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‘Religious experiences are all illusions.’ Discuss.Most arguments for the existence of God are ‘a posteriori’, seeking to move from experiences within the world to the existence of God rather than relying on the definition of God to prove his existence. Religious experience is an interaction with God or a feeling of connection with a higher power. It is interesting to note that William James never spoke of ‘God’ but of the ‘spiritual’, ‘unseen order’ or ‘higher’ aspects of the world. Does a person

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Religious Experiences are in the Mind of the Believer “A religious experience is a spontaneous or induced mental event over which the recipient has relatively little control. It is often accompanied with the gaining of certain knowledge and the experience is always unique.”[1] Elton Trueblood’s definition of a religious experience is very broad, including any experience of feelings of ‘love, power, glory or strength from God.’ This differs from a

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of God from Religious Experience (18)The argument for the existence of God from Religious Experience is a simple one, with only two premises. The first being that some people have, or have had a religious experience, the second premise is that these are only explicable though God, thus leading to the conclusion that God exists. This leads us to question, what exactly are religious experiences?Theologians have struggled for centuries trying to define what a religious experience is, with many

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Near Death Experience as a Religious Experience A near death experience can be defined as an event which occurs to people when seemingly the bodily functions which confirm life have stopped, (i.e. clinically dead). It often has an ‘out of body’ element and may be interrupted in a religious or non religious way. Most individuals who claim to have had a near death experience say that there is a sense of indescribable bliss, ecstasy and peace. Similarly, a religious experience

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based upon religious experiencesReligious 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

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broadly talked about for a long time. Bringing on uncertainty part of "psychedelic" or hallucinogenic medications create religious experience, and whether this experience these humans is truly religious, or are they just “trips.” Before we consider the “religious” capability of hallucinogenic medications, one must apply a working meaning of "religion". This paper characterizes religious encounters and medication prompted encounters, similarities of neurological brain scans, that can be contrast with show

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Versus Religious EmergencyBy Bil Holton | Submitted On March 07, 2015Recommend Article Article Comments Print Article Share this article on Facebook Share this article on Twitter Share this article on Google+ Share this article on Linkedin Share this article on StumbleUpon Share this article on Delicious Share this article on Digg Share this article on Reddit Share this article on PinterestExpert Author Bil HoltonWe hear a lot of people using the phrase "more spiritual than religious" these

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She was found guilty and banished from the colony. In 1775, Freeborn Garrettson had a similar mystical experience. “In the night I went to bed as usual, and slept till day break: just as I awoke, I was alarmed by an awful voice, ‘Awake, sinner, for you are not prepared to die.’ This was strongly impressed on my mind, as if it had been a human voice

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The mental health field has a heritage of 100 years of ignoring and pathologizing spiritual experiences and religion (Lukoff, 2000). In 1994, a new diagnostic category called “Religious or Spiritual Problem” was introduced in the DSM–IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association). For the first time, there is acknowledgement of distressing religious and spiritual experiences as nonpathological problems. As a co-author of the new category, Lukoff and Turner (1995) indicated

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Christian souls” (Salzman, 2000, p.77). This reaches greater complexity when considering the impact of neuropsychology on the Christian faith. People experience God in a plethora of ways, but what about seemingly brain induced experiences? Salzman (2000) describes the journey of Sister John, a nun at the Carmelite convent in Los Angeles. She experiences headaches that develop into deep spiritual episodes, which her doctor later informs her, are the symptoms of her recurring seizures. Sister John has

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