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religious experience Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a religious experience?

A

An encounter with the divine that brings an awareness of something other than oneself

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2
Q

What is a conversion?

A

Conversion is adopting a new religious belief that differs from a previous belief or no belief at all.
Effects are a greater understanding of faith and the adoption of a religious attitude or way of life.

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3
Q

How can conversions come about?

A

Voluntary and conscious: Gradual conversion or freely chosen
Involuntary and unconscious: sudden conversion from self-surrender ( usually passive)

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4
Q

What are the three different types of conversion?

A

Intellectual conversion: a change in the way of thinking about religion
Social conversion: Acceptance of a new social group and way of life
Moral conversion: A change in behaviour rejecting a destructive one in favour of a new better way of living

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5
Q

What are some examples of conversion?

A

Apostle Paul
C.S Lewis - gradual conversion to Christianity - originally athiest
Nicky Cruz

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6
Q

Why is prayer considered to be a religious experience?

A

Prayer is a conversation with God.

Prayer deepens a person faith and helps them to come to a greater understanding of God purpose for their life.

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7
Q

What are the different types of prayer

A

Adoration - praising God for who He is
Thanksgiving - thanking God for what He has done
Confession - confessing sin and asking for forgiveness
Petition - asking God for something
Intercession - asking God to help others

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8
Q

What are some examples of prayer?

A

The Lords prayer

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9
Q

Why is meditation considered to be a religious experience?

A

Meditation is an important part of the monastic tradition, where the divine is believed to be a universal truth rather than a personal being.

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10
Q

Why do Hindus meditate?

A

Hindus believe that through experience and meditation they can gain knowledge of Brahman (the impersonal God). Some meditate by chanting sacred mantras. Others may use breath control, known as pranayam, or controlled breathing and body postures,known as yoga. Other focuses of meditation include the use of a mandala, a complex pattern that concentrates the mind, meaning everyday thoughts are cleared away.
Hindus who meditate believe it enables them to connect with the divine in a way that other forms of worship, eg prayer, does not.

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11
Q

Why do Buddhists meditate?

A

Buddhist meditation helps clear the mind so that negative thoughts of anger or hatred can be replaced with positive ones of loving-kindness and peace. Buddhists hope to develop insight so that they can see the true nature of things. Samatha or calming meditation – this kind of meditation helps to calm the mind by focusing on one object, feeling or idea
Vipassana or insight meditation – this kind of meditation helps to see the truth about reality and develop the wisdom that leads to Enlightenment

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12
Q

What is a mystic experience?

A

Experience of direct contact or oneness with God.

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13
Q

What are the common features of mysticism?

A

A profound sense of union with the divine
A transcending of time
A showing- something is revealed
A sense of joy or wellbeing

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14
Q

What are some examples of mystics?

A

Julian of Norwich, a religious recluse who received visions that enabled her to lead a life totally dedicated to God
Saint Teresa of Avila (a woman who received many mystical experiences and felt that God was within her).

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15
Q

What are the two types of mysticism

A

The mysticism of love and union

The mysticism of knowledge and understanding

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16
Q

What is the mysticism of love and union?

A

a longing to escape from loneliness and the feeling of being ‘separate’. Happold believes that there are two contradictory urges that influence everyone: to be an individual; but also to be accepted in some way. Happold believes that these urges come from the fact that we share in ‘the Divine Life’. Despite our need to be individuals, we are always trying to get back to God – we have a desire to be part of something bigger than ourselves.

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17
Q

What is the mysticism of knowledge and understanding?

A

Another ‘urge’ which is in all of us. We need to try to find out the ‘secret of the universe’ (or ‘the meaning of life’). Science and philosophy give us this too, but in “sections” and this doesn’t answer our need to know ‘the whole story’ and get ‘the big picture’. Understanding something completely in this way is known as holistic understanding. We can look for holistic answers to ultimate questions through the mystical experience of God.

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18
Q

What are the three aspects of mysticism?

A
  1. Soul-mysticism: the idea of finding perfect spiritual fulfilment; this is less common in the theistic tradition, but common in monistic religious traditions like Hinduism and Buddhism.
  2. Nature-mysticism: the belief that by becoming one with nature, you are uniting with God; based on the belief that God is immanent (present within nature); this occurs in both theistic and monistic traditions but is particularly popular in New Age religions.
  3. God-mysticism: the idea that humans want to return to God; mystical union with God requires the human soul to become like God; this is more common in the theistic tradition where God is viewed as a Divine Person outside yourself
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19
Q

What is a numinous experience?

A

The feeling of being in the presence of something greater.

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20
Q

What are examples of the numinous experience?

A

Moses’s encounter in the burning bush

The vision of Isaiah - 6:1-5

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21
Q

What is a propositional revelation?

A

A proposition is a
factual statement, so propositional revelation is the idea of God passing on a set of factual knowledge
to humans:

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22
Q

What are the 4 types of propositional revelation theists get?

A

Knowledge about Gods own nature, such as the fact that he is the Creator and will judge people
after they die
Knowledge about Gods commandments, such as not to murder or commit adultery
Knowledge about the future, such as Gods plans and promises
Knowledge about the present, such as how events going on at the moment are part of God’s
plan

23
Q

What is a non-propositional revelation?

A

the idea of ultimate truths being non-factual.
Instead, they are perspectives or points of view.
Gods own nature is known by encountering God and reflecting on this encounter
Gods commandments are worked out based on what encountering God felt like
Knowledge about the future can only be an inspired guess
Knowledge about the present can be an insight into the way the world works, not a factual
explanation

24
Q

Who is William James?

A

An American Philosopher and Psychologist

Famous for his open-minded analysis of religious experience and celebration of mysticism

25
Q

What does PINT stand for

A

Passive: the experience is not in control
Ineffable: the experience itself is not describable Noetic: the experience brings knowledge and understanding
Transient: the experience is temporary

26
Q

How does Passive differ in theistic and monistic traditions?

A

In theism - Passivity is a very noticeable feature of
religious experience. The experient often feels that God is directing or controlling them and that they have very little say
In monism - Passivity features differently, because the believer usually seeks out the experience throughmeditationand other techniques. However, during the experience, the experiment is passive, being receptive to universal truths without theiregoand its wishes getting in the way.

27
Q

How does the ineffable differ in theistic and monistic traditions?

A

In theism - Ineffability is a feature of religious experience that grows more pronounced over time. The experiment often feels overwhelmed by Gods presence.
In monism- Ineffability is a very important feature. Enlightenment cannot be described in words; instead, you have to experience it for yourself. Its possible that Enlightenment is different for everyone

28
Q

How does noesis differ in theism and monism?

A

In theism - Noesis is a revelation of Gods nature. This
usually involves God handing down commandments or
predictions (propositional revelation) but it can involve other gifts or abilities as well.
In monism- Noesis is very important because the divine reality is an ultimate truth about life. This isnt usually presented as a set of rules or instructions, but more as guidelines, principles or insights that have to be built upon afterwards (in other words, non-propositional revelation)

29
Q

How does Transcience differ in theism and monism?

A

In theism -There is a gulf between humans and God: God is holy but humans are sinful. This means the encounter is always going to be short-lived and characterised by strain but the consequences are long-
lasting.
In monism - Transience is less noticeable because human beings are not seen as sinful or cut off from the divine reality. Instead, its a matter of cultivating the lifestyle and mentality to make religious experiences as enduring as possible

30
Q

What did William James say about religious experience and psychology?

A

James declares that the spiritual value of religious experience is not undermined if it can also be
explained in psychological terms.
Religious experience is something that happens within the brain – in the psyche – just because we can
explain psychology that doesn’t mean there isn’t a divine interaction
He argued that religious experience expresses truth in pragmatic terms, they are true to the extent that
they help us individually improve and make sense of our lives in the world.

31
Q

Who is Rudolf Otto?

A

Rudolf Otto was a German philosopher, famous for his exploration of religious experience in his book, ‘The Idea of the Holy’ (1917).
Otto was a Christian theologian and had written about the rational side of religion, but in this book he writes
about the irrational side of religion - religious experience, which he regards as the experience of the numinous

(divine power)

32
Q

How does the Numinous link to fear?

A

The numinous is wholly different from anything we have ever experienced.
It produces a reaction of silence.
It provokes terror because it is overwhelming.
The numinous also attracts us because it is glorious and compelling - but we still want to turn away from it.

33
Q

What are 4 reactions to the numinous?

A
  1. Stupor: is unlike anything that we have encountered or ever will encounter; the experient feels a blank
    wonder, an astonishment that strikes us dumb, amazement absolute.
  2. The shudder: The experient is held speechless, trembles inwardly to the farthest fibre of its being …
    the mysterious is beginning to loom before the mind, to touch the feelings.
  3. Creature-consciousness and the simultaneous experiencing of the self as nothing: We become awareness of ourselves as contingent creatures, creatures who barely exist at all. We feel ourselves to
    be utterly unlike the numen and utterly inferior; This sense of our own nothingness may turn into a
    perception of sinfulness in yourself, but it doesnt have to. This may link to James distinction between
    healthy-minded religion and morbid-minded religion. It also links to the idea of Gods necessary
    existence.
  4. Sense of unworthiness and need for covering. There is a feeling of being unworthy to be in the
    presence of the numen - we need what Otto calls a covering so that we feel we are no longer unfit to
    relate to the numen. We may close our eyes, cover our heads, take off shoes, kneel or show other acts
    of respect.
34
Q

What is the objectivist view of religious experience?

A

The objectivist view is that religious experiences are of something real.
There is some entity that exists independently of the religious experience
An objectivist would argue that religious experience is proof of the existence of God .

35
Q

What is the subjectivist view of religious experience?

A

It is not necessary to think of religious experiences as evidence for the existence of a personal God.
The important thing is the experience itself and the effect that it has on the experiment.
Religious experiences are personal experiences, not factual experiences.
A subjectivist would argue that the religious experiences are personal and hold meaning and
truth only for the experient.

36
Q

Who is Richard Swinbourne?

A

Richard Swinburne is an Oxford Professor of Philosophy, famous for his Christian apologetics
(defence of religion).

37
Q

What is his argument for religious experience?

A

Swinburne defines religious experience as

AN EXPERIENCE OF GOD OR OF SOME OTHER SUPERNATURAL THING - RICHARD SWINBURNE

38
Q

What are the two types of experiences according to Richard Dawkins?

A

Public experiences - perceiving a perfectly normal thing such as the sunset and interpreting it religiously or perceiving an unusual event ie resurrection and inviting a supernatural interpretation

Private experiences- an experience that can be described using everyday language (dreams) - an experience which can’t be described using everyday language (mysticism) - a conviction that God has been experienced in some way though no material evidence (sense of forgiveness)

39
Q

What are his two principles?

A
  1. The principle of credulity - WE OUGHT TO BELIEVE THAT THINGS ARE AS THEY SEEM TO BE, UNTIL WE HAVE EVIDENCE THAT WE ARE MISTAKEN
  2. The principle of Testimony - (IN THE ABSENCE OF SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS) THE EXPERIENCES OF OTHERS ARE (PROBABLY) AS

THEY REPORT THEM

40
Q

Who is John Hick?

A

John Hick is an English Professor of Theology.
Hick was a fundamentalist Christian in his youth but became a liberal Christian after studying the
ideas of Immanuel Kant.

41
Q

What is John Hick’s pluralistic hypothesis?

A

Hick’s Pluralistic Hypothesis claims that:

  1. There is one divine reality, the Real, which is the ultimate source of all religious experience
  2. No religious tradition has a direct perception of the Real
  3. Each religious tradition represents the Real as they experience it
  4. The Real transcends all descriptions
42
Q

What is John Hicks main argument?

What is the cultural lens?

A

It is impossible to create convincing rational arguments for God.
Natural theology is not a good source to find out about God
Religious experience is what gives people the reason to believe.People are religious because they experience the divine – they have FAITH.
Justifying religious belief on the basis of experience points Hick towards pluralism because it applies
to all religions.All religions seem to be in the same position:
• No religion is able to rationally prove its claims about God.
• All religions involve experiences of the divine.
If no religion can prove their claims and if experience is what provides the grounds for belief then all
religions must be treated with respect and taken seriously.
Hick explained that the differences in the ways that people experience God are accounted for by
the fact that people exist in different cultures and this shapes their experience.

43
Q

What are Richards Dawkins three criticisms of religious experiences?

A

For Dawkins religious experiences can be explained in three ways

  • Naturalistic Interpretations
  • Models
  • Evolution
44
Q

What is Dawkins Naturalistic interpretation?

A

Dawkins compares religious experiences with psychosis and compares religious experience with mental illness.
Dawkins believes all religious experiences have a naturalistic interpretations
Dawkins rejects the VERIDICALITY of such experiences (the truth of what they present). He argues that the brain creates our perception of sights and sounds in the world outside our own heads but that sometimes it does its job too well and fools us

45
Q

What is Dawkins Model explanation?

A

1.The human brain is very good at producing realistic models of reality (it does it every time you dream or remember something)
2.Some people are particularly impressionable and easily mistake imagination for reality
3.Religious upbringing encourages impressionable people to confuse imagination of certain sorts for
reality

46
Q

What is Dawkins evolution explanation?

A

Evolution is a process where mutations that appear by accident get passed on if they are SURVIVAL
TRAITS that help animals survive and breed. Dawkins doesn’t think religious experiences are survival
traits, but he points out that survival traits can backfire.
Brains that can imagine other people having motives of their own might lead people to imagine
non-human things like animals, plants or the weather have motives too and this leads to belief in
gods; it might lead to mystical experiences too.
Brains that can cope with danger by imagining it can be controlled might lead people to imagine
there are spirits that can be bargained with or prayed to and this leads to worshiping gods
Brains that can cope with the fear of death might lead to a comforting belief in an afterlife or a
being so powerful that it can overcome death and this leads to numinous experiences
Religious experiences are a byproduct of something genuinely useful.

47
Q

Who is Michael Persinger?

A

Michael Persinger is an American scientist who specialises in cognitive neuroscience.

48
Q

What did Michael Persinger argue?

A

He is famous for a series of experiments in the 1980s which claim to show that religious experiences
can be created artificially by stimulating parts of the brain with electromagnetism.

49
Q

What is the ‘God Helmet’?

A

Michael Persinger claimed to induce a sensation of a ‘presence’ in normal participants using a device he calls ‘the Koren Helmet’ after its inventor.
Newspapers quickly renamed Persinger’s device the God Helmet.

50
Q

How did it work?

A

Persinger suggests that the left and right temporal lobes create our sense of self. If these two parts of the brain stop communicating, the ‘self’ in the right hemisphere ‘intrudes’ into our consciousness (inter-hemispheric intrusion) This feels like there is another being present in your mind. Persinger calls this effect ;sensed presence. Really, it is the other half of our own brain that we are suddenly conscious of, but it feels like an external presence. Persinger argues that this sensation explains experiences of the closeness of God, visitations of angels, saints, ancestors, aliens, ghosts or past lives. The God Helmet is supposed to disrupt communication between the temporal lobes by using magnetic fields. This causes an inter-hemispheric intrusion. Persinger claims this might happen naturally because of the earths magnetic field, producing UFO
sightings and apparitions seen by large crowds.
Persinger is advancing a naturalistic interpretation of religious experience, involving the effect of
electromagnetic fields on the brains temporal lobes.

51
Q

What were the effects?

A

Persinger reports over 900 people who took part in his experiments claimed to experience mystical experiences and altered states.
Persinger reports that at least 80 percent of his participants experience a presence beside them in
the room and about one percent report an experience of God and others report less evocative experiences of another consciousness or sentient being.
As soon as the electromagnetic field is turned off then the experiences cease. When Persinger performed this experiment on Tibetan monks and the Franciscan nun, they reported that the experience was similar to what they experience in their own meditation or prayer.

52
Q

What is the first criticism of Persinger?

A

In 2005, Pehr Granqvist used equipment borrowed from Persinger himself to test 46 Swedish
volunteers, but could not reproduce the sensed presence effect. He argues that Persinger’s experiments weren’t properly double-blinded - the participants in Persingers studies knew what was supposed to happen, so they convinced themselves that it was happening. Granqvist didn’t tell some of his participants to expect anything at all - and they experienced nothing.

53
Q

What is the second criticism of Persinger?

A

Charles Foster, in Wired for God? (2010) draws completely different conclusions from research into
temporal lobes. He argues that even though brain structures like the temporal lobes bring about religious
experiences, science can’t prove that those experiences aren’t ‘real’. Religious experiences might be our brains ‘tuning in’ to the divine. In fact, God might have created us with temporal lobes in order that we might communicate with
him in Fosters words, our brains might be wired for God

A level religious studies (4 decks)

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