Religous experience Flashcards
What are some examplkes of relgious orders founded on the basis of religious experience
Sikhism-Guru nanak
Franciscan monks-francis of assisi
Quakers -george fox
What vision does isaiah receive in the bible
God calling him to be a prophet
What is the night of power
Islamic belief that that was the night mohammed had the quran revealed to him
What is a sensory religious experience/vision and give an example
When someone is awake and conscious adn has an econutner with an external reality using their senses
Berandette of Lourdes-vision of the virgin mary telling her where a stream was
What is a corporate religious vision
Several people report experiencing the same thing
Who was teresa of avila and what did she experience
16th cent catholoic nun. prolific writer
experienced visions (may have been epileptic)
Identified 3 types of visions
Corporeal vision-visions literally seem by eyes, most likely kind to be the devil
imaginative vision-Vision seen with the minds eye or ‘eyes of the soul’
Intellectual vision-Some deeper understanding gained about god-most important-could not be worked out alone by the recipient
What criteria does teresa give for a vision being authentic
Clear and distinct
refers to things never thought by the person before
Gives a new level of understanding
Authentic vision leaves someone at peace whereas inauthentic leaves someone doubting and restless
What was Julian of Norwichs religious experience like
She saw god as being all that was good, god pressed a hazelnut in her hand and she understood all is made by god
What religions do and dont seek converts
do-christniaty, islam
dont-hindu, judaism
What is an individual conversion experience and give an example
Something that causes someone to choose to switch religions
Charles wesley(clergyman)-had ann arguemnt with his brother about conversions.
a monthh later, heard someone preaching the bible and felt warmed by it- moved to living a life inspired by christanity, rather than agreeing with it
What is active and passive conversion
Active-they take initiative e.g. reading the bible
passive-Taken by suprise
Who is the most famous christian example of conversion
Paul of damascus
What is a communal conversion experience and give an example
Group of people simulataneously have a religious experience and change their beliefs
The coming of the holy spirit in acts 2 or jesus calminng the storm
What is Mysticism
Religious experience in which the sense of self is lost
What features do mystical experiences have
Transcendent -beyond space and time
Ecstatic-beyond range of normal emotions
Unitive religious experience-lose notions of the ego
What are the types of prayer
Worship and thanksgiving
Petitioning
Confession and repentance
How did William James descirbe teresa of avila
One of the ablest women we have on record
What layers of prayer does teresa of avila delineate
Meditation-like drawing a bucket from a well
Prayer of quiet-like using a pulley system for the well
Union-like using the water from a river
Rapture-it raining
What book did Teresa of avila write about prayer and what does it say
The interior castle
Moving through the castles 7 layers to the light within is analgous to praying
Outside the castle everything is dark and filled with poisonous creatures
When did William james publish his book and what was it called
1901
Varieties of religious experience
What 4 characteristics does james apply to mystical experience
Inneffability-Experience cannot be expressed in normal language
(one must be in love to understand being in love)
Noetic quality-made to understand truths which could not be achieved through thought alone e.g. conversion
Passivity-Person feels like the experience is being controlled externally without their own autonomy
Transiency-Experience is over soon although its affects and it can feel like it lasted much longer
Who is rudolf otto
German theologian and mystic-wrote das Heilige in 1923
What was Ottos concept to explain mystical experiences
Numinous-The idea that science and rationality cannot explain religious concepts and refers to the feelings evoked by a non-rational sense of being in the presence of the holy
What does Otto claim creature conscious means
That in a numinous experience, people become aware they were created rather than independent-inspired by schleiermacher
What does the wholly other mean in the concept of the numinous
Numinous experiences are completely different and cannot be confused for any other- they are aware they are in the presence of something not entirely natural
What word does Otto coin to attempt to express the feeling of being in the presence of god
Mysterium tremendum
What does otto argue about the holy, as was fashionable at the time
Huamintys interest in the numinous has evolved from simple origins to the current complexity e.g. we see something scary we think of it as eerie and haunted in a primal sense of numinous awe
He argues the sense of holy is an a priori category of the mind- we are born with it
What book features a reference to the numinous
Wind in the Willows-Rat and Mole hear music and have a msyticval experience
What is the main issue with considering religious experience objectively
It is incredibly subjective
Kants phenomena vs noumena. explain
Phenomena-how we perceive things e.g. sad music
Noumena-How things actually are. sheet music and air vibrations
Explain persingers helmet
Helmet you can put on and it would stimulate brain waves that matched feelings of religious experience
criticism-Air travel can be simulated in a flight sim but this does not make real air travel false
What are swinburnes two defenses of religious experience
Principle of Testimony-If other people experience religious happenings, we should trust them generally
Principle of Credulity-We should beleive the evidence of our senses, unless we have good reason to think we might be mistaken. If we have a religious experience, it stands to reason that it actually happened
Whats caroline franks davis book called
1989-The evidential force of religious experience
What are Franks Davis’ 3 challenges to religious experiences
Description related challenges-Things that are described but do not fit with our worldview have reason to be questioned e.g. someone claims they saw aliens
Subject related challenges-Questions about the person giving the desciption-e.g. drug addict, not sufficient training etc
Object-related challenge-We question whatever we are meant to be perceiving e.g. it is impossible for the object to exist e.g. it snowing in dubai
What is Franks davis conclusion about religious experience
On balance, it fails against the challenges. However, relgious experience can still be vaild despite not being verifiable.
One off claims can also be true despite a lack of repeatability
