Evaluations of arguments
Otto
• He states that theological ideas come after the experience
• He implies that numinous experience is a one and for all
experience - this implies there can be no further experience
• To suggest that all religious experiences are numinous is limiting as
other forms are so well documented
Shleiermacher
• Too much emphasis on the subjective, reducing religion to emotion and
removing the possibility of showing that religious claims are based on
fact
• Some critics argue that there has to be the possibility of testing
experiences against the Bible/Church doctrines, otherwise any
experience would county
• How can we know for sure that all numinous experiences are God?
God can never truly be understood or described
• It is impossible to verify the existence of God because religious
experiences are unveri able and thus it is unreasonable to believe
them
fi
Otto
• He states that theological ideas come after the experience
• He implies that numinous experience is a one and for all
experience - this implies there can be no further experience
• To suggest that all religious experiences are numinous is limiting as
other forms are so well documented
Shleiermacher
• Too much emphasis on the subjective, reducing religion to emotion and
removing the possibility of showing that religious claims are based on
fact
• Some critics argue that there has to be the possibility of testing
experiences against the Bible/Church doctrines, otherwise any
experience would county
• How can we know for sure that all numinous experiences are God?
God can never truly be understood or described
• It is impossible to verify the existence of God because religious
experiences are unveri able and thus it is unreasonable to believe
them
fi
