Religious Experience

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Flashcards on Religious Experience , created by BetAppiah on 04/06/2015.
BetAppiah
Flashcards by BetAppiah, updated more than 1 year ago
BetAppiah
Created by BetAppiah over 9 years ago
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Question Answer
Richard Swinburne 'an experience which seems to the subject to be an experience of God or some other supernatural thing' -The principle of credulity- If it seems to a subject X is present, then X is probably present' -The Principle of Testimony- 'We usually believe to have occurred what other people tell us seem to be occurring'
Abraham Maslow Peak experiences - experienced in any culture at any time an that they have common features such as transcending the universe and a loss of space and time. -The person is flooded with feelings of awe,wonder,joy,love an gratitude -These feelings were generated by the mind and were interpreted as spiritual by the person having them or society around them
Karl Marx Saw religion as an illusion, something which blurred our vision of reality. -Religion was the 'opium of people' - regarding it as a drug which dulls the pain of everyday life and alters our consciousness and perception caused by lack of economic power Therefore mystical experiences are outward manifestations of this drug-induced state
Sigmund Freud Religion is linked with neurosis and considered that obsessive behavior was similar to religious practices Religious experiences are reactions to a hostile world, in which we seek help from a father figure. These experiences are an attempt to deal with our psychological needs - but they avoid us coming to terms and dealing with them properly
William James 'The feelings, acts and experiences of individual men ... so far as the apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider as divine' Mystical experience: PINT Passive: the person has no control over the experience Ineffable: Not possible for the person to describe it in normal language Noetic: unites with God and become aware of truths unknown Transient: The actual experience is short but the effects are long-lasting
Rudolf Otto 'Experience of being acted upon by something outside ourselves, a 'Wholly other' - makes us aware that we are creates of an almighty God.' Otto believed that religious experiences where essentially numinous. This is what marks it out as a particular class of experiences. He called such experiences mysterium tremendum- great mysteries and experiences of the wholly other
Public Experiences Ordinary Experience- Perceive the action of God in ordinary events e.g the night sky Extraordinary Experience - the observable but unusual events e.g. Jesus Walking on water
Private Experiences Experiences that can be describe in normal language - E.g An angel appearing to Joseph to announce the birth of Christ Experiences that are non describable- Mystical Experiences Non Experiences - becoming more aware of the presences of God
Direct Religious Experience Where God reveals himself directly to someone who has not chosen to have this experience
Indirect Experience Thoughts or feelings about God come through everyday events, such as seeing a beautiful sunset
Visions Corporeal Visions - Object or figure is externally/physically present Imaginative Visions - visions that happen in dreams (perhaps giving messages, communicating knowledge) Intellectual visions - an experience rather than an cbservation of a physical object
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