Religious Experience Flashcards
name three types of religious experience
prayer
visions
charismatic worship
give some examples of charismatic worship
slain in the spirit
speaking in tongues
give three dangers of religious experiences
completely open to interpretation
can lead to hateful or destructive events
creates elitism
are all religious experiences dramatic?
no
give three examples of dramatic religious experiences
the visions of bernadette, st paul or theresa of avila
what are the majority of religious experiences like?
gradual, gentle, people find god in ordinary things and the beauty of creation
what is the mnemonic for william james’ mystical experience criteria?
p.i.n.t.
what does the p in p.i.n.t. stand for?
passive
what does the i in p.i.n.t. stand for?
ineffable
what does the n in p.i.n.t. stand for?
noetic
what does the t in p.i.n.t. stand for?
transient
what is a passive religious experience?
those in the grip of such an experience will have no will of their own - under the influence of a superior power
what is an ineffable religious experience?
experiences beyond the ability of words to express
what is a noetic religious experience?
gives knowledge unattainable through human experience
what is a transient religious experience?
a short but life-changing experience
name richard swinburne’s two principles of testimony
principle of credulity
principle of testimony
what is the principle of credulity?
if some one believes they have had an experience, they probably have
what is the principle of testimony?
we believe in the testimony of others
what are the three main cases against religious experience?
psychological neurosis
physiological influences
sociological influences
which two scholars suggest religious experiences stem from psychological neurosis?
freud
timothy leary
which two scholars suggest religious experiences stem from physiological influences?
harlow
d lasbourough
which scholar suggests religious experiences stem from sociological influences?
karl marx
what does freud suggest about the psychology of religious experiences?
religious belief in god is the projection of a need for an eternal father figure
what did timothy leary highlight about the psychology or religious experiences?
when mystical experiences were compared with the accounts of drug users they were indistiguishable
which medical case did harlow highlight in order to explain religious experiences?
phineas gage
explain the story of phinieas gage
a railworker who survived a metal pole through his brain after an accident, his personality was completely altered after the incident
how does harlow highlight the physiological influences on the brain through the story of phineas gage?
our body is directly linked to our personality and therefore could be the cause of these radical changes
what physiological aspect links many of the catholic mystics?
many suffered severe illness before their visions, could be mediation or the illness itself that caused their experience
what illness does d lasbourogh theorise that st paul had?
epilepsy- would account for the blindness and voices heard
how did karl marx argue religious experiences were influences by society?
an individual would see things relating to their faith
a christian would not see vishnu
