Religious Experience

Question 1

what were st Augustine’s three types of visions

Answer 1

• corporeal
• Imaginative
• Intellectual

Question 2

corporeal

Answer 2

visions through physical sight. supernatural experiences that are mediated through physical sense.

18 visions of Mary that Bernadette saw

Question 3

Imaginative

Answer 3

visions seen in the mind ‘minds eye’ often take form of dreams.

Josephs dream in which he was told Mary was pregnant

Question 4

Intellectual

Answer 4

There is no visual image; the experience illuminates the soul. Hard to understand as they defy description but enlightens the soul.
Teresa of Avila was a mystic
“I saw nothing with the eyes of the baby, nothing with the eyes of the soul”

Question 5

what was Ottos theory

Answer 5

The wholly other

Question 6

what is ottos holy other

Answer 6

book on the nature of religious experience.

It is an attempt to describe the sense some people have of a reality totally outside and beyond their experience of themselves and the world.

Call of Isiah is an example of a numinous experience

Question 7

Numinous experience

Answer 7

Having a strong religious or spiritual quality; indicating or suggesting the presence of the divine.

• it is an experience that is the basis of all genuine religion
• It is a non-rational and unique form of experience, totally outside our everyday experience.
  This emphasis is on Gods transcendence .
• it refers to a presence and reality that cannot be understood with the sense or intellect. sense of the holy

Question 8

who is William James

Answer 8

American philosopher, historian and psychologist known as the father of American psychology. known as a pragmatist more concerned with practical consideration than ideals.

Question 9

pragmatism

Answer 9

A philosophical approach that evaluates theories or beliefs in terms of the success of their practical applications

Question 10

William James quote

Answer 10

“they are states of insight into depths of true unplumbed by the discursive intellect.

They are illuminations, revelations, full of significance and importance, all inarticulate though they remain; and as a rule they carry with them a curious sense of authority for after time”

Question 11

what did william james focus on

Answer 11

“fruits rather than roots”

Question 12

what does walter stace talk about

Answer 12

Introvertive vs extrovertive

Question 13

introvertive

Answer 13

The ultimate mystical experience. There no is no sense of I- sense experience is totally suppressed. There is no awareness of the world and there is no intellectual function.
it is ineffable, sense of the holy and absolute peace.

Question 14

extrovertive

Answer 14

half way to an introvertive, sense experience is still active, normal objects are seen with the physical senses. But they are transfigured so that the non sensuous unity of all things shines through them.

Question 15

who mentions Mysterium tremendum et fascinans

Answer 15

Otto

Question 16

mysterium

Answer 16

Mysterious- far removed from humanity that can be experienced but not understood. Elicits the response of awe+ wonder

Question 17

Tremendum

Answer 17

trembling - fearsome experience of Gods overwhelming majesty and energy , sense of human nothingness + sinfulness, absolute dependance on God

Question 18

Fascinans

Answer 18

Fascinating - compulsive and attractive nature of the experience creates a desire for a relationship with God.

Question 19

who has a criteria for assessing the genuine nature of a religious experience

Answer 19

William James PINT

Question 20

what does PINT stand for

Answer 20

Passivity
Ineffability
Noetic Quality
Transience

Question 21

Passivity

Answer 21

you are passive in the experience, you cannot induce or direct what happens. It happens to you the experience controls you.

Question 22

Ineffability

Answer 22

It cannot be articulated in words; you may only be able to say what it was not.

Question 23

Noetic quality

Answer 23

It contains deep insight into truths. This is non rational and intuitive knowledge rather than intellectual

Question 24

Transience

Answer 24

The experience is short (eg 1-2 hours) However it has a lifelong impact on the individual.

Question 25

William James "Fruits before roots" example

Answer 25

st paul he went from persecuting Christians to promoting Christianity- he is today known as the founder of Christianity as a religion . he was travelling to Demascus to persecute christians- he was blinded by bright light from heaven- he heard a voice from heaven ' Saul, Saul why do you persecute me'- a religious man who God had spoken to healed him.

Question 26

what principles did Richard Swinburne come up with

Answer 26

principle of credulity principle of testimony

Question 27

principle of credulity

Answer 27

we should assume things are credible unless we have evidence that proves otherwise. we ought to believe that things are as they seem to be until we have evidence that we are mistaken

Question 28

principle of testimony

Answer 28

we should assume people are telling the truth unless we have evidence that proves otherwise (innocent until proven guilty). In the absence of special considerations the experiences of others are probably as they expect them

Question 29

richard swinburn quotes

Answer 29

-" on our total evidence, theism is more probable than not" -"we ought to believe that things are as they seem to be, until we have evidence that we are mistaken" innocent until proven guilty- the UK justcie syste works on the assumption that people are innocent until proven guilty. Ockhems razor - the simplest explanations are usually the best we need to shave off anything that is unnecessarily complicates things. - " if you say never trust appearances until it is proved that they are reliable, you will never have any beliefs at all" " Just as you must trust your five ordinary senses , so it is equally rational to trust your religious sense"