Religous experiences Flashcards
what are religious experiences?
when people claim to have had some kind of direct encounter with god
what are the 5 different forms of religious experiences?
1) Conversion
2) Mystical
3) Charismatic and ecstatic
4) Visions
5) Worship and sacraments
What are conversions?
they happen in many different ways but they cause a person to adopt a belief in God
a convert will have a new sense of direction in life with God at centre
changes behaviour and choices made
what are mystical experiences?
may leave believed with a sense of peace and a oneness with god
experiences are powerful and genuine that person is left with no doubt that god is real
unique to person experiencing them
feeling of awe and wonder
when do mystical experiences occur and what is their effect?
often occur when meditating
bring strengthening of faith for individual but reveal nothing more about God’s existence
why might some christians disagree with mystical experiences?
they seem to imply that Jesus’ incarnation was not sufficient
what are visions?
during a vision the person claims they can see something supernatural
what they are seeing is not visible to other people who may be with them or near them
some claim their visions are accompanied by voices as a message is given to them
non-religious views on religious experiences?
how is it possible to be certain that religious experiences come from God?
argue that christians are biased in their interpretation of any experience- already believe that God exists
they say these experiences could be the result of Christians’ misinterpretation of a psychological experience - rather than direct encounter with God
what did Swinburne argue?
we ought to trust the testimony of the person who has had a religious experience
it is less likely that someone is trying to trick a person when telling of a religious experience
what is religious ecstasy?
a period of intense religious feeling
what happens to people in religious ecstasy?
they become less aware of world around them
experience intense emotional and spiritual feelings about god
trance-like state and visions
when do you experience religious ecstasy?
when worshipping
what do charismatic churches use to refer to religious ecstasy?
‘slain in the spirit’
minister lays hand on people, generally on their forehead, they then fall backwards
what are the disagreements about religious ecstasies?
unsure whether they are genuine acts of God
argue that nowhere in the Bible do the prophets, the apostles, or Jesus himself ever lay hands on someone, allowing HS to come through their hand and cause person to fall over
what is religious ecstasy described as?
“floating in the love of God”
what did Jonathan Edwards argue?
while religious ecstasy may be caused by several things, it was the long term effect it had on the believer that determined whether it had come from a god
religious ecstasy that came from God would change believer so they are more in line with godly characteristics
What do Pentecostalists believe?
Pentecostalism largely based upon coming of HS to 12 apostles during first festival of Pentecost after Jesus’ ascension to heaven
apostles become more confident in their preaching, went on to carry out healings and they spoke in new language (tongues)
what do Pentecostalists wish to achieve?
seek to return the original roots of christianity
what is pentecostalism?
form of christianity that emphasises the work of the HS and believer’s direct experience with God
believe in the baptism of the holy spirit
- not same as normal baptism using water or oil, but experience
where they give control to HS
what is a prophecy?
God inspired prediction about a future event
what is the benefits of participating in worship?
believe they are giving praise to God and that he is able to communicate with them in some way
what do sacraments do?
another way that many christians (Catholics and Orthodox) believe they experience God
what do Catholics and the Orthodox churches believe about the Eucharist?
- transubstantiation
through this feel they become united with Christ
what do non-conformist churches believe about the eucharist?
(Baptist churches)
- eucharist is entirely symbolic
- bread and wine is an act of remembrance of Jesus’ death and resurrection
what is the sacrament of penance?
involves the confession of sins to a priest in the catholic church
priest provides absolution to the person so that their sins are forgiven
for catholics - sacrament enables them to draw close to God and relieves them of guilt
what do non-conformist churches believe about confession?
(Non-conformist and the Anglican Church)
- do not teach that confession is a sacrament
- argue that bible teaches the priesthood of all believers
this means they believe that every indiciel christian can come directly before god in prayer and confess their sins
