Mr. DeZilva Religious Experience Revision

What you need to know

Key Terms Religious Experience Revelation Monist Numinous Objectivist Subjectivist Veridical Visions & Voices Corporate Conversion Natural, Revealed, & Liberal Theology Pragmatist Ineffability Noetic Quality Transience Passivity “Hypothesis” Credulity Testimony Propositional Knowledge Non-Propositional Fundamentalism Credulity Testimony

Important to Note… Mysticism is a type of religious experience. It is the experience of having apprehended an ultimate reality and unity with the divine William James lists four main characteristics of a mystic experience  PINT St. Teresa of Avila had a mystic experience when she had visions of God, in which she felt like she was receiving a variety of messages from God. A Numinous is a type of Mysticism. Numinous – meaning something that is “wholly other” than the natural world.

Key People Primary William James The Varieties of Religious Experience Rudolph Otto Karl Barth Richard Swinburne Secondary Alfred Ayer Ludwig Wittgenstein Anthony Flew Others to look at: Peter Donovan (Interpreting Religious Experience) Schleiermacher (Essence of religion was based on personal experiences) Alister Hardy (The Religious Experience Research Unit) Bertrand Russell (Challenges RE)

James is a Pragmatist James was interested in explaining Religious Experiences from a very “hands-on” perspective. The more technical way of saying this is to say is that William James is interested in the practical nature of religious experiences. Now, what does this mean?  James was interested in how Religious Experiences were used in our everyday lives and what made them important.  The “truth” or actual value of something, for James, depended at least in part on its practical consequences. To come to his conclusions, James studied a variety of religious experiences and tried to prove them true, scientifically, but because this was not able to be proven, he looked at the practical consequences that a religious experience led to, this was more important.

The Aims of William James William James (1842 –1910) was interested in human psychology, and thus, attempted to view Religious Experiences through a scientific lens He is not necessarily trying to prove that religious experiences are necessarily real or indicative of God He does not ignore the idea that a “Religious Experience” may in fact be a result of delusion, drunkenness, etc. James wants to explore all other possibilities in order to help explain Religious Experiences, as opposed to directly aligning it with “a sign from God” or even “science explains it”

William James & His Aims

What James Finds… James identifies four characteristics of a genuine mystical experience (Remember: PINT) Passivity: Those affected feel as if their own will is in the grips of a superior power Ineffability: James describes the mystical state of mind as “negative” in the sense that no words can begin to describe the nature of such an experience Noetic quality: James states that this is a type of knowledge beyond any normal experience. The Religious Experiences are states of insight into depth or truth unexplored by the broad intellect. They are illuminations full of significance and carry authority for a lifetime Transciency: The experiences in themselves last only the briefest time, but their effects are life changing

Furthermore… On Religious Experiences, James argues that the interpretation of religious experiences is affected by what he describes as “over-beliefs” This means that one’s conceptual framework of a religious is dictated by another prophet’s visions, voices, experiences – We “over-believe” in someone else’s experiences, perhaps to help solidify our own beliefs (and have our own experience)

4 Main Arguments for James in his Book 1) In James’ view, the spiritual value of religious experiences is not undone even if we can find a psychological explanation for the experiences. James rejected the view that RE was the result of a repressed or perverted sexuality (Freud proposed this). Study of religious life shows that the context of religion is disconnected from that of sexual consciousness. 2) James did not agree that there was a single feature of religious experience that defines it, but he understood it to be “The feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine.” In human consciousness, there is a sense of reality, a feeling of objective presence and a perception of what we may call “something there”

Continued… 3) The experiences of great religious figures can set patterns for the conventional believer to study. James gives examples of “saintliness,” lives which have followed from conversion or mystical experiences described. The examples he uses show that people can learn from the experiences they have had of these saints whether or not they have in fact actually had the experience themselves. 4) James believed that religious experience was more important as a focus of study than religious practice or religious institutions such as the church. He that that the personal experience was primary, church secondary.

James Breakdown 1. He is a Pragmatist with the goal to attempt to scientifically evaluate religious experiences 2. He is not trying to disprove religion or disprove the existence of God, he is trying to find all other possibilities for a religious experience and look at their consequences 3. After observing a collection of Religious Experiences of other people, he concluded they all have PINT in common 4. He recognises the potential for flaws in Religious Experiences, with things such as over-belief. 5. James gave 4 arguments in his book while he was doing his observations of Religious Experiences 6. He eventually concluded to the following…

James’ Conclusions James felt that spiritual ideas should be judged on three criteria: 1) Immediate luminousness  Do they enlighten us? 2) Philosophical Reasonableness  Do they make sense? 3) Moral Helpfulness  Are they a good guide to living? St Teresa of Avila had visions of Jesus Christ multiple times for a span of two years. It transformed her life for the better Some commentators thought of her visions to be psychologically driven – maybe the result of sexual frustration (which could be supported by Freud) because she vowed chastity Religious Experiences (Mysticism), James acknowledged, could be a result of a mental illness, drugs, or alcohol use However, James noticed that all RE have something in common: they happen when the subject is at their lowest point in life and potentially need a change to help turn their life around. James does not end up proving whether or not Religious Experiences occur, but because he is a pragmatist, he is much more interested in the results (as opposed to the origins) to give evidence to their value

More on The Varieties of Religious Experiences In his Varieties of Religious Experiences, he gave the example of the Quaker Religion and its founder, George Fox. He believed that the study of the origin of something is irrelevant to its actual value (or the study of the value) Many people felt that the religion itself should be rejected because Fox himself was a schizophrenic (James referred to this rejection as medical materialism), for which he found quite faulty when assessing its value. In his Varieties of Religious Experience, he spoke on the visions of St. Teresa of Avila

Notes from Article: The Argument from Religious Experience The Argument Challenging Premise 2 Challenging Premise 3 Flaws with Testimony Principles of Credulity Principle of Testimony

Conversion Experiences Conversion is a form of religious experience where someone’s life takes a dramatic spiritual turn. A person may be converted from no religion to religious belief or from one religion to another. God directly intervenes in someone’s life to direct them to religious belief: Saul’s conversion is an excellent example of this; A long period of emotional disturbance comes to an end and a person associates the lifting of ‘clouds’ with religious belief; A person on a long spiritual journey finally achieves what they have been searching for ‘when the fruit is ripe, a touch will make it fall.’9 A person finds previously unexperienced acceptance within a religious community

Conversion Continued Conversion could be understood as the work of God revealing himself through nature, or directly to a person which leads them to adopt religious belief Alternatively, conversion could be understood psychologically as a person with a troubled or searching mind trying to find answers in life Most people who are converted speak of a deep and lasting sense of happiness and a sense that their life has meaning. However, does the experience originate outside the person (with God) or inside the person (in the mind)

James on Conversion James argues that there are several features of a conversion experience: A loss of worry: the certainty of God’s activity in a person’s life and a feeling of overwhelming harmony and completeness. Perceiving truths not known before: the mysteries of life become lucid and clear. The world appears to go through a change: ‘an appearance of newness beautifies every object.’ Ecstasy of happiness: ‘No words can express the wonderful love that was shed abroad in my heart. I wept aloud with joy and love.’11 Saintliness: living a life of moral goodness.

James on Conversion Saintliness continued A person’s life is completely changed by the experience that they have had and they change for the better. Also often referred to as the ‘fruits’ of the experience. It is common for people who have had conversion experiences, either sudden like Saul, or more gradual to bring about serious changes to their life They devote themselves more fully to religious practice and live more moral lives.

James on Conversion James acknowledges that people may go through a conversion as a result of “The divided self and the process of its unification.” The volitional type conversion: is where a person decides that they wish to make spiritual changes in their life and they go about doing the things necessary to bring this about. i.e. I want to be a Muslim, so I actively try to become one by reading the Qu’ran, praying 5 times a day, etc. The Self-Surrender type conversion: is where a person feels that they have done all they can to develop their religious beliefs and they think “God, I’ve done what I could. Help me out…” However  there are still potential naturalistic and psychological explanations that explain why people have religious experiences, thus, not resulting in a call from God Lofland and Stark (1965) noticed all conversion experiences are a result of patterns and the social gatherings in an environment

Sacred Writings To what extent can God reveal himself through sacred writings? Key Questions – are the words of sacred scripture that of a human or that of a divine being? Revelation: knowledge that is gained through the agency of God – direct from an infallible source and unconditioned Propositional knowledge: knowing that something is, in fact, so. It has truth value Non-Propositional knowledge: knowing what something is by learning it or acquiring it i.e. a skill A Propositional belief on the content of faith is a series of truths or a set of plans revealed by God. Faith, then, is a matter of agreement to those truths. A Non-Propositional belief argues that the content of the revelation is not a series of truths or set of plans, but rather the self-revelation of God. God reveals himself and humanity responds in faith

Propositional Knowledge Propositional Revelation Refers to God directly revealing truths about his nature to people 'Proposition' indicates that the revelations are facts from God or about God and therefore for theists, they are true and beyond doubt or debate. The Ten Commandments: Jews and Christians would argue that they are a revelation from God and thus, not open to questions. The Qur'an revealed to the Prophet Muhammad from God and there is without fault or need of reinterpretation. Faith comes into play because the recipient accepts that the revelations is from God Propositional revelations are truths revealed by God but they are not demonstrable using human reason.

Prop Knowledge continued Believers do not reject the use of reason but acknowledge that it cannot prove God's revelations but, there are cases when God can be revealed through using reason through arguments such as the teleological argument Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theologies) suggested that 'faith' concerns knowledge about God who is transcendent. For him, faith is based on something factual which opinion is not but, it is not as certain as science. Aquinas emphasised the role of propositional revelation and natural theology (using reason to learn about God from the natural world) For Aquinas revelations can be accepted as genuine if they accord with the Churches teaching (seeing if it fits in determines if it was revealed, ultimately going back to Jesus)

Non-Propositional Knowledge Non-Propositional revelation The idea that God does not reveal facts or information during the process of revelation. God makes himself known during the experience It may be through nature i.e. Paley was impressed by the structure of the human eye Nature can reveal God but is indirect and a matter of interpretation The experience is ineffable – beyond what can be described There are indirect experiences of God which lead a person to understand something about him

Non-Prop continued If the Bible is a non propositional revelation, the role of the reader is highly important as this revelation takes place in their life so every person will see the world in a different way according to their worldview. The writers attempt to put their experience into words by reflecting on it Schleiermacher believed that the biblical texts came about as writers reflected on their religious experiences This is about having ‘faith in’ something, not a matter of having facts and information to prove it Human beings are free to respond to God's revelation or not since the revelation is not received passively but actively So if a human book i.e. The Bible is a witness ad record of how the revelation of God has been understood in history by religious believers.

Different Methods of Interpretation Literal Method (Fundamentalism). Here the meaning of the text is taken at face value and interpreted literally. The command to love your neighbour and to stone to death people who commit adultery should be taken literally. Allegorical Method. Here the reader is taken below the surface meaning of the text to a deeper hidden meaning not literally expressed in the text itself. Unacceptable passages about slavery, for example could be interpreted an referring allegorically to our general slavery to sin and the devil. Ecclesiastical Method. The Bible is the book of the Church. Its meaning is whatever the Church says it is. Historical Critical Method. Here the historical production of the Bible is taken into account. When it was written, who wrote it and whether it depicts real history are issues considered by this approach. Literary Critical Method. Here analysis of language and literary style is used to tease out the composite sources which make up scripture. Much of Biblical language is mythical. According to Rudolph Bultmann myths convey the meaning of existence and so Biblical language has to be translated into the language about the nature of existence to be understood today. He calls this demythologising.

Examples of Sacred Texts The Bible: “The Word of God” God told the writers what to write (inspires the writers) The Qu’ran The words of Allah spoken to Muhammad Muhammad as a mouthpiece for the all knowing Allah. *Whether these are taken literally or fundamentally can change the entire outlook of these sacred texts. It can change the revelation…

Karl Barth on Revelation Christian theology can understand itself in terms of itself, and not in terms of “outside” influences. In fact, Barth believed this was the only way that theology could be done. This puts emphasis of the followers of Christianity to take seriously what the authors of texts believed they were doing: heralding the “Good News” The only way to gain true knowledge of God is through Revelation and this should be done through the Gospels Only in the eternal present of the moment of Jesus Christ can the revelation of God occur, “the ‘Moment’ when men stand naked before God and are clothed upon by Him.” Felt that ordinary language is inadequate to convey revelation Revelation is a personal disclosure of God’s being and nature.

How to explain and understand God Natural Theology: Explaining revelations and the nature of god through reason and ordinary experiences Revealed Theology: Explaining revelations and the nature of god through scripture and religious experience Liberal Theology: Understanding God through textual interpretation and open mindedness.

Numinous Experiences The term is coined by Rudolf Otto (1869 – 1937) He felt that what is most fundamental to any religion is that individuals should have a sense of personal encounter with natural forces Further felt that the Divine would be recognised as having three different qualities: A mysterious (Mysterium) quality – Wholly Other A fearful/terror (Tremendum) quality – Overwhelming A charming and merciful (Fascinans) quality – Gracious  Together, Otto felt that this incomprehensible force is of ultimate importance, and while it is potentially dangerous, it is very beautiful and you should feel privileged in this presence.

Numinous Continued Numinous is a type of mystic experience It is the sense of awe and wonder a person may feel when they experience the presence of God in a certain place or building. It usually describes the feeling that God is very different from us – powerful and dynamic A common Numinous experience is walking into a church (Consider walking into the St Peter’s Church in Vatican City) Another common Numinous experience is just seeing nature and marvelling at God’s beauty (i.e. a sunset)

Otto Continued One of the challenges to William James is the concept of Language Games – that if you aren’t “playing the game” of that particular religion, something like a religious experience would not be able to happen to you However, Otto can help answer this He made use of the term numinous for this purpose, this concept of an awe-inspiring, unspeakable event that could not be done justice to in normal language and experience. Referred to religious language as a schema (a pattern, a representation), when in actuality, the experience is unexplainable.

Corporate Experiences Where several different people at the same time have the same or similar religious experiences. It is seen by a body of people and experienced by a collective group of people who all say that they have experienced some supernatural event similar to one another It may seem more impressive because there are a number of people having the same experience The most famous example of this is The Toronto Blessing Considered to have an outpouring of The Holy Spirit where people at a Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship Church People laughed uncontrollably, danced, barked, and some people were even stuck in paralysis A potential Biblical example could be the Tower of Babel story