The Views Of Key Thinkers Flashcards
(17 cards)
What is religious experience?
Can mean different things to different people, from being ‘slain in the Spirit’ at a Toronto Blessing prayer meeting to being moved by a sunset or the vision of Jesus that St Paul had.
Central to many religious traditions.
Who is William James?
A late 19th century Scottish-American who wrote ‘The Varieties of Religious Experience’, studying a wide variety of personal accounts of religious experience.
He aimed to make objective observations about them.
What are the four main qualities of religious experience according to William James?
- Ineffable - cannot be expressed adequately in normal language. 2. Noetic - gives insight into truths which could not be reached through reason alone. 3. Transient - the experience does not last, often over quickly. 4. Passive - the person feels it is ‘happening to them’, not under their control.
What is the test of religious experience?
The test is not whether it includes dramatic incidents or deep emotional responses, but whether it changes a person’s life for the better, making them less selfish, calmer, more loving, or ‘have the disposition of the genuine child of God’.
As stated in the Letter of St James, ‘by their fruits you shall know them’.
What conclusion does William James reach about religious experience?
He concludes that religious experience does not prove anything, but the variety and repetition of people’s experiences make it reasonable to believe in a personal God who is interested in the world and individuals.
It is unreasonable to reject others’ accounts of religious experience based on scepticism.
Who is Rudolf Otto?
An early 20th century German thinker who emphasized the place of religious experience in all religions, seeing it as a personal encounter with awe-inspiring mystery.
He described this as ‘numinous’, a feeling of awe-inspiring holiness.
What are the three qualities of true religious experience according to Rudolf Otto?
- Mystery - a realization that God is incomprehensible. 2. Ultimate importance - the sense that God is the only and ultimate matter of importance. 3. ‘Tremendum et fascinans’ - God is experienced as both terrifying and attractive.
What is Mystical RE?
Covers the sense of having contact with spiritual truth which cannot be accessed by reason or our normal senses alone (ie ‘noetic’).
Often used of Christian ‘mystics’ such as Julian of Norwich, who had 16 visions of Christ and emphasized trust: ‘All will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of things shall be well.’
Who was Julian of Norwich?
A 14th c. English anchoress known for her work ‘Revelations of Divine Love’ which includes visions of Christ.
She emphasized the message of God’s love.
Who was Teresa of Avila?
A 16th c. religious figure who had visions and intense experiences of pain while being ‘stabbed’ by an angel.
She taught that God could be found experientially through making progress through stages of prayer.
What is the significance of C. Otto’s ideas?
Coined in the late 19th c. to emphasize the similarities in RE across various religions.
This theme was developed by F.C. Happold in the 1960s.
What are examples of Christian mystical experiences?
Isaiah’s vision in the Temple, Samuel hearing God in the Temple, and the apostles experiencing the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
Other examples include Blaise Pascal’s inner certainty and Bernadette of Lourdes seeing the Virgin Mary.
What happened at Fatima?
Portuguese peasant children had visions of Mary in 1917, culminating in a gathering where many reported seeing a sign in the sky as the sun spun on its axis.
What is the Toronto Blessing?
A phenomenon where people are ‘slain in the spirit’, laugh, fall over, and roar like lions, accompanied by great peace and joy.
What is a conversion experience?
A change in a person’s life often leading to new-found faith, characterized by dissatisfaction with current beliefs, a search for truth, a crisis, and a sense of peace and joy.
William James describes this as the test of the genuineness of a RE.
What is a common pattern in conversion experiences?
The person feels dissatisfied, searches for truth, experiences a crisis, finds peace and joy, and undergoes a long-term change in direction.
How are many conversion experiences related to mystical experiences?
Many conversion experiences are also mystical experiences, as seen in the case of Blaise Pascal.
