Religious Experiences are in the Mind of the Believer

2831 Words6 Pages

Religious Experiences are in the Mind of the Believer

“A religious experience is a spontaneous or induced mental event over

which the

recipient has relatively little control. It is often accompanied with

the gaining of

certain knowledge and the experience is always unique.”[1] Elton

Trueblood’s

definition of a religious experience is very broad, including any

experience of feelings

of ‘love, power, glory or strength from God.’ This differs from a

simple experience

which can be defined as “an event or series of events participated in

or lived through,

especially one that makes a powerful impression on the mind and

sense.”[2]

It is obvious that religious experiences are all in the mind of a

believer because a non-

believer is capable of arguing against their existence and what people

perceive to be a

religious experience is just simply an experience or merely a

‘coincidence’ as Holland

would state. This view is supported by Freud who takes a psychological

approach and

perceives religious experiences to be “a reaction to a hostile world.”[3]

Furthermore

Freud believes we feel helpless and seek a father figure, thus we

create God, who

satisfies our needs. Personally, I perceive God to be transcendent;

“having existence

outside the universe,”[4] which supports my view that religious

experiences do not

exist, because God cannot intervene with our world.

Religious experiences can be interpersonal, for example a numinous

experience

involving a sense of an awesome power which you are separate from.

Alternatively

they can be personal, like a mystical experience...

... middle of paper ...

...0

[4] Peter Cole, Philosophy of Religion 2nd Edition, 2004, pg 7

[5] Christopher Hamilton, Understanding Philosophy for AS Level, 2003,

pg 255

[6] Luke 24:36-49

[7] Matthew 1:20-1

[8] Anne Jordan, Neil Lockery, Edwin Tate, Philosophy of Religion for

A Level, 1999, pg 25

[9] Ibid, pg 272

[10] Richard Swinburne, The Existence of God, OUP, 1979 pg 270

[11] Anne Jordan, Neil Lockery, Edwin Tate, Philosophy of Religion for

A Level, 1999, pg 36

[12] Anne Jordan, Neil Lockery, Edwin Tate, Philosophy of Religion for

A Level, 1999, pg 37

[13] Peter Cole, Philosophy of Religion 2nd Edition, 2004, pg 49

[14] Anne Jordan, Neil Lockery, Edwin Tate, Philosophy of Religion for

A Level, 1999, pg 40

[15] Anne Jordan, Neil Lockery, Edwin Tate, Philosophy of Religion for

A Level, 1999, pg 7

Open Document