God in which God/the wholly other/ the divine is revealed to people. These experiences go beyond human powers of description (e.g. The experiences of Teresa of Avila)
42
What does Richard Swinburne mean by the type of 'non-specific experiences?'
These experiences could include things like looking at the world from a religious perspective.
43
What is a vision?
An event in which God, or something about God, is seen or observed. Visions are usually divided into three types: corporeal, intellectual, and imaginative.
44
What is meant by an intellectual vision?
This is when what is seen in an experience itself rather than something just being observed.
45
What is meant by a corporeal vision?
When a figure in the vision is seen as a form or image like a physical person. E.g. Bernadette and Mary
46
What is meant by an imaginative vision?
This refers to visions that occur in dreams.
47
What is a mystical experience?
Used in many ways by writers on religious experience. In general it is used to refer to religious experiences where God is revealed directly and the person having the experience is passive.
48
What are three features of a religious experience of voices?
1. The disembodied voice, demonstrating the presence of God
2. The voice communicates a revelation from God, so the message is noetic- it reveals something of God and God's wishes to people
3. The voice is authoritative and passes on God's authority.
49
What does Noetic mean?
It refers to something which gives knowledge, such as a revelation from God in which God reveals something.
50
What is the problem with voices?
How do you know that the voice is from God?
51
What criteria did Teresa of Avila suggest to verify religious experiences?
1. Does the religious experience fit in with Christian Church teaching or is it against it?
2. Does the experience leave the person feeling at peace with the world and God, rather than distressed?
52
What did Teresa suggest if the experience did not fit her criteria?
That it was a sign that the experience was not from God, but from the devil.
53
Why have some criticized the criteria that Teresa of Avila uses?
Just because what a voice says fits in with Church teaching, it in no way proves that the person heard the voice of God rather than a voice in their own mind.
54
What did William James believe about religious institutions?
Churches for him were secondary to each individual person's religious experiences. James suggested that religious experiences were events which were 'solitary' and in which individuals experienced the divine or God- the religious tradition to which the person belongs (if any) is relatively unimportant.
55
Why did William James think that religious experiences were the inspiration and the source of religious instituions?
Because religious experiences can so noticeably change people's behavior, and has great authority for the person, and often has a marked effect in a person's life.
56
What is a vision experience?
One in which God or the divine is 'seen' or 'observed'. In this vision information may be revealed.
57
What is an intellectual vision?
An experience rather than an observation of a physical object.
58
Give an example of an intellectual vision?
"I was conscious of him, but not with the eyes or the body or the soul did I see him." - Teresa of Avila
59
What is a corporeal vision?
Where an object or figure is externally/physically present and some kind of knowledge is gained.
60
Give an example of a corporeal vision?
Bernadette seeing Mary at Lourdes and being told to uncover a mountain spring.
The prophet Muhammad's vision of the Angel Jibril
61
What is an imaginative vision?
Visions that happen in dreams (perhaps giving messages, communicating knowledge)
62
What is an example of a imaginative vision?
Joseph having a dream telling him to marry Mary and not to outcast her due to her pregnancy.
- The Magi's dream not to revisit king Herod.
63
What happens during a voice experience?
Key to these experiences is the communication of knowledge or a message, and the notion that the voice comes from God.
64
What are some examples of voice experiences?
- Saul "Why do you persecute me"
| - Jesus' Baptism "You are my own dear Son. I am pleased with you."
65
What is meant by the term Noetic?
It refers to something which gives knowledge, such as a revelation from God.
66
What are the three features of voices as religious experiences?
- Revelatory: The voice reveals something about God, so the message is noetic- it reveals something of God and God's wishes to peope
- Authoritative: To those who have the experience, the message communicated has God's authority.
- Disembodied: The voice appears to have no particular body.
67
What was Augustine's experience?
The conversion of Augustine is an unusual example of voices. The voice may have been the natural voice of a child playing (this is uncertain even to Augustine) However, Augustine interprets this to be a means of God communicating with him.
68
What does Augustine's experience demonstrate?
That religious experiences may not always be supernatural. They may be natural events that we interpret as having religious significance.
69
What are the problems with considering both visions and voices as religious experience?
- In what sense are we talking about a 'vision'
- If it is not a physical object, then in what sense is it a vision?
- If it is a physical object, then why can't it be seen by everybody every time?
- How can we establish that the voice or vision was from God?
- How are we to interpret it?
- How can we verify/falsify the experience?
70
What explanations could there be for visions and voices?
Psychological explanations, such as hallucinations, schizophrenia, response to trauma
Physical explanations such as a vitamin deficiency
Drug Induced
Con artists exploiting the faith of others
71
What did Peter Sutclife do?
He was the Yorkshire Ripper, who believed that God was telling him to kill prostitutes. He was likely schizophrenic.
72
What did Augustine hear and what did he then do?
He heard a voice in the garden say "Sume, lege" (take a read) and opening the Bible at random, saw the text "Not in chambering and wantonness" etc., which seems directly sent to his address, and laid the inner storm to rest.
73
Why would people who experience intellectual visions argue that it is not their imagination?
They would argue that they are far too profound to be confused with the imagination.
74
What is a 'numinous' religious experience?
Experiences of awe and wonder in the presence of an almighty and transcendent God. It is an awareness of human nothingness, when faced with a holy and powerful being. The name comes from the latin 'numen' which means to bow the head.
75
How do people regard numinous experiences?
Many regard numinosity as a feature of religious experience some, such as C.S. Evans, classify it as a 'type' in its own right and contrast it with mystical experience.
76
What is a Biblical example of a numinous experience?
Isaiah (6:3-5) "And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty."
77
Give a modern example of a numinous experience?
Blaise Pascal- "From about half past ten in the evening until half past midnight, Fire!...'God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob,' not of philosophers and scholars.
Certainty, certainty, heartfelt, joy, peace. God of Jesus Christ...Joy, joy, joy, tears of joy...I have cut myself off from him! Sweet and total renunciation. Total submission to Jesus Christ and my director"
78
What does Rudolph Otto say about numinous experiences?
That they are at the heart of all religious experience.
79
What two quotes does Rudolph Otto use to describe numinous experiences?
"It is an experience of being acted upon by something outside ourselves, a 'wholly other'. It makes us aware that we are creatures of an almighty God."
"The distinctive experience of God, at once ineffably transcendent, remote, yet stirring a recognition that here is the primary source of beauty and love."
80
Why does Otto describe the numinous experience with the term 'mysterium'?
Because of the mystery of the experience- it is felt but cannot be described as it is ineffable.
81
Why does Otto describe the numinous experience with the term "Tremendum"?
Because of the awe-inspiring terror, almost a sense of dread in the presence of an overwhelming being.
82
Why does Otto describe the numinous experience with the term 'fascinans'?
We are drawn to the experience with a strange fascination.
83
What happens to the person experiencing the numinous?
The individual gains a new and deeper understanding of reality, and feels as if they have touched on a new dimension. From then on the believer interprets the world through the experience.
84
What quote does Otto use to claim the that every religion has numinous experiences at its core?
"There is no religion which it (numinous experience) does not live as the innermost core and without it no religion would be worthy of the name."
85
What is meant by the term 'wholly other'?
Otto suggested that religion must derive from a being that is totally separate from this world. It is in the presence of such a being that numinosity is experienced. For Otto, God is 'wholly other'. He is a being that is completely different and distinct to human beings.
86
How does Otto claim that God reveals himself?
We are not able to know God unless he chooses to reveal himself. However, the numinous experience is where God reveals himself and his revelation is felt on an emotional level.
87
Why do some criticise the idea of God as being 'wholly other'?
- They feel that this 'otherness' of God makes religion impersonal
- For many people the notion of God being entirely separate from mankind is extremely problematic. For example, it is an apparent contradiction of the Christian belief that God is a personal being, especially with the incarnation of Jesus.
88
What are the problems with otto's view on the numinous?
- Too simplistic
- Is knowledge gained through the experience?
- Are all religious experience numinous?
89
What do we mean when we criticise Otto for being too simplistic?
Otto seems to imply that all religious experience is numinous. This seems too simplistic as other types of religious experience are well documented.
90
What do we mean when we criticise Otto about whether knowledge is gained through the experience?
Otto's account seems confusing regarding the issue of whether knowledge of God is gained through experiences. He states that the experience came from the 'deepest cognitive apprehension'. Yet he also states that the theological ideas came after the experience. He is therefore unclear about when we get the information about GOd.
91
How did Martin Buber view religious experiences?
As being analogous to intimate personal relationships that he called I-thou relationships.
92
What is the difference between the I-it and I-thou relationships according to Martin Buber?
I-it relationships are what we have with objects of when we treat people as objects. It is impersonal. Whereas the I-thou relationship is a mutual interaction, which is more personal.
93
What did Martin Buber say about God?
He stated that God is the 'Eternal Thou' and, as such, can reveal himself to man on a personal level through other people and nature. He said "In each Thou we address the Eternal Thou."
94
What did Friedrich Schleiermacher agree with Otto about?
That religious experiences are primarily emotional. These emotions are deeper than reason.
95
What did Schleiermacher disagree with Otto about?
Schleiermacher thought that the experiences are not numinous but are at their core a feeling of absolute dependence upon the divine.
96
What does Schleiermacher claim is the heart of religion?
It is the dependence upon "a source of power that is distinct from the world' that is at the heart of religion. Theology arises afterwards as people reflect on their experiences.
97
How did Soren Kierkegaard view faith as?
As a miracle, and he stated that the only way which God can be known to the individual was through a 'leap of faith'
98
How did Soren Kierkegaard believe faith arose and how does this support Buber?
He thought faith arouse through human experience which could include, in some cases, religious experience. This is similar to Buber's I-thou relationships.
99
What are both Buber and Kierkegaard saying about 'knowledge of God'?
That 'knowledge of God' could be different for each individual. Any such knowledge will depend on:
- The personal level of faith; for example, someone with a certain level of theological understanding or someone led by 'blind faith'
- The personal denomination of faith- e.g. Muslim or Jew
- The 'type' of faith?- For example a devout Catholic, or a nominal catholic who attends only weddings and funerals.
100
What are the main arguments of 'The varieties of religious experience' according to William James/
1. Religious experiences are psychological phenomena, but not just psychological phenomena
2. There is not a single feature of religious experience that defines it
3. The experiences of great religious experiences set patterns for other believers to follow
4. Religious experience is more important to study than religious practice/institutions
5. Religious experiences can be tested for validity (up to a point)
6. He concludes that religious experience on their own do not demonstrate God's existence, although the can suggest the existence of 'something larger'.
101
What are mystical experiences?
Experiences where God is revealed directly and there is a sense of oneness with the divine.
102
What four characteristics of mystical experiences did James Williams identify?
1. Ineffable- The experience of God goes beyond human powers of description.
2. Noetic quality- Mystics receive knowledge of God which is not otherwise available.
3. Transient- the experience is over quickly, but the effects are long lasting.
4. Passive- The experiencer has no control of the experience; it happens to them and they are unable to stop it.
103
How did William James set out to study religious experiences?
Through scientific investigations, as far as possible, by looking at a variety of sources, and to see if they had any common features of characteristics that might add to human understanding. He was not trying to make a value judgement about religion as a whole, nor to prove religious experience to be true or false. He wanted to look at it objectively.
104
What 3 principles does William James' conclusion rest on?
empiricism, pluralism, and pragmatism.
105
What is empiricism?
The idea that observations via our senses lead us to understanding the world.
106
Why do we say William James' is committed to an empirical approach?
The many case studies he produces are empirical evidence of the effects of religious experience. The evidence provides us with clues to the reality beyond what we see and hear.
107
What is pluralism?
The idea in religion that truth is to found in many faiths.
108
Why do we say that William James' took an pluralism approach?
His research lead him to conclude that experiences in different faiths were similar. Those having the experience may be experiencing the same ultimate reality, which is then interpreted into the 'second hand' religious belief scripture that is most familiar to them. E.g. A christian would interpret the same experience differently to a Hindu.
109
What is pragmatism?
A pragmatist is someone who holds that the truth of something can be determined by its practical effects and consequences.
110
What is William James?
A pragmatist.
111
What does William James mean when he says that religious experiences are psychological phenomena but not just psychological phenomena?
In his view, the spiritual value of religious experiences is not undone even if we can find a psychological explanation for the experiences. James suggested that religious experiences were psychological phenomena that occur in our brains. However, he did not believe that this was an argument against belief in God. This does not mean they are just psychological phenomena. The experiences may well have a supernatural element as well as a physical element.
112
Why did William James reject Freud's view?
He particularly rejected the view that religious experience was a result of a repressed or perverted sexuality (which was the interpretation being offered by Freud and his followers). He said that this view was just an attempt to discredit religion by those who started with an antipathy towards it; study of religious life shows that it is disconnected from that of sexual consciousness.
113
What did William James mean when he says that not a single feature of religious experience defines it?
He did not agree that there is a single feature of religious experience that defines it, but he understood it to be "the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine." He said that in the human consciousness, there is a 'sense of reality, a feeling of objective presence, a perception of what we may call "something there."
114
What did William James mean when he says that the experiences of great religious figures set patterns for other believers to follow?
James gives the examples of 'saintliness' lives, which have followed from the conversion or mystical experiences described. He refers especially to St Teresa of Avila as 'one of the ablest women, in may respects, of whose life we have the record.' He uses these examples to show how Christians can be strong people, who have helped society to progress and adapt. People can learn from the experiences of these saints whether or not they have similar experiences of their own.
115
What does William James mean when he says that religious experience is more important to study than religious practice or religious institutions?
He thought that religious institutions were secondary because they came about as a result of personal religious experience.
116
What does William James mean when he says that religious experiences can be tested for validity (up to a point)?
When discussing the origins of religious experiences, William James suggested that the only possible sign that religious experiences of God is a 'good disposition' that is the result of the experience which the sign leaves behind. A religious experience does not have to be marked by dramatic supernatural events, although it can be; the real test of what happpened is the long term change in the person.
117
What quote does William James use to say we can test the validity of religious experiences?
"The real witness...is to be found only in the disposition of the genuine child of God."
118
What does William James ultimately conclude?
That religious experiences on their own do not demonstrate God's existence, although they can suggest that "we can experience union with something larger than ourselves and in that union find out greatest peace." He leaves open the possibility of God's existence.
119
Where does William James present his arguments?
In his book 'The varieties of religious experience.'
120
What do religious conversions lead to?
It is likely to lead to a change in belief on religious topics, which in turn leads to changes in the motivation for one's behaviour within the social environment.
121
What is an intellectual conversion?
It involves a conflict between two systems of thought. The result of the conflict is often that the new one is 'true' and the old one is 'false'. It can either be to or from a religious system of thought, or from one religion to another.
122
What is a moral conversion?
A conversion that does not revolve around a system of thought, as the intellectual one does, but around one's lifestyle.
123
What is an example of a moral conversion?
The story of 'swearing Tom', as told by Robert H. Thouless.
124
How does Professor Leuba view religious life?
As almost purely moral. "The feeling of unwholeness, or moral imperfection of sin, to use the technical word, accompanied by the yearning after the peace of unity."
125
What is a social conversion?
A change in the social behaviour of the person, such as that of St Paul on the road to Damascus.
126
What conclusions does William James' make on religious conversions?
1. Sudden conversions is very real to those who have had the experience. They feel that the process has been 'performed on them/ God causes the conversion.
2. For methodists, salvation is not truly received unless they have been through a crisis of the sort which is involved in conversion.
3. Those having a sudden conversion feel it to be a miracle rather than a natural process.
4. He saw conversion as being a natural process, but maintained that it was inspired by the divine.
127
What does William James call 'subconscious incubation?
The idea of a conversion taking place slowly in the subconscious, followed by a rapid and sudden conscious experience.
128
What are the challenges to religious experience?
- Starbuck points out that ordinary conversions are similar to religious conversions.
- John Lofland and Rodney Stark study suggests that all conversions, not just religious, follow a particular pattern..
- Sigmund Freud- Difficult upbringing lead to an attachment to God as a parenetal figure.
- Difficult to separate spiritual influences from social causes
- How permanent is a religious experience?
- It is not veridical
129
What are the support for religious experience?
- Starkbuck noted that theology shorts the period of storm and stress
- There is an element of passivity in religious conversion
- Just because there are psychological aspects, it does not mean it is just a psychological phenomena.
- Gradual conversions are often permanent
- the resulting changes could be empirically observed
130
What challenge does Professor Edwin Starbuck present to religious conversion?
He demonstrated that the ordinary- that is 'non religious'- conversion of young people brought up in evangelical circles into spiritual life is very similar to the conversions experienced by most adolescents. The symptoms- a sense of incompleteness, imperfection, brooding, depression, introspection, anxiety about the future, distress, and doubts- are the same, and the universal result of conversion is a happy relief and objectivity.
131
What quote does Professor Edwin Starbuck use which challenges religious conversion?
"Conversion is, in its essence, a normal adolescent phenomenon, incidental to the passage from the child's small universe to the wider intellectual and spiritual life of maturity.
132
What challenge does John Lofland and Rodney stark give to religious conversion?
In the 1960's they made a study of conversion experiences. Their 1965 study suggested that conversion experiences follow a pattern that is common to all kinds of conversions- not only religious conversions, but conversions from one political party to another.
133
What challenge does Sigmund Freud present to religious conversion?
He thought that people who have these experiences often had difficult upbringings; he theorized that they have not been given parental love and affection so they form an attachment to someone who will always love and look after them.
134
What do we mean when we criticise religious conversions because of the difficult to separate spiritual influences from exteral social causes?
All human behaviour happens within a social context, so it can be difficult to separate internal spiritual influences from external social causes. It can be impossible to tell what a person might have done or how they might have felt without those outside influences.
135
What do we mean when we criticise religious conversions by asking how permanent the experience is?
In may cases those who have experienced sudden conversion may know very little about what they have come to believe and testify in. As such, there is a far greater chance of them deciding at some future point that there are inherent problems in what the preacher has told them, or that there are flaws in the literature on which they have placed their 'new outlook;. These problems are far less likely in gradual conversion.
136
What do we mean when we criticise religious conversions for not being veridical?
They have authority for the individual, but there is no objective way of saying whether the experience is true or not.
137
What does Professor Edwin starbuck also say that might support religious conversions?
While Starbuck points out the similarities between religious and non-religious conversion, he does note that theology shortens the period of storm and stress.
138
Why do some people disagree with Starbuck in support of religious conversions?
Although in conversion there is a sense of the individual choosing to believe and follow God, there is also an element of passivity. Speakers speak of a sense that someone or something is acting upon them.
139
What does it mean when we support religious conversion by saying it is not just a psychological phenomena?
Some theists recognise that there are psychological aspects of conversion experiences but argue that to reduce conversion to just a psychological phenomenon fails to address the question of the cause of the experience.
140
Why do some people argue in support of religious conversion that they are veridical?
Although the inner experience is not empirically detectable, the resulting changes in behaviour are something that can be empirically observed. People can go from having no religious faith to becoming some of the most passionate advocates of a given religious group.
141
What happened at Medjugorje?
6 young parishioners saw on the hill of Crnica an apparition, a white form with a child in her arms. Scared and surprised they did not approach. The next day they were drawn to the same place, and saw the one they recognised as our Lady. She told them to "peace, peace, peace between man and God and among mankind." They talked and prayed with her, and from henceforth they had daily apparitions together or separately.
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What was the Toronto Blessing?
During a sermon given by Pastor R.Cleark, eyewritnesses gave strikingly similar accounts of a blessing that was giving. It was 'like an explosion' and people 'were knocked off their feet by the spirit of God.' The event was viewed as an 'outpouring of the Holy Spirit.' Some were felled, some lay still, some trembled or shook, some danced, others laughed, some shouted and others cried, some spoke in tongues. 'Holy laughter' signified the coming of the Holy Spirit into the soul. Happened in multiple places.
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What happened at Pentecost?
Tongues of fire went on the heads, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages. "all of us hear them speaking in our own languages about the great things that God has done!"
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What is a corporate religious experience?
A corporate religious experience is where several different people all have the same, or similar, religious experience at the same time. It is unusual, as religious experiences occur usually privately to individuals.
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What is the basic pattern of a conversion experience?
1. The individual is dissatisfied with their current 'system of ideas'. People are not likely to be converted if they are content as they are.
2. The person searches, at both an intellectual level and an emotional level for a basis on which to make a decision. E.g. They may turn to the Bible, or go to Church
3. There is a point of crisis, which is a time of intense emotions, sometimes with physical symptoms. Often this is described as the sense of the presence of God, a sense of sinfulness and repentance. Sometimes there are visions, bright light and voices.
4. This is followed by a sense of peace and joy, and a loss of worry. There is also the desire to share the new faith with other people, to talk about the experience.
5. In the long term, the convert experiences a change in direction, a new sense of purpose in life, and sometimes a complete change of career.
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What is a conversion experience?
A conversion experience results in a change to a religious way of life as a result of some experience of divine truth (either directly or indirectly) This is a transformative experience which often results in religion becoming the centre of a person's life, replacing previously held priorities: sometimes the person will consider that their previous way of life was wrong and so will radically change their lifestyle.
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What happened to Saul on the road to Dasmascus?
A light from the sky flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul Saul!Why do you persecute me?" The men travelling with him heard the voice but saw no one. For three days Saul could not see, until he was baptized by Ananias. He then preached win the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God.
148
What two principles did Richard Swinburne suggest to assess the claims about religious experience?
The principle of testimony and the principle of credulity.
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What is the principle of credulity?
Swinburne argued that, other things being equal, an experience is normally reliable. In general, if a person tells us that they see a cat crossing the road, we believe them, even if we have no see the event. "The principle of credulity [states] that we ought to believe that things are as they seem to be...unless and until we have evidence that they are mistaken."
150
What three reasons does Swinburne suggest that we could have good grounds to disbelieve evidence?
- If there may be reasons to believe the person was mistaken, e.g. drugs, hallucination
- If we have 'strong' reasons to believe that God does not exist, this would count against believing that an experience was religious.
- If there is evidence that the event was not caused by God
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What is the principle of testimony?
Swinburne argues that it is reasonable to believe what someone tells you. You might want to investigate what they said, but that is not a reason to automatically reject what they claim to have experienced.
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What would philosophers call a 'special consideration' to the principle of testimony?
If the friend is a renowned joke and liar, as this knowledge about your friend would undermine any instinct to believe what your friend tells you.
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What is the cumulative argument?
If other evidence suggests that God could or does exist, is it not then so surprising to hear reports of people encountering God through religious experience? Swinburne suggests that, taken with other evidence of God's existence, religious experience makes it likely that God exists.
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Why does Anthony Flew criticise the cumulative argument?
He argued that collecting together a series of weak argument does not make a strong argument; he gave the example of ten leaky buckets.
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How did William Alston investigate religious experience?
He considered whether it was logical to talk about experiencing God and gaining knowledge from the experience. He explored the fact that many people had religious experiences and believe that these experiences were "what they seem to be."
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What does William Alston argue?
That in normal life the evidence of something is what you can gather from experiences and observed using your senses. You are not doubted because many other people have had similar experiences using their senses. Alston goes on to say that if many people had a religious experience using their senses, is it right to immediately doubt their observation, when we would not in other situations. He says that if our sense perceptions are generally reliable, why should we not believe what our senses tell us if we have a religious experience.
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How do some people claim that you can explain religious experiences?
Naturalistically; for example by using sociology or psychology.
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Why did Alston dismiss the view that you can explain religious experiences naturalistically?
He responded that this was a 'double standard' because religious experiences are also sense perceptions. He also pointed out that there is no reason to reject an explanation of something just because the explanation is unusual.
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Why does Alston reject the argument that religious experiences are unverifiable or uncheckable?
He suggested the way that you check anything is by making other sense observations. He suggested that other people's religious experiences are also sense observation. Therefore the wide number of experience may suggest that such experiences are true.
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What do William Alston's arguments show?
They do not show that religious experiences are experiences of God, but they do show that it is not fair to simply reject religious experiences as illogical and irrational.
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What is the argument from religious experience?
That if religious experiences are veridical, then they can be used as an argument for the existence of God.
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What are the psychological challenges to religious experiences?
Freud argued that religion is an illusion, bu which he meant that it expresses people's desires- what they want to believe. In particular, religion meets people's psychological needs. Therefore religious experience is an illusion that derives from people's psychological needs. He suggested that religion originated from a childlike desire for a God who resembles a father figure. This would suggest that religious experiences are a product of desire for a father figure.
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What support is there for the psychological challenge?
If experiences are a product of human psychology this would explain the common occurrence of religious experiences both throughout history and across cultures.
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What are the counterarguments to the psychological challenges?
- Scientists still understand relatively little of the relationship between mind and body, and conscious and unconscious mind.
- Not all psychologists reject religious experience
- Carl Gustav Jung accepted the reality of numinous experiences are argued that development of the spiritual aspect of us was essential to psychological wholeness. He claimed that each of us has the archetype of God, within a shared collective unconscious.
- William James' - experiences may well have a supernatural element as well as a physical element.
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Why can we argue against the counterarguments to psychological challenges presented by William James and Carl Jung?
Carl Jung's argument would still imply that religious experiences are a product of the mind. Additionally, the concept of a God archetype may exist, and be the 'higher reality' that James' believes we are experiencing.
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What are the physiological challenges to religious experience?
Religious experience could have a physiological cause (i.e. they are the product of physical changes in the body) For example, did Paul have epilepsy? This could explain his experience of bright light. Equally, it is known that damage to the brain can cause hallucinations and delusions, as can brain tumours.
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What are the counterarguments to the physiological challenges?
- No evidence that everyone who has had a religious experience were suffering from an illness that can cause hallucinations, visions and delusions.
- The physical explanation to religious experience does not lead us to reject the experience completely.
- All experiences could be reduced to a series of neurological blips that show up on brain scans but we don't doubt the reality of objects we see.
- Some thinkers have suggested our brains are constructed in such a way that we are almost wired up to experience God. -what we perceive as a byproduct of the brain, might still exist in reality and instead be causing the changes in the brain.
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What are the sociological challenges?
Karl Marx suggested that religion was a form of 'alienation' from one's true self. They distracted people from their own reality in the physical world and were the 'opium of the people'. Religion alienated the person as you are unable to be yourself and relate as you should to the world. He saw religion as an illusion used to main the oppressive status quo, and religious experience is a byproduct of this. It is merely an 'alienation' effect that blocks people from seeing their true reality, and it is better to be without religion.
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What are the criticisms of Marx sociological challenges?
- He did not accept the fact that many people see religion as more of a comfort than a drug and that their faith is a relationship with God who exists and is not a byproduct of society.
- Religion has been a force for change in society, as opposed to oppression e.g. Martin Luther King Jr.
- Religion has also been a great source of strength, hope and comfort. It has been shown religion is more important to people when in difficult situations (isn't this linking to the drug-like comfort?_
- When Marx's ideas were put into practice in Russia under Lenin for example, they caused much suffering.
- Christianity is difficult not comfortable "Carry your cross"
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What is the criticism of religious experiences being unveridical?
There is a lack of evidence that they have happened, beyond what a person says. Religious experiences may lead to noticeable changes in a person's lifestyle but this only shows the person has changed; it does not give any insight into the nature and origins of religious experience.
171
What is the problem with the conflicting claims?
Within the different traditions around the world, believers claim to experience God or the divine. However, while there are similarities between the effects of these experiences, there are many differences in the descriptions of the experiences.
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What are the possible explanations for the conflicting claims in support of religious experience?
- Religious experiences are ineffable, if Hindus and Christians have different religious experiences that are differently described, this may be explained by the prior beliefs of the person. The only language that can be used to attempt to communicate an ineffable experience will be drawn from the person's own culture and upbringing. They will interpret it in different ways due to the struggle of explaining the ineffable.
173
What are the possible explanation for the conflicting claims in arguement against religious experience?
- Religious experiences are a product of human psychology. The fact that a Hindu may see Shiva, and a Christian Jesus, only reflects the prior beliefs and values of that person.
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What is david Hume's argument against religious experience due to conflicting claims?
His argument that the conflicting claims of miracles in different religious traditions cancel each other out could be applied to religious experience as well if religious experiences are considered to be authoritative for the religion as a whole. He is saying that the experiences contradict, so can't be valid.
175
Why does the Church argue against David Hume's arguement?
Christianity has suggested for centuries that the authority of religious experiences is for the experiencer only.
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What are the criticisms of Swinburne's arguement from religious experience?
- The reasons he states for disbelieving are quite unclear and unspecific.
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Why could it be argued that religious experience can not be used as an argument for God?
Because the religious experience only has authority for the person who experiences, and can not extend beyond that.
178
What did Rudolph Otto mean by the 'numinous?'
The world beyond the physical observable universe in which we live.
179
What are mystical experiences?
In general, it is used to refer to religious experiences where God is revealed directly and the person having the experience is passive.
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What does authority mean?
When applied to religious experience, it indicates that the person who has the religious experience has some new insight or knowledge about the world and God's relationship with the world. This gives them authority, although many authors argue that the authority is limited to the experiencer.
181
What argument can be used against the view that people 'will' a religious experience?
William James' noted that one feature of mystical experiences was the fact that they were passive, so the person does not control it and they do not seek it out.
182
What is meant by transcience?
Refers to the fact that religious experiences are temporary, and they do not last forever.
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What are the arguments against William James' conclusions about religious experience?
- My psychologists and sociologists claim that religious experiences only happen to people who are already members of the religious tradition, and therefore it is hard to argue that religious experiences are the primary source of religious belief. Although there are cases were religious experiences happen to those with no connection to the religious tradition.
- J.L. Mackie argued that if mystical experiences are explainable psychologically, then they can have no authority for the person who has the experience. Mackie says that people who believe that mystical experiences are authoritative are 'insufficiently critical.'
184
How can you argue that religious experiences are not a reflection of God because they do not happen to everyone?
The fact that not everyone has religious experience may be a reason to say that the experiences are caused by something else. This could suggest that they do not reveal God.
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Why does Richard Swinburne disagree that the fact not everyone has religious experiences discredits them as being from God?
He gives the example of a telephone; not everyone would necessarily recognise a telephone for what it is unless they have some knowledge of what telephones are and may be expected to be like. This knowledge would enable them to interpret their experience of the object as a telephone. In the same way, it could be that religious people are those who are more likely to have a religious experience precisely because they have a greater chance of recognising a religious experience for what it is by using their religious beliefs.
