Rudolf Otto's Theories: The Idea Of The Holy

I found all of these individual theories very interesting. They are all different, but in a way they are similar. The first of the four theories is Rudolf Otto’s theory. He tried to find the common thread that went through all religions. He looked at how religion effects everyone’s lives. He based most of his theory off of “The Idea of the Holy”. He says the idea of holy is there is something unique and separate in a person’s life. He doesn’t refer to the supernatural as “God” but rather as “The Holy”. He also refers to “mysterium tremendum” which is the feeling a person has in the presence of the supernatural realm. He refers to religion as the emotional response to the supernatural. He says that this unexplainable emotional response is the …show more content…
He said that the main function of religion for religious people is to give them consolation, to have certain requirements or boundaries, to offer a reward, to give an understanding that one will be provided for, and to give the answers to various questions. He says that people develop their belief in a god when they can’t deal with reality on their own, and because of this they turn to something or someone else. Some people turn to the alternate reality of religion and of a god. He believes that religious beliefs were true because people didn’t have scientific knowledge. But, now that people have scientific knowledge, there is no longer a need for “religious stories”. He believes that as time goes on, scientific understanding with overpower and erase religious stories. He thinks that people who are religious are people that haven’t matured or grown up. The last theory is the theory of Paul Tillich. He defines religion as one’s ultimate concern. He believes that everyone is religious, or has something that is ultimately most important to them. He thinks that everyone has something that in the end they will hold onto. He says that whatever is ultimate in a person’s life will shape who they are as a