Types of Revelation
- general revelation is God’s indirect self-disclosure through the world, accessible to
everyone via observation, reason and conscience
- special revelation is God’s direct intervention to disclose truths about himself to
particular people at specific times
- Divine Speech is an example of special revelation when God gives his messages
through the voices of prophets and his son Christ (for Christians)
Conversions as a form of Religious Experience
- conversion experiences influence someone to join a religion
- conversion experiences can be individual or corporate
- A volitional conversion is where the subject gradually develops new religious beliefs
by exposing themself to, and reflecting on, the teaching of a particular religion
- A self-surrender conversion is where the subject becomes very suddenly, and usually
involuntarily, convinced of the truth of the oarticrualr religious belief system to which
they convert (this is called a ‘born again’ conversion by some branches of the
Christian Church) → during the conversion itself the subject experiences crisis (being
overwhelmed by a sense of guilt and sin in the presence of a mighty God) +
repentances (apologises to God for his sinful nature and unworthiness to receive
God’s love) + catharsis (overwhelmed by a sense of forgiveness and love)
Charismatic Experiences as a form of Religious Experience
- 1 Corinthian 12-14 describes the use of charismatic gifts in the early church
- includes speaking in tongues, gifts of prophecy and knowledge, healing and
miraculous transportations
- New Testament stresses that charismatic experiences should be for the benefit of the
whole church body, and not employed self-indulgently
- Charismatic gifts are received through the baptism in the Holy Spirit
- the test of whether a charismatic experience was genuine will be in its results
Prayer as a form of Religious Experience
- prayer is a means of communication with the divine
- through prayer a believer will seek to grow in knowledge of the divine and to enter
into a deeper relationship with him
- some forms of prayer (e.g. meditation) seek only to increase the believer’s
connection with the divine and not to make petitions
- in prayer the believe should acknowledge all aspects of God’s nature and elevate
him about the believer’s own desires
Corporate Experiences as a form of Religious Experience
- corporate experiences are when multiple people have the religious experience
together
- corporate experiences cannot be explained by physiological or psychological causes
that only apply to individuals
- e.g. “all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues”
book of Acts + this has inspired a Christian domination of Pentecostalism which
focuses on worship (incl speaking in tongues)
, Against Corporate Experiences
- there are peculiar psychological dynamics to crowds such as mob mentality, mass
hysteria and social compliance (in the middle ages an entire village would form an
angry mob who were all convinced they had seen a witch cast a spell and execute an
innocent women)
Mysticism as a form of Religious Experience
Mystics = people who have and try to have religious experiences (their experiences are
intense and totally immersive)
Mystical = the religious experiences of Mystics where they become overwhelmingly aware of
the presence of the ultimately real and become one with the divine
Mysticism = the spiritual recognition of truths beyond normal understanding, drawing the
mystic into an ever-closer union with God
.
- in most cases mysticism requires spiritual discipline and training, leading to a
submission of the self with the divine, which enables revelation to take place
- Mystics are often dissatisfied with the formalised religious rites, rituals and practices
that characterise institutionalised religions as they believe they lead to a limited
experience of God, and thus they seek greater knowledge of and unity with the divine
through their own mystical encounters
3 Stages of Preparation for a Mystical Experience
- Purgation → ridding the psyche of practices which divert its attention from the divine
- Illumination → an increasing awareness of the divine in the mind and the emotions
- Contemplation → the divine presence penetrates the psyche of the mystic
Dualist vs Monist Appraoches to Mysticism
- dualist mystics see their experiences as maintaining a distinction between
themselves (as the subject) and God (the object), even whilst the experience forms
some form of divine union between the two → characteristic of the monotheistic
religions
- monist mystics believe the distinction between themselves (the subject) and God (the
object) is an illusion and the mystical experience allows the subject to appreciate
oneness with the divine → characteristic of the non-theistic or eastern religions
William James: Taxonomy of Religious Experiences + Conversions
William James on Religious Experiences
- James observed that religious experiences are common emotions directed at
something divine
- the result of religious experiences are reverence, a joyful desire to belong to God and
a renewed approach to life which are a testimony to the reality of the experience ‘the
results of a religious experience are the only reliable basis for judging whether it is a
genuine experience of the divine’
- James agreed with Schleiermacher that religious teachings and doctrines are of
lesser importance than religious experiences, calling them ‘second hand’ religion
- general revelation is God’s indirect self-disclosure through the world, accessible to
everyone via observation, reason and conscience
- special revelation is God’s direct intervention to disclose truths about himself to
particular people at specific times
- Divine Speech is an example of special revelation when God gives his messages
through the voices of prophets and his son Christ (for Christians)
Conversions as a form of Religious Experience
- conversion experiences influence someone to join a religion
- conversion experiences can be individual or corporate
- A volitional conversion is where the subject gradually develops new religious beliefs
by exposing themself to, and reflecting on, the teaching of a particular religion
- A self-surrender conversion is where the subject becomes very suddenly, and usually
involuntarily, convinced of the truth of the oarticrualr religious belief system to which
they convert (this is called a ‘born again’ conversion by some branches of the
Christian Church) → during the conversion itself the subject experiences crisis (being
overwhelmed by a sense of guilt and sin in the presence of a mighty God) +
repentances (apologises to God for his sinful nature and unworthiness to receive
God’s love) + catharsis (overwhelmed by a sense of forgiveness and love)
Charismatic Experiences as a form of Religious Experience
- 1 Corinthian 12-14 describes the use of charismatic gifts in the early church
- includes speaking in tongues, gifts of prophecy and knowledge, healing and
miraculous transportations
- New Testament stresses that charismatic experiences should be for the benefit of the
whole church body, and not employed self-indulgently
- Charismatic gifts are received through the baptism in the Holy Spirit
- the test of whether a charismatic experience was genuine will be in its results
Prayer as a form of Religious Experience
- prayer is a means of communication with the divine
- through prayer a believer will seek to grow in knowledge of the divine and to enter
into a deeper relationship with him
- some forms of prayer (e.g. meditation) seek only to increase the believer’s
connection with the divine and not to make petitions
- in prayer the believe should acknowledge all aspects of God’s nature and elevate
him about the believer’s own desires
Corporate Experiences as a form of Religious Experience
- corporate experiences are when multiple people have the religious experience
together
- corporate experiences cannot be explained by physiological or psychological causes
that only apply to individuals
- e.g. “all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues”
book of Acts + this has inspired a Christian domination of Pentecostalism which
focuses on worship (incl speaking in tongues)
, Against Corporate Experiences
- there are peculiar psychological dynamics to crowds such as mob mentality, mass
hysteria and social compliance (in the middle ages an entire village would form an
angry mob who were all convinced they had seen a witch cast a spell and execute an
innocent women)
Mysticism as a form of Religious Experience
Mystics = people who have and try to have religious experiences (their experiences are
intense and totally immersive)
Mystical = the religious experiences of Mystics where they become overwhelmingly aware of
the presence of the ultimately real and become one with the divine
Mysticism = the spiritual recognition of truths beyond normal understanding, drawing the
mystic into an ever-closer union with God
.
- in most cases mysticism requires spiritual discipline and training, leading to a
submission of the self with the divine, which enables revelation to take place
- Mystics are often dissatisfied with the formalised religious rites, rituals and practices
that characterise institutionalised religions as they believe they lead to a limited
experience of God, and thus they seek greater knowledge of and unity with the divine
through their own mystical encounters
3 Stages of Preparation for a Mystical Experience
- Purgation → ridding the psyche of practices which divert its attention from the divine
- Illumination → an increasing awareness of the divine in the mind and the emotions
- Contemplation → the divine presence penetrates the psyche of the mystic
Dualist vs Monist Appraoches to Mysticism
- dualist mystics see their experiences as maintaining a distinction between
themselves (as the subject) and God (the object), even whilst the experience forms
some form of divine union between the two → characteristic of the monotheistic
religions
- monist mystics believe the distinction between themselves (the subject) and God (the
object) is an illusion and the mystical experience allows the subject to appreciate
oneness with the divine → characteristic of the non-theistic or eastern religions
William James: Taxonomy of Religious Experiences + Conversions
William James on Religious Experiences
- James observed that religious experiences are common emotions directed at
something divine
- the result of religious experiences are reverence, a joyful desire to belong to God and
a renewed approach to life which are a testimony to the reality of the experience ‘the
results of a religious experience are the only reliable basis for judging whether it is a
genuine experience of the divine’
- James agreed with Schleiermacher that religious teachings and doctrines are of
lesser importance than religious experiences, calling them ‘second hand’ religion
