Religious Experience We rely heavily on experience as a form of proof for the things we believe today. Write down 2 statements you believe to be true,

Religious Experience We rely heavily on experience as a form of proof for the things we believe today. Write down 2 statements you believe to be true, as a direct result of your own experience. Consider the following – would you be happy to believe the statement if you had heard about it from someone else? What evidence would be needed to make you accept the statement?

What is a religious experience?

Religious Experience Winnie the Pooh relied on experience – he was only satisfied that there was honey all the way to the bottom of the pot when he had tested this for himself by eating all the honey. Sometimes experience can be mistaken – as when Pooh and Piglet went round and round the tree in the snow following footprints and they were mistakenly convinced on this evidence that they were following a dangerous animal. Similarly the religious experience arguments are based on claimed experiences of God – but one problem is whether these experiences are good evidence for the existence of God.

Swinburne's 5 types of Religious Experience

Swinburne’s Types PUBLIC EXPERIENCES: PRIVATE EXPERIENCE
There are various ways of categorising religious experience. Richard Swinburne provides one way - he lists five types: PUBLIC EXPERIENCES: 1) Ordinary, interpreted experience – e.g. night sky (Wisdom’s Gardener) 2) Extraordinary experience – Jesus walking on water PRIVATE EXPERIENCE 3) Describable in normal language (Jacob’s ladder) 4) Not describable in normal language (mystical – cf The Wind in the Willows – next slide) 5) No specific experience (for instance when the whole of a believer’s life is seen in a certain way)

Extract from Wind in the Willows
'Breathless and transfixed, the Mole stopped rowing as the liquid run of that glad piping broke in on him like a wave, caught him up, and possessed him utterly. He saw the tears on his comrade's cheeks, and bowed his head and understood... "This is the place of my song‑dream, the place the music played to me," whispered the Rat, as if in a trance. "Here, in this holy place, here if anywhere, surely we shall find Him!" Then suddenly the Mole felt a great Awe fall upon him, an awe that turned his muscles to water, bowed his head, and rooted his feet to the ground. It was no panic terror ‑ indeed he felt wonderfully at peace and happy ‑ but it was an awe that smote and held him and, without seeking, he knew it could only mean that some August Presence was very, very near. With difficulty he turned to look at his friend, and saw him at his side cowed, stricken, and trembling violently. And still there was utter silence in the populous bird‑haunted branches around them; and still the light grew and grew.... "Rat!" he found breath to whisper, shaking. "Are you afraid?“ "Afraid?" murmured the Rat, his eyes shining with unutterable love. "Afraid of HIM? O, never, never! And yet ‑ and yet ‑ O, Mole, I am afraid!“ Then the two animals, crouching to the earth, bowed their heads and did worship.

Numinosity Definition What has this advert for to do with numinosity?

Numinosity Definition: the feeling of the ‘holy’ and includes awe, fascination, religious awareness and the smallness of self. Would you consider numinosity a “type” of religious experience or a “feature” of a religious experience?

Numinosity Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up." 4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." 5 "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." 6 Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. 7 The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt." Explain how this can be seen as a numinous event and how some disagree.

Numinosity Strange sight Natural v supernatural The promised land Awe
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up." 4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." 5 "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." 6 Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. 7 The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt." Explain how this can be seen as a numinous event and how some disagree. Strange sight Natural v supernatural The promised land Awe Standing on holy Moses could have been hallucinating. Natural phenomena should not lead to a feeling of something ‘other’.

Visions What might have happened before the photo was taken?
What might be happening now? What may happen after?

Visions Definition:

Visions Definition: A religious vision occurs when an individual believes that they have seen or heard something supernatural or a supernatural being. A corporeal vision is where the figure is externally present such as St Bernadette’s visions of the Virgin Mary. An intellectual vision brings knowledge and understanding such as a revelation from God. An imaginary vision where something that strengthens faith is seen with the mind’s eye such as Jacob’s vision of a ladder to heaven (Genesis 28: 10-22)

Visions St. Bernadette Read and watch the story of St. Bernadette and annotate the context to her life and the characteristics of her visions.

Visions Homework Research Ezekiel chapter 37 ‘The valley of dry bones’ & Prophet’s Muhammad’s Night of Power. Summarise them as examples in your booklet.

Mystical Experiences Definition: Mystical experiences are experiences where the recipient feels a sense of ‘union’ with the Divine. Mysticism involves the spiritual recognition of truths beyond normal understanding. Key features: Gaining knowledge of the ‘Ultimate Reality’: knowledge hidden from the human intellect Sense of freedom from the limitations of time, space and the human ego Sense of oneness or unity with the Divine Sense of bliss or serenity

William James William James’ book ‘Varieties of Religious Experience’ is possibly the most influential book on such experiences this century (incidentally it had a very considerable influence on Ludwig Wittgenstein). James gives a classic definition of religious experience as: ’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.’ (Varieties of Religious Experience. P. 34) James maintains that underneath all religious creeds and dogmas lies the primary experience of the divine. The creeds and dogmas are then overlaid on the primary experience.

William James’ Four Characteristics of a Mystical Experience
1) Ineffability (mysticism like love needs to be directly experienced in order to be understood); 2) Noetic quality (mystics speak of revelations and illuminations which are held to provide knowledge and transcend rational categories); 3) Transiency (mystical experiences last for a short time but '.....modify the inner life of the subject between the times of their occurrence') and 4) Passivity (where the experience is beyond the individual's control and cannot be obtained by effort; it is a gift.)

The way of the Sufi

The way of the Sufi Evidence Sufi Meaning
Injuctions to remember God in the Qur’an- Dhikr Quest to be God mindful Expressions of the closeness of God to humans in the Qur’an- Surah 2:186 Humans can reach God Statements of God as “friend” Surah 5:54-56 Humans can have a relationship with God References to the face of God Identification- personal relationship Ta’wil finding Sufi concepts expressed in “inner symbolic” meaning in Qur’an Inner meaning of the Qur’an available to all who enter the mystic path to it- mystical process leads to special knowledge The Night Journey Set a precedent for mystic rituals Citing Hadith which are not standard that reflect Sufi virtues Rejection of the orthodox practice Quoting Hadith qudsi Interested in the words of God Referring to voluntary poverty of Abu Bakr and Umar Simplicity

Teresa of Avila ( )

Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) What is a Saint?
Saints are not simply good people who have realized their potential. Saints are people in whom God makes his dwelling place; they are divinized humans.

Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) Avila, Spain
Teresa was born in central Spain in 1515 and she would live until

Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) Avila, Spain
By the time she was 23 she was beginning to have the mystical experiences that would culminate only 12 years later into a life of steady and habitual contemplation of God.

Teresa’s Mystical Doctrine
Teresa of Avila ( ) Teresa’s Mystical Doctrine “The aim and end of human life is Union with God, it is the transformation of our being and its divinization.”

Teresa of Avila ( ) Teresa’s Mystical Doctrine 1. The omnipresence of God

Teresa of Avila ( ) Teresa’s Mystical Doctrine 1. The omnipresence of God 2. Her way of life and religious disciplines are based on the idea of friendship.

Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) The Interior Castle
Teresa said the image of a castle was given to her and it looked like a diamond with seven rooms moving inward.

The first three rooms are the rooms where the beginner learns to bring their life into conformity with God. This preparation is preliminary to the mystical journey proper.

In the fourth room our wills rest in the love of God, and even if the mind continues to turn and think, we are able through the grace of Christ to just let go and sink into this deeper awareness of Spirit.

In the fifth room is the prayer of union. This is where the caterpillar becomes a butterfly. God is the cocoon.

The sixth room is the room of spiritual betrothal. It is a time of great testing, but also awakening. The mystic gains a deeper, experiential understanding of the mysteries of God.

The seventh room, the room of God himself, is the room of spiritual marriage. This is where the human spirit becomes one with God so that it can never be separated.

Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) Conclusion
“The Lord doesn’t look at the greatness of our works as at the love with which they are done.”

Types of Mysticism

Types of Mysticism Happold didn’t want to create a criteria for mystical experiences like James, but wanted to split them into two types and three aspects. Mysticism of love & union Mysticism of knowledge and understanding Soul Nature G-d

Types of Mysticism Mysticism of love & union
The longing to escape from loneliness requires a union with G-d or nature and a loss of self. We have two urges (i) to be an individual (ii) to be accepted by something greater than us. We share the ‘Divine Life’. Despite our need for individualism, we are trying to get back to G-d. Mysticism of knowledge and understanding Another urge is to find out the ‘secret of the universe’ (the meaning of life). We look for answers through experiential knowledge of G-d. It is not philosophical (deductive logic) but intuitive (James’ noetic quality).

Types of Mysticism Soul
Not union with G-d but the soul is hidden or numinous. This is about finding the soul and being self-fulfilled. It is similar to the Buddhist philosophy. Nature G-d is immanent. He is everywhere and can be united with all aspects of nature. G-d Human souls desire to return to G-d. Some believe the soul is deified, becoming like G-d but keeping its identity. Sufi Muslims seek this through worship.

Conversions Conflict between two systems of thought. New thought is true, the old becomes false. Henry Newman Recognition of sins in their life The desire to change Gradual conversions Sudden conversions A conscious voluntary experience An unconscious experience (self-surrender) Instead of revolving around a system of thought, it is about one’s lifestyle. Swearing Tom Conversion taking place slowly in the subconscious, followed by a rapid sudden conscious experience St Paul on the Damascus Road Sudden conversions may mean the person knows little about what they believe in. There is far more chance of them coming across problems in their beliefs or flaws.

Intellectual Conversions
John Henry Newman

Moral Conversions Swearing Tom
British academic Robert Thouless told this story: For 17 years, ‘Tom lived a most profane and godless life, until one day he entered a church and heard a preacher say that even the most wicked of men could undergo a change of heart, if they prayed to G-d. Tom left the church and went home, ignoring the public house for a change, and prayed using the words the preacher had used. Sure enough, a change took place and soon his name was changed from ‘Swearing Tom’ to ‘Praying Tom’ – a name he went by until his death.

Social Conversions St Paul on the Damascus Road

Conversions What’s your reaction to this video?
Stoned man becomes instantly sober through prayer and converts to Christianity in LA, California. What’s your reaction to this video? What type of conversion is this? What are the features?

RE as an argument for G-d’s existence
Does a claimed experience of something divine prove God’s existence?

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 19th & 20th 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’

Task What does James mean when he argues that we do not refute opinions in the natural sciences and industrial arts by showing up the author’s neurotic constitution? What is he saying about how we should view someone’s claim that they have had a religious experience?

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.

Is G-d no more than a feeling?
Consider any powerful emotion, like love, hate, joy or jealousy. These feelings are often quite irrational/illogical. Do we accept the reality and results of these feelings? Why do you think that this is, or is not, the case? How can such a consideration help us in our assessment of religious experience as evidence for the existence of G-d? Could it be that G-d is no more than “a feeling?”

Induced Experiences “The drunken consciousness is one bit of the mystic consciousness, and our total opinion of it must find its place in our opinion of that larger whole.” What does James think about induced mystical experiences by drugs/alcohol?

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

Challenges to William James
Criticism James’ Response My Opinion Many religions exist. Religious experience is like emotion. There is no science in 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 Write a paragraph explaining Freud’s views about religion.

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

Freud’s objections “If G-d did not exist, it would be necessary for man to invent him”. Voltaire How far do Freud’s views on religious experience appear to agree with this statement?

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.

Challenges to Religious Experience
What did Ramachandran’s research tell him about religious experiences? How far did his research disprove religious experiences as evidence for G-d?

Challenges to Religious Experience
Cognitive Neuroscience: Neuroscience studies the nervous system and cognitive neuroscience studies the biology of mental experiences such as religious ones.

Michael Persinger’s G-d Helmet

Michael Persinger’s Challenge
Compare Michael Persinger’s research with Ramachandran

Michael Persinger’s Challenge
Does this research mean religious experiences must be rejected as evidence for G-d’s existence?

Richard Swinburne The Validity of Religious Experience REX Text

RICHARD SWINBURNE Swinburne was until 2002 one of the Oxford university professors of theology. His book The Existence of God is widely regarded as one of the best of the standard discussions of the topic. Chapter 13 is the one pertinent to our concerns. Swinburne concludes: “On our total evidence, theism is more probable than not.” Swinburne’s approach is cumulative - it is all of the lines of evidence and arguments put together that he finds convincing.

RICHARD SWINBURNE - 2 Swinburne’s definition of Religious Experience is: “... an experience which seems to the subject to be an experience of God (either of his just being there, or doing or bringing about something) or of some other supernatural thing.” [The Existence of God, 1991] Notice the emphasis on the subject’s point of view. This leads on to Swinburne’s famous pair of principles: The Principle of Credulity and The Principle of Testimony.

Five types of experience
Everyday experiences seen as work of God eg beautiful sunset. Public. Extraordinary occurrences eg someone rising from the dead. Public. Unusual personal experiences imbued with religious significance eg a mystical dream or vision which can be expressed in words. Private. As above, but inexpressible, cannot be put into words. Private. A more general sense of a “presence” or “guiding hand”. Private.

The principle of credulity
Credulity = willingness to believe. Swinburne claims that the way things seem to us (in our experience) is a good guide to how thins actually are (in the world). Logical form of the argument: 1. I have had an experience I’m certain is of God. 2. I have no reason to doubt this experience. 3. Therefore God exists.

RICHARD SWINBURNE - 3 The Principle of Credulity is summarised by RS as, “If it seems to a subject that X is present, then probably X is present; what one perceives is probably so.” This flies in the face of scepticism. This is effectively saying, “This is what I experienced and you must believe me unless you can prove otherwise.” RS accepts that this is not a charter for the gullible. There are criticisms of naive credulity. It is widely held that there are four major critical lines here which provide ‘limitations’ of the Principle of Credulity

RICHARD SWINBURNE Would you presume a god existed if you saw it walking down the street? Would you presume it was your best friend speaking to you on the phone if it sounded like them? Would you presume a mirage you saw in the desert was real? Would you presume a story on the news to be true? Would you presume that gossip about a friend was true?

RICHARD SWINBURNE - 4 Four challenges to the Principle of Credulity:
Circumstances leading to unreliable reports eg. use of drugs, or an unreliable subject eg. a liar. The recipient of the experience did not have the ability to correctly interpret the experience eg. a very young child. If it is possible to show that whatever was supposedly experienced was not there. If it is possible to show that what was supposedly experienced was there, but did not cause the experience.

Principle of testimony
Swinburne claims that we should generally believe what others say, unless we have good reasons not to. Like P of C, this is an a posteriori argument (from our experience). Logical form: 1. I have heard sincere reports of people’s experience of God I have no reason to doubt their truth. 3. Therefore God exists.

RICHARD SWINBURNE - 2 The Principle of Testimony: the assumption here is that people usually tell the truth. In RS’s words, “We usually believe to have occurred what other people tell us that they perceived occurring.” He concedes that there may be circumstance in which you do not accept the testimony at face value of course.

But is the experience of God just the same as the experience of anything else?
“There is no difference between a man who eats nothing and sees God and a man who drinks too much and sees snakes” Bertrand Russell, ‘Mysticism’.

CHALLENGES TO SWINBURNE’S ARGUMENT
NB: RS is fully aware of these challenges and accepts that his position is not showing any irrefutable proof of God’s existence, merely that there is a cumulative case to be made. Description: If the subject’s description is suspect it is no basis as evidence. Subject: If the subject is not reliable the testimony is weakened. Object: Doubts about the nature or reality of God may make it harder to agree with the interpretation of the REX that is offered. Some also note that RS’s definition of REX is limited.

No valid challenge from [a] or [b]
P of C says accept your perception unless [a] one of 4 key challenges applies or [b] positive grounds show it to be mistaken No valid challenge from [a] or [b] There are valid challenge(s) from [a] or [b] P of T says I should accept your statement unless I can show how it is mistaken No valid challenges Valid challenges Accept experience as genuine. It could be used to argue for existence of God Experience is inauthentic. Not a basis for showing God exists

Can the finite experience the infinite?

Religious Experience We rely heavily on experience as a form of proof for the things we believe today. Write down 2 statements you believe to be true,

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Religious Experience We rely heavily on experience as a form of proof for the things we believe today. Write down 2 statements you believe to be true,

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