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| Question | Answer |
| Richard Swinburne | 'an experience which seems to the subject to be an experience of God or some other supernatural thing' -The principle of credulity- If it seems to a subject X is present, then X is probably present' -The Principle of Testimony- 'We usually believe to have occurred what other people tell us seem to be occurring' |
| Abraham Maslow | Peak experiences - experienced in any culture at any time an that they have common features such as transcending the universe and a loss of space and time. -The person is flooded with feelings of awe,wonder,joy,love an gratitude -These feelings were generated by the mind and were interpreted as spiritual by the person having them or society around them |
| Karl Marx | Saw religion as an illusion, something which blurred our vision of reality. -Religion was the 'opium of people' - regarding it as a drug which dulls the pain of everyday life and alters our consciousness and perception caused by lack of economic power Therefore mystical experiences are outward manifestations of this drug-induced state |
| Sigmund Freud | Religion is linked with neurosis and considered that obsessive behavior was similar to religious practices Religious experiences are reactions to a hostile world, in which we seek help from a father figure. These experiences are an attempt to deal with our psychological needs - but they avoid us coming to terms and dealing with them properly |
| William James | 'The feelings, acts and experiences of individual men ... so far as the apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider as divine' Mystical experience: PINT Passive: the person has no control over the experience Ineffable: Not possible for the person to describe it in normal language Noetic: unites with God and become aware of truths unknown Transient: The actual experience is short but the effects are long-lasting |
| Rudolf Otto | 'Experience of being acted upon by something outside ourselves, a 'Wholly other' - makes us aware that we are creates of an almighty God.' Otto believed that religious experiences where essentially numinous. This is what marks it out as a particular class of experiences. He called such experiences mysterium tremendum- great mysteries and experiences of the wholly other |
| Public Experiences | Ordinary Experience- Perceive the action of God in ordinary events e.g the night sky Extraordinary Experience - the observable but unusual events e.g. Jesus Walking on water |
| Private Experiences | Experiences that can be describe in normal language - E.g An angel appearing to Joseph to announce the birth of Christ Experiences that are non describable- Mystical Experiences Non Experiences - becoming more aware of the presences of God |
| Direct Religious Experience | Where God reveals himself directly to someone who has not chosen to have this experience |
| Indirect Experience | Thoughts or feelings about God come through everyday events, such as seeing a beautiful sunset |
| Visions | Corporeal Visions - Object or figure is externally/physically present Imaginative Visions - visions that happen in dreams (perhaps giving messages, communicating knowledge) Intellectual visions - an experience rather than an cbservation of a physical object |
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