Religious experience argument Flashcards
Richard Swinburnes cumulative argument and counter
If we put all the religious arguments of different people at different times it increases proof of God- Inductive
Counter
Many unconvincing arguments do not make one large convincing argument
Leaky buckets
Principle of testimony and credulity
Testimony
We should trust peoples testimonies of miraculous occurrences unless we have reasons to doubt them, they are on drugs or in an altered mental state
Credulity
We experience the world as it is so if we feel we are encountering God we most likely are
Criticisms John Hicks eschatological verification
In this parable a theist and atheist are walking along the same road where they encounter obstacles. The theist believes the obstacles were sent by God to prepare them for life and that the road will lead to a celestial city. The atheist belives the obstacles are coincidences and the road will need to nowhere. The destination is unknown and so their beliefs can only be verified in the afterlife
Hicks experiencing as
When people encounter these experiences they dont passively experience it but interpret it based on their religious beliefs which is why they are conflicting and cannot be used as proof of God
R.M Hares Blik
He argues eventhough religion is unverifiable and unfalsifiable(a bilk) people will cling to their beliefs and not accept they are false.
Parable of thr lunatic
Persingers God helemt
Relgious experiences can be artifically reduced with his God helmet which passess electro-magnetic waves through the temporal lobe
High temporal sensitivity (creative) is more prone to having visions of God than low
God is not omnipotent as some cannot experience him
weakness psychologically interesting
The religious experience may be a psychological product of those who desire to overcome suffering and see God as their help.
Weakness culturally specific
For example Hindus tend to have visions of Hindu Gods and Christians of Jesus
Arises out of what people experience in their everyday lives
Peter Vardy
depends on presuppositions e.g. clouds
Peter Coles recognition argument
To recognise someone you need to know where they are and have seen them before
3 strengths
sheer number of people that have religious experiences
the fact it changes peoples lives why would they do that if it was fake
No absolute proof against religious experiences as it is subjective
William James four features
Ineffability those who have mystical experiences cannot adequately describe it in words
Noeric quality gives knowledge about way the world is
Transciency not sustained for long
Passivity mystics have control
Example of RE
Buddha Boy ot Nepal
Miracle Healing
Hearing Gods voice
