Religious experiences Flashcards
How did William James differentiate between ‘real’ and ‘genuine’ REs?
Genuine- the person believes the experience to be true
Real- the experience is actually true (it came from God)
Only genuine can actually be tested for
What did James describe as qualities of a religion experience?
Ineffability- impossible to be able to adequately express using normal language
Noetic quality- a truth is revealed
Transcience- Over quite soon (although its effects may last a lifetime)
Passivity- The experience is being controlled outside themselves, they are the recipient not the instigator
What did James as fruits of a religious experience?
Awareness- truth/ knowledge gained
Elation- positive outcome/ feeling
Self-surrender- a commitment is formed
Change- change or conversion
How did Swinburne distinguish between different types of RE?
Ordinary- finding God in everyday things eg a sunset
Extraordinary- a unique experience believed o come from God, eg a vision
What are Swinburne’s two different principles regarding whether REs should be believed?
Principle of testimony- you should believe what your senses are telling you (they are correct more often than not)
Principle of testimony- If you trust the person, you should believe what they are saying is true until you have enough evidence to say otherwise
What did Richard Gale say about REs?
Religious experiences should not be treated the same to other experiences
What did Carl Sagan say about REs?
‘Extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence’
What did C Stephen- Evans say about REs?
Religious people add a religious dimension to everyday experiences
How did St Teresa of Avila suggest the ‘realness’ of a REs should be tested? How is this flawed?
- Does it fit with Christian teachings?
- Does it leave them feeling a sense of peace between God, themselves and the world? If not it may be the world of the devil
Possible flaw- many REs in the Bible, accepted as real, involve progressive change, and therefore did not align with Christian teachings at the time (eg Peter’s vision in Acts, removing Kosher laws from christianity as anything god created should not be deemed as unclean)
How did Rudolph Otto define REs?
‘Mysterium, tremendum et fascinans’
M- Realisation that God is different
T- Of great importance, awe-inspiring, significant
F- Attractive and dangerous, recipient feels a sense of privilege
How did Schleiermacher believe we should test REs?
We shouldn’t- they are self-authenticating for the recipient
Give 4 main criticisms of James’ conclusions on REs
- ‘Mystical experience’ is a useful phrase to refer to something outside our understanding, but by doing this have we uncovered anything at all, or said anything useful if we cannot understand it?
- Flew rejected James’ ideas that REs can be authenticated by the effects it has on the individual as they cannot be tested using empirical evidence
- Psychological explanations eliminate the religious elements of these experiences as they can be explained
- Experience is fallible, and James overly emphasises this
Give 3 main strengths of James’ conclusions on REs
- A finite, limited, human being is not capable of making up the knowledge gained through the noetic quality of the religious experience, therefore it must come from an incomprehensible, powerful God
- He is modest in his approach, and doesn’t attempt to prove experiences as real and coming from God. This also discourages religious arrogance or superiority, nor is he preaching
- James examines other areas of the mind psychology may not be able to explain, ignore, or be quick to discredit
What word is useful when describing the ‘truth’ or ‘realness’ of a religious experience?
Veracity
What are some weaknesses of Swinburne’s ideas?
Doesn’t take into account why people may lie
Normalises REs
‘Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
Doesn’t seek evidence- goes against normal human thinking
What are some strengths of Swinburne’s ideas?
Straight forward
Fits with everyday thinking and trust- relies on common sense
Evaluate St Teresa of Avila’s ideas
S- similar themes to James, eg elation
W- stories in Christianity goes against her criteria
Bias towards Christianity, doesn’t explain why experiences from other religions are invalid
Elation could be a side effect of positive hallucination
What did Otto mean by numinous?
Any experience of God which transcends the everyday
What did Otto mean by the wholly other?
A transcendent nature found in mystical experiences
How did Freud challenge the veracity of REs through psychology?
Humans can’t cope with adult life and so create God as a parent-like figure to provide comfort, entering a state of ‘infantile neurosis’
Confuse moral command with communication with God
The human brain is complex, working on different levels- id (sub-conscious), ego (conscious), super-ego (moral voice)
How did Feuerbach challenge the veracity of REs through psychology?
‘People created God in their image’
People worship God are actually worshipping human nature, projecting the most admirable qualities outside themselves eg compassion, heroism
People want to feel cared for
How did Winnicott challenge the veracity of REs through psychology?
Transitional objects between reality and imagination are common throughout human life, eg a child blanket or toy they carry with them for comfort
This continues out of childhood into adult life, God is between reality and imagination, guiding and comforting
What are some strengths of the psychologists’ responses to REs?
Logical
Realistic analysis of the human brain
Doesn’t allow for wish-fulfillent
what are some weaknesses of the psychologists’ responses to REs
No factual evidences, therefore just a suggestion equally as valid as religious ideas
Children use imagination more frequently, they are less developed and therefore it is an unfair comparison
How did Persinger use physiology to challenge the veracity of REs?
Brain is easily unbalanced by different stimuli
Weak magnetic signals were passed through brain
Recorded feelings similar to those felt during a RE
Could illustrate REs have natural causes
ALTHOUGH- subjects knew what they were being tested for, and repeat experiments didn’t produce the same data
(Near death experiences could also be explained by this, dopamine, hormones etc could explain bright light and feelings of happiness)
What is a corporate experience? and give examples
Multiple people experience things at the same time
BIBLICAL- Acts, the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, spoke in other languages and tongues (glossolalia) etc
MODERN- Toronto blessing, 1994. The congregation of a church experienced unexplainable and uncontrollable physical experiences, such as laughter and speaking in tongues. Experienced by 300 people
What are some strengths and weakness of a corporate experience?
S- if experienced by many, senses are less likely to be decieved
Being witnessed/ observed by many could be seen as evidence
W- People behave differently in groups than as individuals
Pre-disposed to charismatic worship in examples suichas the Toronto Blessing
Hallucinations/ drugs are possible
Examples such as the T Blessing hold nothing positive and serves no purpose, work of the Devil?
May be a strength of Persinger’s ideas, everyone is in the same place and possibly same magnetic field
Explain different types of vision experiences
Intellectual- aware of their presence but not directly seen (eg St Teresa of Avila)
Corporeal- actually sees a figure (eg Bernadette)
Imaginative- occurs in dreams (eg Joseph speaking to God in a dream)
What are the 3 characteristics of voice experiences?
Revelatory- voice reveals something about God’s wishes
Authoritative- God/ the voice has authority and therefore is right
Disembodied
How could Peter Sutcliffe be used as an example of a vision experience?
He said he heard God’s voice ordering him to commit rape and murder
Explain and give examples of a conversion experience?
Any kind of changing effect caused by a RE, eg an atheist becoming a Christian,
BIBLICAL- the conversion of Saul on the roads to Damascus. Stopped persecuting Christians and began preaching Christianity
St Ignatius of Loyola- born Catholic, however slowly converted and found the Society of Jesus
MODERN- Nicky Cruz- A gang leader told that God loves him became a preacher himself
