Religious Experience

Is this evidence of a God?

Religious Experiences Obj: to know about religious experiencesto decide how they may lead to a belief in God

Why Religious Experiences may lead to a belief in God.

• A person may believe that during a religious experience they have had direct contact with God.

• If people have a vision or dream where God is talking to them it can make them believe God exists.

• The experience feels very real and no normal explanation seems to be adequate. God is the only possible cause.

Types of Religious Experience 1Religious Experience: An Experience that

conveys a sense of the presence of God. There are 4 types.

1. Conversion Experience

2. Numinous Experience

3. Miracles

4. Prayer

Task 1

Cut out and match the correct heading, picture, and description.

Stick them into your book

Leave enough space under or beside each one to write 3 bullet points.

Conversion Experience

Transferring faith from one religion to another, or from non-belief to belief in God

Numinous Experience

An experience that conveys a sense of awe and wonder. 

Prayer

Communicating with God – usually using words but also by meditating.

Miracles

An event that violates the laws of nature. A wonderful work done by the power of God. 

Examples of Religious ExperienceWhat type of

experience is this?Numinous Experience

A photograph of a nebula taken by the Hubble Telescope.

• Do you think it was caused by God?• Why may this experience lead to a belief in God?

• What other explanations are possible?

Examples of Religious Experience

What type of experience is this?

Conversion Experience

(St Paul on the Road to Damascus)

• Do you think it was caused by God?• Why may this experience lead to a belief in God?

• What other explanations are possible?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q29YR5-t3gg&feature=list_other&playnext=1&list=AL94UKMTqg-9DHKaFY9gNIjPHBRF79QbbS

Yusuf Islam – Cat StevensWho is he?

What has he done in life?

What made him convert?

What is he up to now?

He has been given several awards for his work in promoting peace in the

world.

Examples of Religious ExperienceWhat type of

experience is this?Miracle

Jesus – walking on water

• Do you think it was caused by God?• Why may this experience lead to a belief in God?

• What other explanations are possible?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-m8Juz1gz4&feature=related

Do you agree with God?

What does he mean when He says ‘Be the miracle.’

Why do people expect a miracle…

Examples of Religious ExperienceWhat type of

experience is this?A Prayer

• Do you think it is good method of communicating with God?

• Why may this experience lead to a belief in God? Why may it not.

• What other explanations are possible?

Lord, keep us safe this night, secure from all our fears. May angles guard us while we sleep till morning light appears. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0cG11lTS1E&feature=relmfu

Should all prayers be answered with a ‘yes’?

Do you think it is fair…That when prayers are not answered people tend to assume that God DOES NOT exist

How does this relate to the idea of prayers?

Get out your hankies…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6et2ZSodS0g&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68-AzAfLyvs&feature=related

Bruce Video Clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjT0vv23ovghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4vQLAZHzOE&;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-m8Juz1gz4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhspI9D_Bn0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0cG11lTS1E&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q29YR5-t3gg&feature=list_other&playnext=1&list=AL94UKMTqg-9DHKaFY9gNIjPHBRF79QbbS

Why Religious Experiences may not lead to a belief in

God.• There is not always enough proof that God could have caused the experience.

• There may be other explanations.

• Some religious experiences have been shown to be hoaxes.

• Some religious experiences seem to be too far fetched.

• If you haven’t had one you may find it hard to accept they happen.

Religious Experiencesand Moral Argument

Reasons Christians believe in God

‘Always let your conscience be your guide’

All of you are familiar with the story of Jimminy Cricket (Do you remember)

who tells Pinocchio always to let his conscience be his guide. The wisdom of this advice hits people as they grow older.

So "What is your conscience?“

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOZzNOkcEgM

Write a definition

Moral Argument Christians may argue that all people have a basic

understanding of what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ (conscience).

If this is the case then where did this knowledge and conscience come from?

The only answer to this must be from God.

However, if everyone’s conscience comes from God as Christians argue, why do people have disagreements about what is right or wrong?

Conscience and the Bible

New Testament – St Paul mentions conscience many times as: An awareness of good and bad Something that can be

mistaken (1 Corinthians 8: 10 – 12)

What does this mean?

Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939)

The conscience is a “moral policeman” that controls human behaviour, rather than something God-given

Practice Exam QuestionDescribe Christian beliefs about religious experience (6 marks).

• To get 3 marks you must make 3 points. (straight to the point)

• For example: you could say something like this:

1) Christians believe that our conscience is a gift from God. Numinous conversion

Miracle prayer conscience