Religious Experience - The Basics

Religious Experience - The Basics

1. No exact definition, each experience is completely unique to the individual. Factors that can describe them:

   • Each experience is unique
   • Experience is not God, just aids the person to be closer to God
   • Non-empirical occurence: supernatural
   • Can be a mental event, individual is aware
   • Can be spontaneous but people can train themselves to have them
   • Often creates more awareness of God and gives a deeper knowledge

2. Cumulative Argument

   • Looks at many accounts.
   • Comes up with one argument which combines factors from each account.

3. Inductive Argument

   • Commonalities are looked at and compared from different accounts
   • From the commonalities a conclusion is drawn up

4. Richard Swinburne

   • Principle of Credulity
     • It is reasonable to believe that the world is as we experience it.
     • What someone seems to have perceived is probably the case.
     • Unless there are special reasons to cast doubt over validity.
     • Relates to REs because it shows that we should believe accounts of them unless there is reliable evidence that the account is not true.
   • Principle of Testimony
     • Without reason to disbelieve someone they are telling the truth and therefore God exists.
     • Without sufficient reason to disbelieve someone, you should accept that eyewitess or believers are telling the truth when they testify.