Religious Experiences are all Illusions

In contrast to the classical arguments for the existence of God, namely the ontological, cosmological and teleological arguments, the argument from religious experience doesn’t just entail a set logical of points arriving at a conclusion on a piece of paper, rather it also necessitates sense-based experience, tangible to the individual who experiences the divine.

Question 3. 3.(TCO 2) Who was the German theologian who argued in The Idea of the Holy that religions emerge when people experience that aspect of reality which is essentially mysterious? (Points : 4)

Religion is that which grows out of, and gives expression to, experience of the holy in its various aspects. (Rudolf Otto)

McMinn unveils the realism of what essentially happens in the counseling office. He dives into the fitting together “Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling”. McMinn explains how “those who enter therapy in the midst of their pain experience a restorative counseling relationship that brings acceptance hope, and meaning into their broken lives” (McMinn, 2011, p. 20). There are various questions surrounding Christian counseling that McMinn faces head on in this book when it comes to the challenges counselors face as it relates to integrating religion and spirituality in their sessions. Life on the frontier as McMinn puts it, is where counselors face six basic challenges. Challenges such as moving from two areas of competence to three, blurred personal-professional distinctions, expanded definitions of training, confronting dominant views of mental health, establishing a scientific base or even defining relevant ethical standards (McMinn, 2011). Personal journey’s that McMinn has taken throughout his career provide him with the knowledge, skills and abilities to depict how we should face these challenges. McMinn talks about how many counselors have a need to interpret studies, have good psychodynamics and figure out which cognitive therapy is right for their counseling. As he states, “Christian counseling is more complex than other forms of counseling because our goal are multifaceted (McMinn, 2011, p.

The question as to what it means to be human is often thought of as being the foundational question for almost all religions. Indeed, it can be argued that the religious impulse itself is first and foremost an impulse to understand the nature the meaning of life, and therefore of what it means to be human. Despite the importance of this question, the Bible provides relatively few answers, other than the idea that to be human is to be in some way close to God and to have been created by Him. This closeness and the nature of having been created has a variety of consequences which this paper will explore. These consequences that can be seen to be intensely positive but which also come with a heavy price and with a strict legality. Finally, they may also be shown to be entirely arbitrary and to position their unfathomable nature on the fact of having the 'created ' nature of a person.

Furthermore, it is important to note that Christianity is not a religion, it is a form of religion. Schleiermacher understands all religions as pointing towards the same deity and essence, and so only values Christianity for its ability to more accurately portray the feeling of religion. Schleiermacher explains religion as an intuition towards the infinite, which has a strong connection to feeling, religion’s essence is neither thinking nor acting but “intuition and feeling” (Schleiermacher, 1799). Meaning that religion is “feeling which gives reality to knowledge and substance to morals” (Schleiermacher, 1799), this is important as it shows that what Schleiermacher values in a religion is that it adequately acts as intuition towards the infinite.

Otto finds it, a strong traditional form of theology in Christianity which is “not only possesses such conceptions but possesses them in unique clarity and abundance”. The nature of the divine cannot be contained in rational attributions only and they also “in fact imply a non-rational or supra-rational”. For example, God is non-traditional which is conceptualized in many tradition including Protestant. For him, the root of all religious experiences and believes are coming from the unique state of mind which is called “numinous”. Numinous, which is characterized as holy according to him, is defined by moral and rational aspects. It goes beyond moral and conceptual understanding. It cannot be described by words because it is beyond the words that one can only feel it “in the mind as accompanying emotions”. Therefore, Otto analysis about numinous is based on feelings which is responsible to the feeling of God, the holy.

Reading The Crucible of Life has provided me with an epistemological system to begin my journey into serious theological contemplation. I have thoroughly enjoyed thinking about the interrelationship of reason, experience, and scripture. Foremost, the relationship of reason and experience has proved highly. Understanding the ways in which reason and experience relate to each other is a tricky concept indeed and it is one that I look to in order to discern the process of learning in general. It is this process that allows learning to occur.

Prior to understanding and describing religious experiences, it’s important to define the terms and typology of religious experiences. A point of contention for theologians is whether or not mystical or out-of-body experiences are religious in nature. To understand what the role religion plays in these experiences, for this context, you must define and understand what religion is and the major components that make it up. James states that religion “cannot stand for any single principle or essence, but is rather a collective name” (35). If you were to ask someone about the essence of an object or a concept, different people would provide various components or parts of it. You would end up of with a list ranging from objective and subjective responses, but it would provide a better understanding of it because, like religion, no one thing or person can be summed up in a sentence or a word.

In the book ‘the varieties of religious experience’, James concluded that religious experience testifies that “we can experience union with something larger than ourselves and in that union find our greatest peace”.  He defined such experiences as “experiences of the divine” and believed that religious experience was at the heart of religion. For James, religious teachings, practices and attitudes are second hand religion, which later develop as individuals reflect on their common experience. It is the actual experiences that directly point to God. However this theory does little to prove religious experiences simply because many of his claims do not stand up to critical analysis.

Again, he does not disprove or prove any certain religion, but only makes a statement. By stating that the belief of a God or any god is proved through one’s own experience, we get to see his thoughts. William James allows people to believe what they want in this statement since religious experience is person to person. Another quote where this is shown is in his book “The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy”. Here he states ,” It does , indeed, depend on you the Liver.” This was in response to whether life was worth living or not, and this quote can prove his thoughts. LIke previously stated, he believed that religion is based on personal experience and correlates to this. This is because it also shows that in his belief, life will only be worth living if you think it is.

In Sigmund Freud’s, The Future of an Illusion, he studies religious foundations and the influence of religion on civilization and social principles. As he explores the psychological depths relating to religion, he also portrays a scientific and rational civilization. In turn, he reveals his hope for an ideal world where humans surpass their feelings of helplessness and insignificance to live in an improved civilization based on reason and the increase of knowledge. Through his analysis and ideas, Freud is able to incite feelings of doubt surrounding religious beliefs and their validity.

As a student of religion I have learnt that religion is an indispensable part of human life. History shows that every religion, it may be revealed or not, has risen in the crucial moment of the human history. According to the Semitic tradition human history has began with Adam and Eve, first prophet in Abrahamic tradition. In Indian tradition, though God is omnipresent but he directly intervened into this world, what we called Avatara, to make a clear distinction between right and wrong. In primitive society also people’s lives were highly motivated with religious affiliation.

Moreover, Durkheim compares religion to society. He says that society is the cause of the unique sensations of the religious experiences, so called “sui generis” (Ritzer, 84). This concept

To experience a new religion is to open one's mind to an entirely new world. For my World Religions course, I was asked to visit a place of worship for a religion other than what I was most used to. Upon considering being raised as a Pentacostal Christian, the first idea that came to me after hearing this was for Billy and I to go with our friend Arjun's family to a Hindu temple—since Arjun had moved away recently to go to college however, he was unable to attend.