Religious Experiences

Question 1

What is a religious experience?

Answer 1

When a person believes they have had an experience of God, or another religious figure
They can range from God actually speaking to a person, to someone being aware of God’s presence, to an experience of another religious figure, or even a miracle = they are not easily categorised
They are viewed as offering perhaps the strongest source of knowledge about God

Question 2

What did William James argue?

Answer 2

American psychologist and philosopher was one of the first to discuss religious experiments from a perspective external to theology 
James considered he religious experience from a perspective to be a distinct class of experience defined by fruits (outcomes)
An experience could be considered genuinely religious if its effects on a person were seen to be both positive and morally transformative 
James considered mystical experience in the light of the next slides characteristics. He believed that it was these experiences that were fundamental to the religious life, and the formal outward signs of religion, such as worship and statements of belief, were secondary to this

Question 3

What does William James classify as what an experience looks like?

Answer 3

Passive- when the experience reaches its highest form, the individual is helpless. Some subjects in James’ observations spoke of being lost in the experience. Often behaviour such as speaking in tongues and trances are associated with this feeling
Ineffable - it is not possible to explain the experience to other people- it is so overwhelmingly and completely transforming. The religious experience leaves the person with the feeling that their personal identity has been absorbed or ‘assimilated’- unless their friends have had similar experiences, it is not possible for them to understand
Noetic quality- it allows an insight into the faith of a person. These insights would not be available to a person simply by intellectual investigation. The experience of ‘letting go’ frees the mind to achieve this higher consciousness
Transient- the experience does not last long. James noted in his observations that the experiences seldom lasted more than 30 minutes. The memory of the experience is often partially recalled, but remains for a lifetime.

Question 4

What are the four fruits of religious experience according to James?

Answer 4

1. The experience leaves the person with an awareness of something beyond the trivial material world
2. The experience leaves the person with the feeling of having come into contact with a benevolent and ‘friendly’ power. Their response to this is one of self surrender.
3. Elation- the person is left feeling ‘high’
4. The person experiences a change in the emphasis in their life. They move towards a more spiritual, charitable and morally aware state, characterised by a sense of of awe and wonder at the universe

Question 5

What were James’ conclusions?

Answer 5

Religious experiences were ‘psychological phenomena’
Empiricism- the many case studies produced are are empirical evidence of the effects of religious experience. This evidence provides us with clues as to the reality behind what we see and hear. In response to those who might object that he is interpreting the data, James argues that we interpret all our experiences
Pluralism- James’ research into experiences in different faiths led him to conclude that they were similar. Those having experiences may be experiencing the same ultimate reality, but interpreting it as their religious belief structure. Therefore, a Christian might interpret an experience as the Holy Spirit, whereas a Sikh may interpret it differently
Pragmatism- James believed that truth was not fixed and that what is true is whatever has great value to us. As a religious experience has great value to those it effects, we have to conclude that there is truth to be found in religion

Question 6

How is James criticised?

Answer 6

Given that religious experiences appear to give membership to a kind of religious and spiritual ‘club’, it sets up a system where the ‘initiates’ lead those who have not been fortunate enough to have an experience. This minority becomes a sort of religious elite

Question 9

What does Caroline Frank Davis argue?

Answer 9

Provides a clear six fold classification of religious experience
She concludes that religious experiences, like most experiences, are most effective as evidence within a cumulative style of argument which combines evidence from a wide range of sources

Question 10

What are Caroline Frank Davis’ classifications?

Answer 10

Interpretive experience- the experience is religious by attribution, for example, the recipient is clearly aware that what they are experiencing is something that can be attributed to the divine/ God
Quasi sensory- the recipient of their experience may have a physical sensation where they hear a voice or see a vision
Revelatory experiences- the recipient is left with a feeling of ‘enlightenment’ which means they have gained some new knowledge
Regenerative- the recipient often undergoes some form of transformation following the experience either through conversion or renewal of faith
Numinous- the recipient experiences God’s unapproachable holiness or in the understanding of Otto has an overwhelming feeling of the presence of something greater
Mystical- the recipient has a sense of apprehending ultimate reality or a oneness with God. In simpler terms the experience is other worldly in that the person has a spiritual connection with the divine which is completely different to a normal everyday experience

Question 11

What does Richard Swinburne argue?

Answer 11

Talks of there being five different types of religious experience.
The first two are within the public realm, and the next three within the private
Public-
-You see God’s action in a public place or scene. Eg the sunset is really the ‘Hand of God’, or the blooming of a flower is a ‘miracle of God’
-A breach of natural law. Miracles often come under the category of public religious experiences, eg where water turns into wine
Private-
- a personal experience that can mostly be described through normal language. There are many other examples of this form of experience: Moses and the burning bush, Saul on the road to Damascus, visions of the Virgin Mary
-a personal experience that cannot be described in normal language. That is, it is ineffable. Eg such ‘mystical experiences’ that can only be explained by using negatives (saying what it is not) or metaphor. This is more common with the more mystical mystical elements within religious tradition
- no specific experience, but more of a constant, or regular, feeling that God is simply ‘there’. His presence can be sensed. In all cases, there is an experience of God, or some kind of Absolute force or being

Question 12

What did David Hay’s book ‘religious experience today’ find?

Answer 12

31% of people in the UK have had an experience that they might consider religious.

Question 13

What did Rudolph Otto argue?

Answer 13

A German theologian and philosopher who was particularly interested in the issue of religious experience
Otto uses the term numen or numinous to describe a sensation that recipients of religious experience feel
The numinous is often described as a feeling of being in the presence of something greater than yourself
Otto identifies two distinct aspects of numinous, what he terms: mysterium tremendum (the element associated with overwhelming fear and awe of the unknown) and mysterium fascinans (associated with feelings of love, mercy and so on)
A central element of direct experiences with God was an ‘apprehension of the wholly other’. The wholly other is numinous

Question 14

What are visions?

Answer 14

A form of revelatory religious experience that acts as a source of knowledge about God
This occurs when an individual believes they have seen or heard something divine or a divine being

Question 15

What’s a corporeal vision?

Answer 15

Supernatural sighting of an object
It is where a figure really presents itself to a person
According to the authorities of the Catholic Church, presence of an external figure may be understood in two ways:
The very substance of the being or the person will be presented and secondly it may merely be an appearance of a bright light from from which the recipient hears a voice
This may be true of people who have lived before such as the Virgin Mary and Jesus
The second is the corporeal apparition of the unresurrected dead or of pure spirits (some ghostly being, without shape or form)

Question 16

What is an imaginative vision?

Answer 16

The representation of an object by the act of imagination or within the mind of a person.
It is very different different to corporeal and not physically seen
A being superior to man (Godly) acts directly either on the imagination itself or on certain forces calculated to stir the imagination
The sign that these images come from God lies in the fact that the subject is powerless to define or fix the elements of the vision
Imaginative visions are ordinarily very short, either because the person is unable to endure the vision for a long time, or imaginative visions soon give place to intellectual visions
This kind of vision occurs most frequently during sleep; during sleep the mind is less divided by thoughts, it is more passive

Question 17

What is an intellectual vision?

Answer 17

A vision without any object or image.
Becomes supernatural when the person begins to realise the intervention of God
This intervention is felt through the following effects, such as feeling loved by God, an overwhelming peace of mind, a deeper belief in God and the benefits and rewards that this belief will bring
The intellectual vision takes place in the pure understanding, and not in the reasoning faculty
This means that a person does not have to work out what the vision means as the vision gives total understanding immediately

Question 18

Give an example of a corporeal vision

Answer 18

St Bernadette of Lourdes
A sickly 14 year old experienced a series of visions of Mary. Gush of wind, a wild rose in a grotto did move. Dazzling light in the shape of a figure. First of 18 visions of ‘aquero’- that (small young lady)
Fell into a trance
Described in detail the appearance and dress of the woman which was in keeping with catholic statues of her in a white dress with a blue veil

Question 19

Give an example of an imaginative vision

Answer 19

Imaginary visions are produced in the imagination by God r by the angels when a person is either awake or asleep
According to the Gospel of Matthew, St Joseph was on several occasions supernaturally instructed in a dream. He had a dream telling him not to be afraid of marrying Mary even though she is pregnant

Question 20

What are intellectual visions?

Answer 20

Teresa of Avila felt Jesus there but could not see him, an experience not just an observation

Question 21

What is a voice experience?

Answer 21

Hearing in this case means more than an audible voice, but also the communication of knowledge
Some Christians refer it to the ‘still small voice’ of the Holy Spirit, which speaks in the mind of the believer

Question 22

Give an example of a voice experience?

Answer 22

St Augustine ‘take it and read’. Weeping before it happened. Decided this could only be a divine command to read the bible. Wasn’t sure if it was a child playing. Could his distraught state alter what he heard?

Question 23

What are miracles?

Answer 23

Most people who believe in God believe that miracles can and do occur, and would probably claim that they have either witnessed a miracle in their own or another person’s life
These people would no doubt also claim that miracles are evidence that God exists and would claim that miracles are a clear source of knowledge about God eg God is benevolent
The definition is clouded by people’s own interpretations and experiences
However, the definitions that are presented below all share a common characteristic in that a miracle is an event which in some way occurs contrary to the natural laws we accept in our world

Question 24

What did Aquinas say about miracles?

Answer 24

God can do whatever he wants with his creation. Aquinas defined three types of miracles-
An event done by God which nature could not do- this could be said to be the most traditional approach. They are acts that contradict our regular experience. Aquinas uses the example of the reversal of the course of the sun
A event done by God which nature could do- such as recovering from paralysis or a terminal illness. It’s possible for these things to happen but it is not usually expected, and so could be attributed to the direct intervention of God
An event done which nature could do but without using the principles or forces of nature- eg recovering from a cold more quickly than usual because someone prayed for it, and then it might be called a miraculous intervention by God

Question 25

What did Hume argue about miracles?

Answer 25

Scottish empiricist who put forward what is regarded as the most damning critique of miracles
Ironically, it is Hume’s definition of the term miracle that most philosophers use in their discussions of the phenomena
(God or another supernatural being would break a law of nature that humans would regard as being unbreakable)

Question 26

What did Swinburne argue?

Answer 26

Acknowledges that it is difficult to outweigh the scientific evidence that could count against a miracle, but he maintains that we do have enough historical evidence to suggest that there is a God and that God can violate the laws of nature
‘He has reason very occasionally to intervene and suspend those natural laws by which our life is controlled’
It is perfectly probably that there could be one off exceptional and unrepeatable occurrences
The laws of nature do not have to be rewritten
If God is omnipotent, then he quite clearly could suspend the laws of nature although not too often as this will interfere with scientific progress and free will

Question 27

Give some examples of miracles

Answer 27

Jesus changing water into wine in Galilee- Wine ran out during a wedding. His mother asked Jesus to do something about this, so he called for six large stone jars to be filled with water. When the master of the banquet was given some of the water to taste, he found that it had turned into the finest of wines
Parting of the Red Sea- after freeing the Israelites from Egypt, Pharaoh changes his mind and sends his army to bring them back. With the Israelites trapped by the side of the Red Sea, and the Egyptian army closing in behind them, Moses holds out his staff and the waters part. The Israelites cross and the Egyptians are drowned by the water

Question 28

What is a the numinous?

Answer 28

The numinous is sense of ‘awe and wonder’ that a person may feel when they experience the presence of God in a certain place or building
It usually describes the feeling that God is very different from us- powerful and awesome
Some people usually feel this when they enter a church or cathedral however, they might just as easily have a sense of god’s greatness by looking at the world around them eg sunset
Rudolph Otto argues that there is one common factor to all religious experience, independent of cultural background, the numinous

Question 29

Give some examples of the numinous

Answer 29

C.S.Lewis- fear knowing or not knowing if a tiger or ghost is in the next room. If you were told there was a mighty spirit in the next room you would feel wonder and a certain shrinking - awe. ‘The object which excites it is the Numinous’
Wordsworth’ description of London

Question 30

What is a religious conversion?

Answer 30

Where someone’s life takes a dramatic spiritual turn
A person may be converted from no religion to religious belief, from one religion to another or from religious belief to atheism
Like a set of scales that are in a state of imbalance
Subjects of conversion are often in a state of imbalance- they are unhappy to leading unfulfilled lives; an experience then takes place which balances the the scales and gives them a sense of emotional and spiritual balance in their lives

Question 31

What are the two types of conversion process?

Answer 31

A conscious and voluntary experience- volitional and gradual. Where the person decides that they wish to make spiritual changes in their life and they go about doing things to make those changes. Eg a person may choose to become a Catholic, so they begin by being baptised into the faith

An involuntary and unconscious experience- self surrender, sudden conversion- less common but more significant and profound effects
Sudden conversions are likely to be the result of a religious experience as they often affect people who have no religious faith whatsoever before the experience

Question 32

What three ways can conversions be classified in?

Answer 32

Intellectual- changes a persons thinking
Moral- a change in a person’s behaviour
Social- a change in a person’s way of life

Question 33

Give some examples of religious conversions

Answer 33

St Paul- Saul heard the voice of Jesus asking why he persecutes Christ. After this vision on the road to Damascus, Paul converted to Christianity. Paul spent the rest of his life spreading the Christian message and is believed to have died a martyr’s death in Rome. The name change is significant to show his conversion
Davey Falcus- renowned criminal. Drug addict and very violent. He picked up a bible and a blight light filled his room and Jesus spoke to Davey. His 15 year drug habit broke instantly

Question 34

What are mystical experiences?

Answer 34

Experience of oneness or union with the divine
‘Mystical’ comes from the Greek meaning ‘to close’, meaning the lips and eyes closed in contemplation
It is not unique to Christianity
William James is the greatest modern writer about mysticism

Question 35

What is a corporate religious experience?

Answer 35

Happens simultaneously to a group of people. More convincing because it is not private and unverifiable

Question 36

What’s the most famous corporate experience?

Answer 36

Toronto blessing. Toronto Airport in 1994. After the first sermon people began to laugh hysterically, leap, dance, cry and roar. The phrase ‘Holy Laughter’ is used to describe uncontrollable laughter from church congregations
Some say it is the result of mass hysteria

Question 37

how does religious experiences tell us that god exists according to William James?

Answer 37

William James argues that the religious experience argument clearly shows that if religious experiences are genuine then God must exist
James suggests that experience is the final arbiter of truth which maintains that if a person has an experience of God then they have the truth/proof of God’s existence
James works on the premise that experience offers the final piece of evidence a religious person needs to prove them that God exists

Question 38

How does religious experiences tell us that God exists according to Richard Swinburne?

Answer 38

Adds religious experience to his cumulative argument for the existence of God
If we take religious experiences along with other evidence of God’s existence such as the cosmological and design arguments then it makes it far more likely that God exists
Swinburne argues that religious experience adds cumulative weight to the argument that God exists

Question 39

How does religious experiences tell us that God exists according to William Alston?

Answer 39

Alston argued that in normal life the evidence for something existing is gathered from experience
Eg if you any ‘there’s a red car’ or ‘can you hear that bird singing?’ You are referring to things that you have observed with your senses
You don’t doubt these experiences because many other people have had similar experiences
Alston suggests that if many people have had a religious experience why should we not believe what our senses tell us?
Therefore, taking into account experiences such as the Toronto blessing we should accept these as proof of God’s existence

Question 40

How does religious experiences teach us that God is immanent?

Answer 40

The literal meaning of immanence of God is ‘to be within’ or ‘near’ in relation to God’s creation. In other words, that God acts within the universe
Religious experiences offer strong evidence in favour of this idea because if God performs a miracle or someone feels the presence of God and converts due to a vision then God must be within our universe
If God were simply transcendent then we would not be able to accept any account of religious experience on the ground that God does not partake in a physical way in the lives of human beings