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forms of religious experiences (religious experience) - Coggle Diagram
forms of religious experiences (religious experience)
mystical experience
mysticism refers to a sense of connection with God at a deep personal level where God is beyond the boundaries of reason and knowledge
relatively modern term used to convey the idea that all religions share in common a sense of divine
difficult to describe in everyday language
conveys the idea that this physical world is not all that there is and that God is the foundation of everything
God is known not through reason but by intuition through the soul rather than the rational mind
often arise through prayer and contemplation
involve seeing visions or hearing voices
recipient of the numinous experience is filled with a sense of awe and wonder
Theresa of Avia
corporate religious experience
several different people all have the same religious experiences at the same time
some people think these have more evidential force as there are more witnesses to the experience
people could be carried along by others' emotion and that they do not have more evidential force
well-known corporate religious experiences include the story of
Pentecost
and modern experiences of the
Toronto Blessing
near-death experiences
sometimes reported by people whose hearts have stopped beating or who have been comatose
similarities in description include a sense of being 'out-of-body', feeling a loving presence or a sense of great peace and feeling as if travelling through a tunnel towwards a bright light
some people see these as evidence of life after death whilst others are more sceptical and think they are more likely to have a natural scientific explanation
conversion experiences
involve abandoning an old way of life and adopting a new one based on inner experience
dramatic and sometimes they are gradual
H.D Lewis's book Our Experience of God describes a pattern found in many conversion experiences:
the individual is dissatisfied with their current 'system of ideas'
the person searches for answers (e.g. by reading scripture or trying out going to church)
there is a point of crisis, which can be emotional, with a sense of the presence of God. the person might see a vision, hear a voice or have a strong sense of forgiveness
there is a following sense of peace and joy, and a keenness to tell others about the experience
in the long-term, there is a change of direction for the person
focus of psychological studies
William James says that in CE, something which was once on the edge of a person's consciousness becomes at the centre and religious aims become a habitual focus of energy
St.Paul on the road to Damascus