Study guide
Religious Experience
- Institution
- WJEC
Providing in-depath notes according the the syllabus.
[Show more]
1 review
By: caillin • 4 year ago
Content preview
Philosophy of ReligionTheme 3: Religious Experience
A. The nature of religious experience with particular reference to:
Introduction:
Religious experience: A person understanding him/herself to directly encounter or be aware of
God or some other ultimate reality.
o It is self-authenticating: the person having the experience is the one who recognises it
as religious.
o The experience is in some way “sensory”; that is, the person
genuinely experiences “God”.
o It could not be classified as anything other than a religious experience, the experience
was religious in nature.
Main classifications: visions, conversions, mysticism, prayer.
Main argument:
o Experience of X indicates the reality of X
o Experience of God indicates the reality of God
o Possible to experience God
o Therefore, God exists
Swinburne's 5 categories for R.E:
o Ordinary object seen in a new way – e.g. a sunset, sunrise, nature
o Unusual object which a person believes to be religious – e.g. after Jesus died, people
saw a man who looked like Jesus, and believed it was Jesus
o Private sensation that can be described in ordinary language – e.g. Joseph being told
Mary was going to have a baby
o Private sensation that cannot be described (Mystical Experience)
o Private experience with NO sensation, however there is a feeling that God is around.
Conversion of Cornelius (Acts 10)/Moses and the Burning Bush (Exodus 3).
Natural and revealed theology:
Natural: The process of deriving knowledge of God from the use of natural human
reason. Any appeal to general evidence, the world, and our understanding in theology is natural
theology.
(God’s power found in a sunset).
Revealed: The process of deriving knowledge of God from contact with God himself.
This could take the form of a vision of God, or discerning God through His words in Holy Scripture.
(God spoke to Abraham).
Visions - sensory; intellectual; dreams.
Visions: something seen other than by ordinary sight, i.e. a supernatural or prophetic sight.
Especially one that conveys a revelation or message of some form.
Augustine stated that there were three types of vision which corresponded to the three
heavens mentioned by St Paul in Corinthians:
A. Sensory: rests on the human senses such as the eyes and is the most basic of visions.
o E.g. Moses and the Burning Bush.
i. Saw bush on fire but it wasn't burning.
ii. Moved closer and heard voice telling him to remove shoes as he was on Holy
Ground.
iii. God told him to lead the suffering people out of Egypt.
o E.g. Bernadette of Lourdes - claimed to have been instructed by an apparition of the
Virgin Mary to dig a hole and a healing spring would appear.
B. Dreams or "spiritual visions": seeing shapes that look like bodies but which do not have corporeal
substance (i.e. made up of actual physical material).
C. Intellectual visions: highest tier of vision, involves perceiving realities such as God, the angels or grace,
which possess neither bodily shape nor physical substance.
o E.g. the "heaven" that St Paul had accessed through his visions.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller alevelnoteslr. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £7.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
67474 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 14 years now