Revelation
Part 1
Religious Experience
Religious Experience
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Numinosity
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Feeling of presence of awesome power
Feeling of distinctly separate
Some classify numinosity as a feature
Some classify it as a type which can be
contrasted with mystical experience
Rudolph Otto
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The idea of the Holy (1936)
‘numinous’ = otherness
Religion must derive from a being
totally separate
In presence of that being numinosity is
experienced
But many say God is not impersonal
Martin Buber (1878-1965)
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Stress personal relationship and
concept of numinous
God can reveal himself on personal
level
Can understand God through other
people and nature
‘In each Thou we address the Eternal
Thou.’
Søren Kierkegaard (1813-55)
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Supported Buber position
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(or the other way round, note dates)
Saw faith as a miracle
Can only know God through leap of faith
Faith arises through experience, including
religious experience
Individual knowledge of God can vary
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Depends on:
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Personal level of faith
Personal denomination of faith
Type of faith
Mystical Experience
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Often contain voices or visions
Involves spiritual recognition of truths
beyond normal understanding
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Features
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Knowledge of ‘ultimate reality’ gained
Sense of freedom from limitations of time and
space
Sense of ‘oneness’ with divine
Sense of bliss or serenity
William James
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Famous commentator on religious
experience
The Varieties of Religious Experience
(1902)
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Four characteristics of mystical experience
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Ineffability
Noetic Quality
Transciency
Passivity
William James
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Ineffability
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Religious experiences tend to be private
events
Consist of indescribable sensations
St Teresa of Avila
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‘I wish I could give a description of at least the
smallest part of what I learned, but, when I try
to discover a way of doing so, I find it
impossible.’
William James
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Noetic Quality
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Provide insights into unobtainable truths
Knowledge acquired through intuition and
perception
William James
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Transciency
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Most religious experiences last between a
few minutes and 2 hours
But, the significance and effects are out of
proportion to duration
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Dreaming for a few minutes can seem like
hours
William James
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Passivity
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Sense of loss of control to higher being
Taking on of different personalities
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E.g. writing with wrong hand speaking in an
unlearned language
F.C.Happold (1893-1971)
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Mysticism – A study and an Anthology
(1963)
Sought to provide context in which to
discuss mystical experiences
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Two types
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The Mysticism of Love and Union
The Mysticism of Knowledge and
Understanding
F.C.Happold
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The Mysticism of Love and Union
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The longing to escape ‘separateness’
Or a desire for union with God
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We are governed by two urges
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The desire to be an individual (separation)
The desire to be accepted (to be part of
something bigger than ourselves)
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This is because we are sharers in ‘the Divine Life’
F.C.Happold
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The Mysticism of Knowledge and
Understanding
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Another urge
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We want to know the ‘secret of the universe’
(the meaning of life)
We can look for this through experiential
knowledge of God
Whereas most philosophers play games of
‘conceptual counters’ this knowledge is gained
through intuition
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James’ idea of noetic quality
F.C.Happold
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As well as two ‘types’ of mysticism
Happold says there are three aspects
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Soul-mysticism
Nature-mysticism
God-mysticism
F.C.Happold
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Soul-mysticism
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Soul is hidden or numinous
Mystical experience is therefore ‘finding
the soul’
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Looking for self-fulfilment
This form of mysticism does not deal with
God
F.C.Happold
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Nature-mysticism
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God is immanent
He is everywhere
A motion and a spirit
That impels all thinking things
All objects of all thought
And rolls through all things
Wordsworth
F.C.Happold
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God-mysticism
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A desire to return to ones ‘immortal and
infinite Ground, which is God’
Idea that human soul is ‘deified’
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Becomes God whilst retaining own identity
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E.g. Sufi Muslims
Voices and Visions
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Mystical experiences often feature
voices and or visions
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For example
Conversion of St Paul (Acts 9)
Julian of Norwich 14th 15th century female
mystic
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And he showed me more, a little thing, the size of a
hazelnut, on the palm of my hand, round like a ball.
I looked at it thoughtfully and wondered, ‘What is
this?’ And the answer came, ‘It is all that is made.’
Conversion experiences
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Conversion is
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Regeneration
Assurance of divine truth
Greater understanding of faith
Adopting religious attitudes and way of life
Conversion experiences
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Psychological Background to Conversion
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Each person has a number of aims/ideas in their mind ranked by
importance
Which aim is of paramount importance at any one time depends on
circumstances
A Transformation is when one aim establishes permanent priority
Emotional excitement can change our primary aim from day to day
People prone to emotional excitement find it difficult to focus on
any one aim
If a permanent shift of focus is observed it may well be a
conversion experience
If the excitement is caused by something religious then it can be
classed as a religious conversion
Often neither the subject nor the observer can say what caused the
emotional excitement
Conversion experiences
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Prof. Edwin D. Starbuck
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Noted that all adolescents go through symptoms
similar to a religious experience
Caused by feelings of
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Incompleteness and imperfection, brooding depression
etc
So adolescents who claim to have a religious
experience could simply be shifting their feelings
to religion
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Starbuck noted though that theology shortened the
period of storm and stress
Conversion experiences
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William James
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Noted that some people will never turn to
religion
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Maybe cynical
Hindered by pessimistic beliefs
Some are temporally inhibited
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Refuse to believe but change their mind
Conversion experiences
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Types of conversion
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Volitional
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Self-surrender
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Gradual change
But may one day suddenly become aware of it
Involuntary
Unconscious experience
Usually two things are important in conversion
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Present sins with a desire to change
Positive changes to be made
Conversion experiences
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Permanency
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Often converts have little knowledge of
what they have converted to
As knowledge is gained so problems are
encountered
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Some will effectively convert back to their old
ways
The gradual volitional change is most like
to hold
Conversion experiences
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Examples of conversion
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Intellectual
Moral
Social
Conversion experiences
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Intellectual conversion
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Conflict between systems of thought
One becomes ‘true’ and one ‘false’
Can be between religious and non-religious
ideas
Can be between two different religious
ideas
Conversion experiences
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Moral conversion
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Revolves around lifestyle rather that
intellectual thought
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James H. Leuba gives an example
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‘Swearing Tom’ went to church, took note of what
the preacher said, went home – avoiding the pup on
the way – and became ‘Praying Tom’.
Conversion experiences
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Social conversion
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Takes place slowly in subconscious
Followed by a rapid sudden change
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An example would be the conversion of St Paul
on the road to Damascus
Conversion experiences
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William James’ conclusions
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Sudden conversion is very real to the
individual
For Methodists, salvation only comes to
those who go through a conversion
experience
A sudden conversion is like a miracle
Even a conversion that seems natural is
inspired by the divine
Corporate Revelations
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Toronto Blessing
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Started on 10 January 1994
Toronto Airport Vineyard Church
Since then has spread around the world
Said to be an outpouring of the Holy Spirit
Effects are
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Falling in the spirit
Shaking
Weeping
laughter
Putting it all together
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Answer the following exam question
in groups
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To what extent do mystical experiences
show the existence of God?.
How to answer
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Explain the concept of mystical experience
Explain and discuss the ideas of W. James
Explain and discuss the ideas of Happold
What do you think and why?
Conclusion
Revelation
Part 2
Miracles
Miracles
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The word ‘miracle’ tends to be used in society
to refer to an amazing event
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E.g. birth of a child
In religious terms the word ‘miracle’ is
intended to refer to something far more
significant
In terms of revealing God, the idea of
miracles is appealing as they can offer
physical evidence
What is a Miracle?
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Traditional concept
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An interruption to the process of nature
that cannot be explained by natural laws
An interruption that bears some deeper,
usually religious significance
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“A miracle may be accurately defined as ‘A
transgression of a law of nature by a particular
volition of the deity or by the interposition of some
invisible agent’.”
David Hume, An enquiry Concerning Human Understanding,
1748
What is a Miracle?
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Richard Swinburne
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Illustrates transgression with biblical examples
e.g. turning water into wine
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But wine can be made with water as the main ingredient
The miracle is therefore in the timing
Illustrates the deeper significance
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“If God intervened in the natural order to make a feather
drop here rather than there for no deep ultimate purpose,
or to upset a child’s box of toys just for spite, these events
would not naturally be described as miracles.”
Richard Swinburne (ed), Miracles, 1989
What is a Miracle?
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R.F. Holland
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Suggests that something does not have to
break natural law in order to be considered
a miracle
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‘A coincidence can be taken religiously as a sign
and called a miracle.’
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E.g. A young boy strays on to a railway line just as a
train comes along, the boy would be hit and killed
except that the driver suddenly has a heart attack,
releases the dead man’s handle and the train stops a
metre from the boy.
Can a miracle occur?
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Taking Holland’s view, clearly the
answer is ‘yes’.
However, Hume says
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“Nothing is esteemed a miracle if it ever
happens in the common course of nature”
David Hume, An enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, 1748
Can a miracle occur?
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Three points to consider
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Doubt as to existence of natural laws
The argument against miracles from the
definition of a natural law
Hume’s critique of miracles
Can a miracle occur?
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Doubt as to existence of natural laws
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If there are no natural laws they cannot be broken
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Brian Davies
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therefore definition of a miracle breaking a natural law
does not hold
God is equally present in every action
Therefore on intervention
Most Theists
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Accept that God has put natural laws in place for benefit
of humans
God can, and does, interrupt the natural process
Can a miracle occur?
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The argument against miracles from the
definition of a natural law
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John Hick
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“We can declare a prior that there are no miracles”
Natural laws are formed retrospectively based on what has
already happened
An unusual, previously unwitnessed event, widens our
understanding of natural laws
Swinburne
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We can say what we would normally expect to happened
in a given situation
Therefore an event like a resurrection is miraculous as it
goes against the norm
Can a miracle occur?
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Hume’s critique of miracles
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Did not say miracles
Simply claimed that we could not prove that one
had happened
Laws of nature supported innumerably over
hundreds of years
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E.g. millions of examples to show that once dead,
humans do not return to life
So, in light of evidence, more probable that
miracle did not happen
Can a miracle occur?
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Hume’s additional arguments
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First
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Second
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Those testifying to the miracle have natural tendency to
suspend reason
Third
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Insufficient number of reliable people attesting miracles
The source of miracle stories are from ignorant peoples
Fourth
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Writers of miracle stories are bias and have a vested
interest in promoting their religion
Can a miracle occur?
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Critique of Hume
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The whole point of a miracle is that it is the
exception to the rule
We would also have to reject much of recent
science as it has changed our perception of the
world
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Brian Davies gives an example: people have now
walked on the moon, once thought impossible
R Swinburne argues that we use the same criteria to
determine scientific laws as we do for determining
miracles, if we accept one we should accept the
other
Can a miracle occur?
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Critique of Hume’s additional points
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Gave no indication of what a sufficient
number would be
Miracles come from just about all nations
That people need to prove their
intelligence is objectionable
That miracles are claimed by different
religions does not rule out possibility of
them happening
Can a miracle occur?
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Maurice Wiles
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Rejects miracles on moral grounds
Why no intervention in Auschwitz and yet
there are acclaimed interventions in trivial
matters
Either God does not intervene or he
chooses to help some and not others
If the latter, he is not worthy of worship
Implications of miracles for
problem of evil
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Miracle accounts talk of god intervening to help those
who worship him
But, if all-loving he would want to help followers
equally
Why then help some and not others?
Were those rescued through the Exodus morally
superior to the 6 million killed in the holocaust?
This argument does not count against miracles
intended to demonstrate his existence rather than
help individuals
For example resurrection of Christ cannot be
perceived as ‘unfair’
Putting it all together
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Answer the following exam question
in groups
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‘Hume has shown that miracles are nothing
more than an attempt to justify one’s
religion’. Discuss.
How to answer
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Explain the concept of miracles
Explain Hume’s arguments against them
Critically discuss Hume’s ideas bringing in the ideas of
Davies, Hick and Swinburne
What do you think and why?
Conclusion
Revelation
Part 3
Scripture
Revelation through Scripture
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Propositional Revelation
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God speaking directly to individuals
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Adam and Eve (Gen 1-3)
Abraham (Gen 12:1-3)
Moses (Ex 3-4:1-17)
Revelation through Scripture
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Propositional Revelation
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Francis Schaeffer
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Acceptance of propositional revelation depends
on view of the beginning
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Those who accept Big Bang theory, but still accept
God, would see God as impersonal – not speaking to
people
Those who accept creation theory would logically
accept a personal God who can communicate
Revelation through Scripture
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Non-propositional revelation
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The idea that scripture is inspired by God not
the word of God
William Temple
Suggests that stories in the bible are not to be
taken literally
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There are truths of revelation, that is to say,
propositions which express the results of correct
thinking concerning revelation, but they are not
themselves directly revealed.
William Temple, Nature Man and God, (1934)
Revelation through Scripture
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Interpretation of scripture
Literalist view
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Takes the bible literally
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i.e. universe created in a literal 6 days
Disregards no part of the bible
Bible is authority
Literalist would accept propositional view
Revelation through Scripture
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Conservative view
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God inspire the bible
Bible is authoritive as it comes from God
Bible not leaders has final authority
Cannot add to bible
However, maybe errors in bible as written by
humans influenced by their society
Therefore bible does not provide clear guidelines
Allows for individual interpretation
Follows non-propositional approach
Revelation through Scripture
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Liberal view
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Bible records experiences of people
Writers have been influenced by their society
Bible not directly inspired by God
Therefore bible does not have absolute authority
Liberals free to reject parts of bible that seem
irrelevant
Individual conscience is the moral guide
Biblical and scientific ideas can be matched
Steers away from either propositional or nonpropositional approach as origin of the bible is not
important
Putting it all together

Answer the following exam question
in groups
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To what extent do propositional and nonpropositional views of revelation affect the
way in which scripture is understood? (45)
How to answer
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Start with an introduction that outlines the
problem/difficulties of understanding scripture
Explain in detail the two propositional ideas
Ensure that you include the ideas of the
philosophers who have contributed
Explain the different ideas of the Literalists,
conservatives and liberals
What do you think and why?
Conclusion