Religious Experience
Obj:
to know about religious experiences
to 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 1
Religious 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
Numinous
Experience
Transferring
faith from one
religion to
another, or
from non-belief
to belief in God
An experience
that conveys a
sense of awe and
wonder.
Prayer
Miracles
Communicating
with God –
usually using
words but also
by meditating.
An event that
violates the
laws of nature.
A wonderful
work done by
the power of
God.
Examples of Religious Experience
What 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=AL94UKMTqg9DHKaFY9gNIjPHBRF79QbbS
Yusuf Islam – Cat Stevens
Who 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 Experience
What type of
Do you
agree is this?
experience
with God?
Miracle
walking on
What Jesus
does –he
meanwater
when He
says ‘Be the
miracle.’
• Do you think it was caused by God?
• Why may this experience Why
lead to
belief in
doa people
God?
expect a
• What other explanations are possible?
miracle…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-m8Juz1gz4&feature=related
Examples of Religious Experience
What type of
Lord,does
keep us safe this
experience is this?
How
night, secure from all our
Should all prayers be
this
relate
to guard answered
fears.
May angles
A Prayer
with a ‘yes’?
us while
the
ideaweofsleep till
morning light appears. Do you think it is fair…
prayers?
That when prayers are
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0cG11lTS1E&feature=relmfu
not answered people
tend to assume
that
• Do out
you think
of
Get
yourit is good method
communicating with God?God DOES NOT exist
hankies…
• Why may this experience lead to a belief in
God? Why may it not.
• What other explanations are possible?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6et2ZSodS0g&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68-AzAfLyvs&fea
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjT0vv23ovg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4vQLAZHzOE&;feature=related
Bruce Video Clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m8Juz1gz4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhspI9D
_Bn0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0cG11l
TS1E&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q29YR5
t3gg&feature=list_other&playnext=1&list=A
L94UKMTqg9DHKaFY9gNIjPHBRF79QbbS
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 Experiences
and Moral Argument
‘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?“
Write a definition
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOZzNOkcEgM
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
Testament – St Paul mentions
conscience many times as:
 New
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 Question
Describe 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