Religious Experience
• Background Research:
Visions - Examples of Religious Experiences:
• St Bernadette had a corporeal vision: seeing Madonna/Virgin Mary
• Ezekiel (imaginative vision): saw a metallic man on a throne with
sapphires and an animal beside him, said to represent the Glory of God.
• St Theresa (intellectual vision): saw the Devil’s spirit
Voices - Examples of Religious Experiences:
• At Jesus’ Baptism: “Then comes a voice from heaven, which says: “You
are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased”” (Mark 1:10)
• At Jesus’ Transfiguration: “From a cloud a voice is heard: “This is my
Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” (Mark 9:7)
• Peter + Cornelius: Cornelius has a vision of an angel who calls his name
and then tells him that his prayers have been heard by God and that he is
to send for Peter. Peter has a vision of heaven being opened and a large
sheet lowered which contains all kinds of animals. He hears a voice which
says “Get up, Peter; kill and eat”, and he responds in accordance with his
Jewish tradition: “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that
is profane or unclean.” The voice then says to him again: “What God has
made clean; you must not call profane.”
‘Numinous' Experience - Examples of Religious Experiences:
• Experience of awe + wonder in the presence of an Almighty and
transcendent God, an awareness of human nothingness when faced with
such a holy and powerful being.
• Moses’ vision of the burning bush: Represents God's miraculous
energy, sacred light, illumination and the burning heart of purity, love and
clarity to both Jews and Christians.
• Isaiah 6:3-5: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is
full of his glory. At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds
shook and the temple was filled with smoke. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am
ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of
unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.””
• Blaise Pascal (1664): “From about half past ten in the evening until half
past midnight, Fire!…God of Abraham… Certainty, certainty, certainty,
heartfelt, joy, peace…..joy, joy, joy, tears of joy… let me never be cut off
from him!”
‘Conversion' Experience - Examples of Religious Experiences:
• To change in form, character or function; to cause a person to change
beliefs, tend to follow a pattern although some can be very intense and
others slower to develop.
, • St Paul: heard a voice of Jesus, followed by a declaration the speaker is
‘The risen Christ’, after this Paul converted to Christianity. Spent rest of his
life spreading the Christian message, believed to have died a martyr’s
death in Rome. Changed name from Saul to Paul.
• Davey Falcus: Newcastle upon Tyne criminal. Drugs + violence. By 29, an
addict. In 1996, picked up Bible and his life changed. Bright light filled the
room, he saw Jesus who said “your sins are forgiven, go now and sin no
more”, his addiction broke instantly - beautiful peace.
• Nicky Cruz: gang leader of Mau Maus. Met Christian preacher David
Wilkerson who told him that Jesus loved him and would never stop. Cruz
threatened to kill him but Wilkerson said God would still love him. He went
to repeat the message and was slapped by Cruz, but he still smiled
through it and prayed for Cruz. Cruz felt guilty and collected money for
Wilkerson they prayed together and he asked for God’s forgiveness. He
began to study and became a preacher himself.
‘Corporate Religious Experience’ - Examples of Religious
Experiences:
• Fatima: The Virgin Mary appeared 6 times to 3 shepherd children and told
them messages of wanting peace in Russia, wanting the country to convert
to Catholicism and end war.
• Medjugorje (former Yugoslavia 1981): Our Lady (Virgin Mary) appeared to
several teenage girls and gave messages of conversion, faith and prayer.
• Story of Pentecost: crowds felt the same mighty winds and the same
fountains of fire.
• What is a religious experience?
Bertrand Russel:
- at 11, started studying Euclid and wondered at the beauty and elegance:
“This was one of the great events of my life, as dazzling as first love. I had
not imagined there was anything so delicious in the world. From that
moment until I was thirty-eight, mathematics was my chief interest and my
chief source of happiness.”
Voices:
• “For me the voice of God, of Conscience, of Truth or the Inner Voice or ‘the
still small Voice’ mean one and the same thing. I saw no form. I have never
tried, for I have always believed God to be without form. One who realises
God is freed from sin for ever…But what I did hear was like a Voice form
afar and yet quite near. It was as unmistakable as some human voice
definitely speaking to me, and irresistible. I was not dreaming at the time I
heard the Voice. The hearing of the Voice was preceded by a terrific
struggle within me. Suddenly the Voice came upon me. I listened, made
certain that it was the Voice, and the struggle ceased. I was calm. The
determination was made accordingly, the date and the hour of the fast
• Background Research:
Visions - Examples of Religious Experiences:
• St Bernadette had a corporeal vision: seeing Madonna/Virgin Mary
• Ezekiel (imaginative vision): saw a metallic man on a throne with
sapphires and an animal beside him, said to represent the Glory of God.
• St Theresa (intellectual vision): saw the Devil’s spirit
Voices - Examples of Religious Experiences:
• At Jesus’ Baptism: “Then comes a voice from heaven, which says: “You
are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased”” (Mark 1:10)
• At Jesus’ Transfiguration: “From a cloud a voice is heard: “This is my
Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” (Mark 9:7)
• Peter + Cornelius: Cornelius has a vision of an angel who calls his name
and then tells him that his prayers have been heard by God and that he is
to send for Peter. Peter has a vision of heaven being opened and a large
sheet lowered which contains all kinds of animals. He hears a voice which
says “Get up, Peter; kill and eat”, and he responds in accordance with his
Jewish tradition: “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that
is profane or unclean.” The voice then says to him again: “What God has
made clean; you must not call profane.”
‘Numinous' Experience - Examples of Religious Experiences:
• Experience of awe + wonder in the presence of an Almighty and
transcendent God, an awareness of human nothingness when faced with
such a holy and powerful being.
• Moses’ vision of the burning bush: Represents God's miraculous
energy, sacred light, illumination and the burning heart of purity, love and
clarity to both Jews and Christians.
• Isaiah 6:3-5: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is
full of his glory. At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds
shook and the temple was filled with smoke. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am
ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of
unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.””
• Blaise Pascal (1664): “From about half past ten in the evening until half
past midnight, Fire!…God of Abraham… Certainty, certainty, certainty,
heartfelt, joy, peace…..joy, joy, joy, tears of joy… let me never be cut off
from him!”
‘Conversion' Experience - Examples of Religious Experiences:
• To change in form, character or function; to cause a person to change
beliefs, tend to follow a pattern although some can be very intense and
others slower to develop.
, • St Paul: heard a voice of Jesus, followed by a declaration the speaker is
‘The risen Christ’, after this Paul converted to Christianity. Spent rest of his
life spreading the Christian message, believed to have died a martyr’s
death in Rome. Changed name from Saul to Paul.
• Davey Falcus: Newcastle upon Tyne criminal. Drugs + violence. By 29, an
addict. In 1996, picked up Bible and his life changed. Bright light filled the
room, he saw Jesus who said “your sins are forgiven, go now and sin no
more”, his addiction broke instantly - beautiful peace.
• Nicky Cruz: gang leader of Mau Maus. Met Christian preacher David
Wilkerson who told him that Jesus loved him and would never stop. Cruz
threatened to kill him but Wilkerson said God would still love him. He went
to repeat the message and was slapped by Cruz, but he still smiled
through it and prayed for Cruz. Cruz felt guilty and collected money for
Wilkerson they prayed together and he asked for God’s forgiveness. He
began to study and became a preacher himself.
‘Corporate Religious Experience’ - Examples of Religious
Experiences:
• Fatima: The Virgin Mary appeared 6 times to 3 shepherd children and told
them messages of wanting peace in Russia, wanting the country to convert
to Catholicism and end war.
• Medjugorje (former Yugoslavia 1981): Our Lady (Virgin Mary) appeared to
several teenage girls and gave messages of conversion, faith and prayer.
• Story of Pentecost: crowds felt the same mighty winds and the same
fountains of fire.
• What is a religious experience?
Bertrand Russel:
- at 11, started studying Euclid and wondered at the beauty and elegance:
“This was one of the great events of my life, as dazzling as first love. I had
not imagined there was anything so delicious in the world. From that
moment until I was thirty-eight, mathematics was my chief interest and my
chief source of happiness.”
Voices:
• “For me the voice of God, of Conscience, of Truth or the Inner Voice or ‘the
still small Voice’ mean one and the same thing. I saw no form. I have never
tried, for I have always believed God to be without form. One who realises
God is freed from sin for ever…But what I did hear was like a Voice form
afar and yet quite near. It was as unmistakable as some human voice
definitely speaking to me, and irresistible. I was not dreaming at the time I
heard the Voice. The hearing of the Voice was preceded by a terrific
struggle within me. Suddenly the Voice came upon me. I listened, made
certain that it was the Voice, and the struggle ceased. I was calm. The
determination was made accordingly, the date and the hour of the fast
