The Argument from Religious Experience Does a claimed experience of something divine prove God’s existence?

Religious experience In 21 st century most things rely on proof Science is based on proving theories It therefore follows that:  If someone has an experience of God  God must exist But:  what do we mean by a Religious Experience?

What is Religious Experience? Other than what is usual. God is experienced rather than physical objects Not usually able to describe the experience Experience is not universal RE’s usually have similar feelings but different object (e.g. Jesus, Krishna) RE’s tend to be subjective RE’s generally cannot be checked Give insight into the unseen Cannot experience God unless He allows it

Different types Most are ‘Mystical’  Provides sense of union with divine Many are ‘Prayer’ experiences  Brought about through meditation and reflection Some are ‘Conversion’ experiences that tend to be permanent and life changing

RE’s as evidence for God People tend to believe what they experience Therefore a person who experiences God will generally believe that God exists The argument is: If someone experiences an entity, then the entity exists Some people have experienced God  Therefore God exists

William James ( ) An American doctor, not a theologian Deep interest in philosophy and psychology  Famous work Varieties of Religious Experience (1902)  A series of lectures in Edinburgh  Distinguished between existential judgements and value judgements

Judgements An existential judgement = primary question How did it come into being? What does it do? A value judgement = secondary question What is the meaning or importance of something?  W. James said value judgements can also be considered as spiritual judgements Distinction between these two very important when looking at RE’s as they ask: What happened? What does it mean?

Faulty Minds In 19 th & 20 th century RE’s often dismissed as products of a faulty mind James accepted this but saw no problem with it He saw religion and neurosis as partners James quotes H M Maudsley ‘What right have we to believe Nature under any obligation to do her work by complete mind’s only’

Sheer certainty James claimed that religious experiences are as real as any other experience, to the person who had the experience. It is their sheer certainty that made the experience compelling. For example: I have the sense of a presence, strong, and at the same time soothing, which hovers over me. Sometimes it seems to enwrap me with sustaining arms.

Four Characteristics Ineffability The inability to describe what has taken place Noetic Quality Provide insights into unobtainable truths Transciency Lasts between a few minutes and 2 hours, but significance and effects are out of proportion to duration Passivity Overwhelming, loss of control to a higher being

James’ conclusions Seen world is part of ‘something bigger’ (spiritual) Union with that ‘spiritual something’ is our ultimate purpose Communication with that ‘something’ has a real effect

Objections Existence of many different religions show experiences cannot be authentic (assumption is that experience should all be of the same thing)  James rejects this argument saying: ‘No two of us have the same difficulties, nor should we be expected to work out identical solutions’ RE’s are like emotion  James argued this is not a problem as emotion and feeling are integral to religion  He also said we can not be scientific about religion

Final conclusions Things that are true tend to lead to an improvement in a person’s life Things that are false tend to damage or restrict a person’s life People who have RE’s tend to be more fulfilled and have purpose and understanding.

Freud’s objections Everything is material Ignores metaphysical existence Put of religion by his experience of  Anti-Semitism as a Jew  Observed Catholic rituals  Emphasis on the material whole in his education Considered religion as a projection of ultimate beliefs – all tied in with problems with parents

Marx’s objections Inspired by Feuerbach who claimed religion was brought on through dissatisfaction and/or alienation Marx analysed society and claimed that each period had its own culture  Everything is determined by society  Man is active and productive  Alienation is a lack of fulfilment  Following Feuerbach, Marx claimed RE’s were a projection of people’s needs and the qualities they thought to be important.

Putting it altogether Write bullet points that show how you would go about answering the following exam question: a) Explain how the ideas of William James could be used to support the claim that God exists because people have directly experienced the presence of God. (33) b) Ho far do other interpretations of ‘religious experiences’ challenge such a claim? (17)