2.1 The nature of religous experience

Question 1

religious experience

Answer 1

an encounter with the divine which brings awareness of something other than oneself

Question 2

theism

Answer 2

the belief that God continues to intervene in the universe after creation

Question 3

Schleiermacher & Tillich definition

Answer 3

an experience that offers a sense of the ultimate or a feeling of ‘ultimate concern’ that demands a decisive decision.

Question 4

William James

Answer 4

suggested religious experiences give a person an overwhelming experience of joy, reverence and a desire to belong to God.

Question 5

OT example

Answer 5

Moses and the burning bush in Exodus

Question 6

direct experience

Answer 6

the person having the experience feels they are in contact with God, for example during prayer

Question 7

indirect experience

Answer 7

where there is an inner experience of God’s immanence and a feeling of him acting on the world, for example in meditation