Religious Experience

Religious Experience

1. different examples of religious experience

   • Perceptions of visions and voices
     • A biblical example is at Jesus’ baptism when God says that Jesus is His son – “you are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11)
   • Conversion experiences
     • Changes their life by giving it to god.
       • E.g. St Paul was previously Saul and on his way to persecute Jews when a bright light blinded him and changed him, making him a christian who spread the christianity.
   • Numinous experiences
     • Experiences of awe and wonder in the presence of an almighty and transcendent God
       • Biblical example - Isaiah 6:3-5 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.'
   • Near-death experiences
     • an unusual experience taking place on the brink of death and recounted by a person on recovery, typically an out-of-body experience or a vision of a tunnel of light.

2. It can be difficult to find words that adequately describe religious experiences as they are so far outside of natural, everyday life. The language that is used to describe them is always influenced by culture with all its accompanying world views and belief systems.

   • It can also be hard to test the credibility of these experiences, as they can lack witnesses, and be a result of an overactive imagination or hallucinations.

3. The influence of religious experience

   • It can shape a religion
     • e.g. Guru Nanak's religious experience in the river changed him from a Hindu, to the founder of Sikhism, and so it was enormously influential in the history of religion.
   • It can cause people to change the whole direction of their lives, some even sacrificing everything for their faith
   • It can lead to traditions and changing the way others live their lives
     • E.g. Muslims pray five times a day which comes from Prophet Muhammad's personal religious experience in which guidance about prayer was revealed to him.
     • E.g. Christian churches are based on the corporate religious experience of the first Christians at Pentecost.

4. Defined as: 1. An experience with religious significance e.g. the act of worship in a religious setting 2. A person’s experience of something or a presence beyond themselves