Religious experiences

Question 1

Corporeal visions

Answer 1

Corporeal means “of the body”.
this is a vision with your senses

For example:
Bernadette of Lourdes seeing Mary

Question 2

Imaginative visions

Answer 2

dreams

For example:
Joseph’s dream in genesis (stalks of grain bowing down to him)

Question 3

Intellectual visions

Answer 3

A vision where there is no sensory revelation at all.

you simply know something you did not know before

For example:
St Theresa of Avila had a revelation about the trinity but was unable to put it into words

Question 4

Augustines understanding of religious experiences

Answer 4

they are communications from God

they are visions, but not always visual

Question 5

James and State’s understanding of religious experiences

Answer 5

they are mystical
An experience that brings you closer to God

Question 6

C.S. lewis’ analogy of the Tiger and Ghost

Answer 6

If you know there is a tiger on the other side of a door, you fear it because you know what it could possibly do

if they was a ghost, you would fear it because you dont know what it could do.

Question 7

Otto’s understanding of religious experiences

Answer 7

they are numinous
An encounter with the “wholly other”

Question 8

the “wholly other”

Answer 8

a being unlike anything encountered before.
terrifying because it is unfamiliar, strange, and powerful.

Question 9

A.J. Ayer’s (potential) response to REs

Answer 9

verification principle

no non-verifiable experiences should be trusted

Question 10

Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Answer 10

A seizure of the temporal lobe can lead to hallucinations.
objection to RE

Question 11

freud’s Wish fulfilment

Answer 11

he says that RE’s may be a hallucination caused by a subconscious wish for reassurance or consolation.

This may be a way of protecting ourselves form unsavoury realities.

Question 12

Foundational beliefs

Answer 12

A belief that is not derived from any other

Question 13

P.I.N.T

Answer 13

Ineffable- beyond human language/ description

Noetic- Gain knowledge of the nature of god that you simply did not have before

Transient- The experience is temporary and cannot be sustained, though it could have long lasting effects.

Passive- Experience is not initiated by the mystic but rather they feel something acting on them

Question 14

Numinous dread

Answer 14

being full with awe when encountering a divine being