Discuss critically the view that people who claim to have had experience of God should be
believed.
Introduction
Define: Religious Experience- A subjective experience which is interpreted within a religious
framework.
Importance: If we decide to believe those who claim to have had an experience of God then we are
acknowledging it as evidence for God’s existence.
Scholars: Swinburne, Gutting, Martin, James
Conclusion: It depends on the amount of people in the experience and how eccentric the claim is.
Paragraph 1
Point: We should believe those who claim to have had an experience of God.
Argument: Richard Swinburne- the Principle of Credulity: He argues that if something seems so then
it is reasonable to accept it is so. Swinburne states there is no difference between religious
experience and other experiences. The Principle of Testimony- If you usually believe people when
they tell you about their experiences then you should do so when they tell you about their religious
experiences.
Counterargument: Gutting- If someone walked into a room and saw my dead aunt I would want
more than just their report to confirm this. Michael Martin- More people have not had experiences
of God therefore God does not exist.
Paragraph 2
Point: We should not believe those who claim to have had an experience of God.
Argument: PINT used by William James to describe Religious experiences but there are problems
with this criterion.
Counterargument: Passive- How can you prove it is a supernatural power making you feel as though
you are out of your own control? There could be natural reasons such as mental illness. Ineffable- If
you can’t put your experience into words how can it be used as evidence to convince others? Talking
nonsense doesn’t help you prove God. Noetic- how can you check its credibility. Transient- The time
scale is like in a dream- ‘When a man tells me he has experienced God in a dream, he is telling me he
has dreamt he saw God’ Hobbes.
Paragraph 3
Point: We should not believe those who claim to have had an experience of God.
Argument: Toronto Blessing is named after the Toronto airport fellowship church famous for its
extreme religious experiences. People are overcome by the holy spirit, which causes them to weep
, or to laugh uncontrollably, to speak in strange ‘languages’ and to fall to the ground- this could be a
result of mass hysteria which undermines its genuineness.
Marx: ‘Religion is the opium of the people’.
Counterargument: Some people took this to be a sign of God’s blessing, where people can
experience the Holy Spirit so intensely that they lose all sense of self in a kind of religious ecstasy.
believed.
Introduction
Define: Religious Experience- A subjective experience which is interpreted within a religious
framework.
Importance: If we decide to believe those who claim to have had an experience of God then we are
acknowledging it as evidence for God’s existence.
Scholars: Swinburne, Gutting, Martin, James
Conclusion: It depends on the amount of people in the experience and how eccentric the claim is.
Paragraph 1
Point: We should believe those who claim to have had an experience of God.
Argument: Richard Swinburne- the Principle of Credulity: He argues that if something seems so then
it is reasonable to accept it is so. Swinburne states there is no difference between religious
experience and other experiences. The Principle of Testimony- If you usually believe people when
they tell you about their experiences then you should do so when they tell you about their religious
experiences.
Counterargument: Gutting- If someone walked into a room and saw my dead aunt I would want
more than just their report to confirm this. Michael Martin- More people have not had experiences
of God therefore God does not exist.
Paragraph 2
Point: We should not believe those who claim to have had an experience of God.
Argument: PINT used by William James to describe Religious experiences but there are problems
with this criterion.
Counterargument: Passive- How can you prove it is a supernatural power making you feel as though
you are out of your own control? There could be natural reasons such as mental illness. Ineffable- If
you can’t put your experience into words how can it be used as evidence to convince others? Talking
nonsense doesn’t help you prove God. Noetic- how can you check its credibility. Transient- The time
scale is like in a dream- ‘When a man tells me he has experienced God in a dream, he is telling me he
has dreamt he saw God’ Hobbes.
Paragraph 3
Point: We should not believe those who claim to have had an experience of God.
Argument: Toronto Blessing is named after the Toronto airport fellowship church famous for its
extreme religious experiences. People are overcome by the holy spirit, which causes them to weep
, or to laugh uncontrollably, to speak in strange ‘languages’ and to fall to the ground- this could be a
result of mass hysteria which undermines its genuineness.
Marx: ‘Religion is the opium of the people’.
Counterargument: Some people took this to be a sign of God’s blessing, where people can
experience the Holy Spirit so intensely that they lose all sense of self in a kind of religious ecstasy.
