Theme 3 Flashcards
1
Q
Visions
A
- involves seeing something beyond normal experience
- visions with sensory aspects are experiencing a sight, sound, smell or feel that is extraordinary
- visions can occur in a dream or in one’s imagination
- many visions are accompanied by intellectual content - a message of inspiration, insight or instruction
- visions have been claimed to have been experienced by both groups and individuals
- a vision can form a part of another type of religious experience such as prayer, conversion or mysticism
2
Q
Conversion
A
- means literally turning around. In religion it usually refers to a change in beliefs or orientation
- can be collective or individual experience
- they can be gradual or sudden alternatively
- a conversion may appear to be sudden but in actual fact it may have had a subconscious history for some time prior
- types of conversion can include moving from no religion/atheism to faith, from one faith to another faith or from faith - believing to faith trusting
3
Q
Mysticism
A
- it is the feature of most religions
- William James outlined four features of mystical experience: passivity, ineffability, no Eric and transience (PINT)
- passivity = refers to the feeling of acceptance and openness
- ineffable = means defying the ability to describe
- noetic = refers to achieving special insight
- transiency = the temporary or fleeting nature of the experience
4
Q
Prayer
A
- Teresa of Avila established and nurtured many convents
- for her the ultimate goal of prayer was union with God - she considered that this would involve work and dedication
- she used the concept of stages to describe one’s progress to the ultimate goal of prayer
- she is known for having two analogies : watering the garden and the interior castle
5
Q
Analogy 1: watering the garden
A
- stage 1 = drawing water from the well. This is the hard work of withdrawing from the outside world, like watering a garden through the work of lifting a bucketful of water from a well
- stage 2 = using a winch. The work of prayer now seems easier, like using a winch to lift the water out of the well. There are fewer distractions; this is the prayer of quiet
- stage 3 = irrigation. Streams are running through the garden and flowers are beginning to bloom. One’s soul is saying yes to God
- stage 4 = heavy rain. There is no sense of effort in prayer, the soul is completely enraptured. There is a union with God.
6
Q
Analogy 2: the interior castle
A
- mansions 1-3 = the stages prior to union where one (i) begins to pray, (ii) perseveres in prayer and (iii) where prayer is accompanied by works of love
- mansion 4 = captivated by God, here the soul is completely captivated by God’s love
- mansion 5 = simple union. God implants God self in the soul; after the experience of prayer, it is impossible to doubt that God has been in the soul
- mansion 6 = spiritual marriage. There is a sense of rapture, painful longing, spiritual ecstasy and visions
- mansion 7 = mystical marriage. The highest level one can attain on earth. One is intuitively and constantly aware it God
7
Q
William James
A
- was a philosopher and a psychologist who claimed that religious experiences occur in different religions and have similar features
His criteria: - the experience is beyond language and cannot be put into words
- the experience is temporary
- the experience happens to a person, the person doesn’t try and make it happen
- some sort of knowledge or insight is gained
8
Q
Otto’s numinous experience
A
- awe and wonder and ‘wholly other’
- it is an experience of something ‘wholly other’ - completely different to anything human
- the revelation of God is felt emotionally, not rationally
- Mysterium - the utter inexplicable indescribable mystery of the experience
- Tremendum - the awe and fear of being in the presence of an overwhelmingly superior being
- Fascinans - despite that fear, being strangely drawn to the experience
He claims numinous experiences are the core of any religion ‘worthy of name’ it is fundamental to true love religion these individuals should have a sense of a personal encounter with the divine
9
Q
The adequacy of James and Otto
A
- James’ characteristics are a useful way to categorise mystical experiences and identifies their different features
- however ST Teresa of Avila’s mystical experiences requires development and progression, however, which James’ criteria fails to incorporate
- James’ empirical approach is too reductionist - mystical experiences cannot be analysed and categorised with a scientific approach
- however, James acknowledges and incorporates that with the ‘ineffable’ criteria
- arguably James is better than Otto, because Otto leaves out the idea of unity and oneness, James is right that many mystics feel unity and at one with the divine or the universe
- however, this could show that all mystical experiences cannot be categorised neatly by criteria since they are both right about some experiences and not about others
10
Q
Challenges to religious experience
A
- many reports of religious experience are individualistic and subjective in nature and therefore not open to rational inquiry
- the inconsistency of religious experiences with everyday life is another reason question their authenticity
- those who challenge religious experiences believe that if the subject has more scientific knowledge, self awareness and/or linguistic precision they would abandon their claims
- Caroline franks David categories all challenges into three categories: description related, subject related and object related
11
Q
Description related
A
- Involves misremembering, exaggerating, misusing terms or telling lies
- For example: a highly interpreted description which may be a ground for doubt
12
Q
Subject related
A
- Centre’s on the unreliability, impairment or moral laxity of subjects claiming religious experiences
- common subject related challenges include the experience having occurred in a state of sleep, hypnosis, intoxication, loneliness and fear
13
Q
Object related
A
- centre’s on the implausibility of the object of the experience existing and/or having been the cause of the experience
- object challenges include attacks on the traditional inductive and deductive arguments for God (I.e design, ontological etc)
14
Q
Defending religious experience
A
- Caroline Franks Davis defends religious experience against these
- Description related challenges are minimised because those with religious experiences are trying to describe something beyond normal experience - therefore one should not expect linguistic precision
- furthermore those with highly interpreted experiences are often willing to speak about their experience without their usual interpretation
- with subjects related challenges, someone can be impaired and yet report an event accurately - therefore these must not be summarily dismissed
- with object related challenges there are many arguments for God; they never claim to be only way to prove God - they are part of a larger picture
- franks Davis appeals to three principles from Richard Swinburne credulity, testimony and cumulative strength
15
Q
The principle of Credulity
A
Has to do with accepting our (and others) sense experience as valid. Otherwise we would be lost in a ‘sceptical bog’. There are limitations to sense experience but we should at least begin an investigation with openness or credulity
