A religious experience is an encounter with the divine also known as something supernatural beyond ourselves. It cannot be observed, therefore making it non-empirical. This religious experience is most commonly through interaction with other humans and nature.
According to Paul Tillich, a religious experience is a feeling of “ultimate concern” demanding a decisive decision decision about what? from the person experiencing it. Whereas, Martin Buber says God reveals himself on a personal level through interaction of both people and nature. Martin Buber suggests that everyday human relationships are simple are known as “i-it”, but more meaningful and deeper relationships are known as “i-thou” it is in these relationships that they experience …show more content…
This is because when the experience takes place, there are numbers of people present. The most common example is “The Toronto Blessing.” In April 1994 at Airport Vineyard church in Canada, large numbers of people were reported to have been part of a religious experience.There was barking, laughing, shaking and crying. This charismatic worship was usually in the form of glossolalia otherwise known as talking in tongues.
However, it’s validity as a religious experience is questioned because it could have been the result of mass hysteria. Another example is the reversal of the course of the sun at Fatima, Portugal. Three children saw what appeared to be Mary in 1916. In 1917 Mary told them to spread the news, and as they did 70,000 people came to witness the sun as it “danced and trembled” while the children saw Mary. Although, Richard Dawkins questions why no one else in the same hemisphere as Portugal saw it.
The final experience is the near-death experience said to occur when someone ‘dies’ and is resuscitated but can later recall what happened to them when they ‘died’. Raymond Moody developed the “core experiences” saying when a person dies they see a dark tunnel, a beam of light and making the decision of whether to go past barriers or …show more content…
We feel vulnerable, therefore in our minds we create a father/protector who happens to be “God.”
A.J Ayer says that we view a religious experience like we would of a yellow spot. The yellow spot can be verified, but the concept of God can not. For example, if a patient is sick and is cured they may conclude that God answered their prayers. However, is there any empirical evidence to suggest that? Did the patient take medicine?
Finally, Flew suggests that people who experience these are biased, irrational and questionable. They believe that God is omnipotent and omnibenevolent but refuse to look at the suffering in the world, thus ignoring the evidence before them.
In conclusion, the critiques of religious experience are strong to prove that religious experience itself isn’t conclusive. There is no empirical evidence for those who make the claims of an all-loving, all-powerful God when there is clear evidence of suffering in the world. Thus, could link with Freud’s point who says that suffering is similar to that of a psychological coping mechanism. Possibly that we see what we want to
According to Paul Tillich, a religious experience is a feeling of “ultimate concern” demanding a decisive decision decision about what? from the person experiencing it. Whereas, Martin Buber says God reveals himself on a personal level through interaction of both people and nature. Martin Buber suggests that everyday human relationships are simple are known as “i-it”, but more meaningful and deeper relationships are known as “i-thou” it is in these relationships that they experience …show more content…
This is because when the experience takes place, there are numbers of people present. The most common example is “The Toronto Blessing.” In April 1994 at Airport Vineyard church in Canada, large numbers of people were reported to have been part of a religious experience.There was barking, laughing, shaking and crying. This charismatic worship was usually in the form of glossolalia otherwise known as talking in tongues.
However, it’s validity as a religious experience is questioned because it could have been the result of mass hysteria. Another example is the reversal of the course of the sun at Fatima, Portugal. Three children saw what appeared to be Mary in 1916. In 1917 Mary told them to spread the news, and as they did 70,000 people came to witness the sun as it “danced and trembled” while the children saw Mary. Although, Richard Dawkins questions why no one else in the same hemisphere as Portugal saw it.
The final experience is the near-death experience said to occur when someone ‘dies’ and is resuscitated but can later recall what happened to them when they ‘died’. Raymond Moody developed the “core experiences” saying when a person dies they see a dark tunnel, a beam of light and making the decision of whether to go past barriers or …show more content…
We feel vulnerable, therefore in our minds we create a father/protector who happens to be “God.”
A.J Ayer says that we view a religious experience like we would of a yellow spot. The yellow spot can be verified, but the concept of God can not. For example, if a patient is sick and is cured they may conclude that God answered their prayers. However, is there any empirical evidence to suggest that? Did the patient take medicine?
Finally, Flew suggests that people who experience these are biased, irrational and questionable. They believe that God is omnipotent and omnibenevolent but refuse to look at the suffering in the world, thus ignoring the evidence before them.
In conclusion, the critiques of religious experience are strong to prove that religious experience itself isn’t conclusive. There is no empirical evidence for those who make the claims of an all-loving, all-powerful God when there is clear evidence of suffering in the world. Thus, could link with Freud’s point who says that suffering is similar to that of a psychological coping mechanism. Possibly that we see what we want to