Religious experience Flashcards
(37 cards)
St Theresa of Avila on Ineffability
“I wish I could give a description of at least the smallest part of what I learned, but, when I try to discover a way of doing so, I find it impossible…”
R.A. Gilbert on Ineffability
“illustrate the extreme difficulty of discussing non empirical concepts solely intellectually.”
What is a religious experience?
Any counter with the divine, direct or indirect.
Can religious experiences be used to demonstratively prove the existence of god?
The use of religious experience is an inductive argument and therefore can not be proven to be true or false, only strong or weak.
Why can’t religious experiences be measured empirically?
They deal with the transcendent.
William James describes something as real if it has real affects, how does he describe real experiences?
“the feelings, acts and experiences of individual men.”
What book does Caroline Franks Davis describe mystical experiences?
“The evidential force of religious experience”
Name three of the 7 categories Caroline Franks Davis claims all religious experiences to have.
1) revelatory
2) numinous
3) mystical
Name and explain the 4 types of qualities William James describes all mystical experiences to have.
1) Ineffability-uniqueness of feeling/indescribability
2) A noetic quality - revelation of deeper truths
3) Transiency - the experience doesn’t last long
4) Passivity - overtaken by the superior power
What types of argument are religious experience as proof of the existence of God?
1) A priori
2) synthetic
3) inductive
In what book does William James describe the the universal qualities of mystical experiences?
“Variety of religious experiences”
Name 4 scholars who would describe numinosity as its own type of religious experience.
1) C.S Evans
2) Rudolph Otto
3) Kiekegaard
4) Buber
In what book does Rudolf Otto describe numinous as insight into the “holy other” nature of God?
“The Idea of the Holy”
How does Rudolf Otto describe a numinous experiences impact on a person’s emotions?
“The deepest and most fundamental element in all strong and sincerely felt religious emotion.”
Name and describe Otto’s 3 elements of which he says numinous experiences consist of?
1) Awefulness - inspiration of awe/profound unease
2) Overpoweringness - feeling of humility
3) Urgency - feeling of great vigour and need for change.
Why are Rudolph Otto;s views sometimes rejected among the christian community?
His description of the holy “other” contrasts the idea of a “personal God”
What does Buber say about religion and types of relationships?
I-it - Understanding something or someone (often God or other significant religious information) at a purely intellectual level.
I-thou - A deeper understanding of something or someone; a meaningful relationship between the subject and object/participant.
How does Buber argue we feel and understand numinous experiences?
We can gain an understanding of God through deepening our relationships with others and nature.
How does Kierkegaard support Buber?
Faith comes from our own experiences, religion requires a “leap of faith.”
How does Kierkegaard describe faith?
As a miracle.
How would Kierkegaard argue that religious experience can still be valid, despite it’s subjectivity?
“truth is subjectivity” and “subjectivity is truth”, though this he means that the truest deepest meaning comes from its relationship and context to the individual at a personal level.
How does McGuire define conversion?
“a process of religious change which transforms the way the individual perceives the rest of society, and his or her personal place in it, altering one’s view of the world.”
What are William James thoughts on conversion and how does this influence conversion?
William James believed there not everyone can be converted and some may take longer than others. As such there are a variety of types of conversion.
What is volitional conversion?
A conscious and voluntary experience featuring a gradual change and slow development of new moral and spiritual habits.
