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Summary Religious Experience (Extensive notes)
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includes notes on different scholars such as Buber, Otto and Teresa and Hick's view on pluralism
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Religious Experience:The arguments for the existence of God like the teleological or the cosmological argument;
what is sometimes referred to as natural theology, always involve finding out about God
through something else.
E.g. aspects of nature or the world or as in the case of the ontological argument
attempting to prove the existence of God via an a priori rational abstract argument.
By contrast religious experience appeals to direct contact with God.
This view would suggest that no intermediaries or connecting arguments are necessary.
God can be known directly through experience. All religions seem to have an element of
direct religious experience which is believed to trump any indirect approaches to religion
and God. Some religious experiences are quite spontaneous; like e.g. the conversion of Saul
on his way to Damascus which is recorded in the book of Acts.
There is also religious experience that is gained by training and discipline.
E.g. through meditation which can lead some to the mystical experience.
Such an approach to religious experience is found in parts of Buddhism and indeed
mysticism is not restricted to Buddhism for it has always found a place in Christianity, Islam
and indeed all of the world's great religions.
It is obvious that a God who can create and sustain the whole universe is likely to have the
qualities of omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence. Such a God could well be beyond
our knowledge because no limits or finitude applies to him. The question is how we can
relate to or know such a being. The concept of personality may not apply to God in the same
way as it applies to mere mortals, like us who are finite beings. One way around this is
anthropomorphism which in the Bible gives God human qualities like feelings of jealousy,
love, anger, dispensing judgement, and even hatred.
E.g. sin or a bad action etc.
But mystics take the incomprehensibility and the infinite nature of God seriously.
Mysticism comes from the word 'muo' which is close to our words 'mute and 'mum' and
comes close to silence. Mysticism reflects the silence of the believer before the mystery of
God and the difficulty of explaining the incomprehensible character of God. Mystics are also
people who come together with God. In other words, their mystical experience is one where
their individuality melts away and they see/feel no distinction between themselves and God.
One can see immediately how by expressing such views as these mystics have offended the
traditional believers. Some mystics have been put to death for uttering, what appears to be
heresy.
Such an example in Islam was Hallaj, who taught that man was God incarnate and for
this belief, he was denounced and put to death. At his death he said
, "If thou seeist me, thou seest him,
And if thou seest Him, thou seest us both."
Even today Sufi mystics in Islam are widely regarded as heretics and are often persecuted
and sometimes killed. So making mystical claims in some parts of the world is not without its
risks.
, Mysticism:
Introvertive: experienced from within the person- based on the view that God has made us
in His Image and thus- his spirit can be experienced from within our being, directing, guiding
and inspiring our soul.
Extrovertive: experienced outside the body, in the world in which we engage with nature
and people, animate and inanimate objects. Based on the view that God is all and is in all,
every atom and molecule exists because God has uniquely brought it into existence and
therefore God can be experienced through his creation.
Common features of religious experience:
Universality- All communities report occurrences of religious experiences. This is by
no means restricted to what we might consider to be ‘primitive’ or traditional
societies.
Diversity- Religious experiences are not uniform- they differ for individuals in the
same community. Those who are part of the same believing community may attempt
to apply the same culturally driven theology or doctrinal spin after the event,
however, this does not take away the uniqueness of the experience
Importance- Religious experiences are extremely important to the individuals who
have them. Often they are life-changing, others may find them symptomatic of a
religious life that brings greater maturity, spiritual depth and peace
The religious experience can, according to Moojen Momen
“lead to a complete change in the way individuals think about themselves a
complete alteration on lifestyle or a reorganisation of the individuals
conceptual”
Agreed Features of religious experience include:
It is an intense and energising experience that is important and demands attention.
The experience is liberating as it transcends the boundaries and demands of the
physical world.
It brings peace, awe, joy, dread, exultation and exhilaration.
The experience will give the recipient knowledge or insight into their faith. The
inward confirmation of faith is what is important to the recipient.
Time may appear to stop and space can become distorted. This often occurs in deep
mediation where the mediator can be oblivious to external factors of any kind.
The experiences will generally be seen as authoritative if it leads to personal growth,
change and alteration in lifestyle or way of thinking.
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