Examine some of the key principles of the argument for the existence of God based upon religious experiences
Examine some of the key principles of the argument for the existence of God based upon religious experiences
Religious experiences are experiences we have of the divine or God. These experiences may be Mystical experiences, conversion experiences or revelatory experiences. Paul Tillich states that religious experience is a feeling of ‘ultimate concern’, a feeling that demands a decisive decision from the one receiving it. He describes it as an encounter followed by a special understanding of its religious significance.
The argument for religious experiences is based on 3 premises. Premise one states that the experience of X indicates the reality of X. One problem with this premise is that the experience of X does not always indicate the reality of X as our experiences can easily be mistaken. Due to this premise one would be better phrased as ‘the experience of X indicates the probably reality of X’.
Premise two states that an experience of God indicates the reality of God. If we follow the problem with premise one then we can also conclude with premise two that the experience of God doesn’t always mean the reality of God. Therefore the experience of God would indicate the probably reality of God. Furthermore when we bring God into the equation, the probability becomes even less because the divine is a very unclear subject which is open to individual interpretation.
Premise three says that it is possible to experience God. This is self-evidently true as there are numerous exaples both past and present of people who have experienced God through religious experiences. There are also numerous accounts of people experiencing God through different types of religious experiences. One type of religious experience which would support premise three would be a conversion experience. In a conversion experience the person completely changes their lives due to the experience. For example a wealthy business man may give up his successful job in order to become a priest.
Religious experiences are experiences we have of the divine or God. These experiences may be Mystical experiences, conversion experiences or revelatory experiences. Paul Tillich states that religious experience is a feeling of ‘ultimate concern’, a feeling that demands a decisive decision from the one receiving it. He describes it as an encounter followed by a special understanding of its religious significance.
The argument for religious experiences is based on 3 premises. Premise one states that the experience of X indicates the reality of X. One problem with this premise is that the experience of X does not always indicate the reality of X as our experiences can easily be mistaken. Due to this premise one would be better phrased as ‘the experience of X indicates the probably reality of X’.
Premise two states that an experience of God indicates the reality of God. If we follow the problem with premise one then we can also conclude with premise two that the experience of God doesn’t always mean the reality of God. Therefore the experience of God would indicate the probably reality of God. Furthermore when we bring God into the equation, the probability becomes even less because the divine is a very unclear subject which is open to individual interpretation.
Premise three says that it is possible to experience God. This is self-evidently true as there are numerous exaples both past and present of people who have experienced God through religious experiences. There are also numerous accounts of people experiencing God through different types of religious experiences. One type of religious experience which would support premise three would be a conversion experience. In a conversion experience the person completely changes their lives due to the experience. For example a wealthy business man may give up his successful job in order to become a priest.