Revelation

1
Revelation

• Part 1
• Religious Experience

2
Religious Experience

• Numinosity
• 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

3
Rudolph Otto

• 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

4
Martin Buber (1878-1965)

• 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.

5
Søren Kierkegaard (1813-55)

• Supported Buber position
• (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
• Depends on
• Personal level of faith
• Personal denomination of faith
• Type of faith

6
Mystical Experience

• Often contain voices or visions
• Involves spiritual recognition of truths beyond
  normal understanding
• Features
• Knowledge of ultimate reality gained
• Sense of freedom from limitations of time and
  space
• Sense of oneness with divine
• Sense of bliss or serenity

7
William James

• Famous commentator on religious experience
• The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902)
• Four characteristics of mystical experience
• Ineffability
• Noetic Quality
• Transciency
• Passivity

8
William James

• Ineffability
• Religious experiences tend to be private events
• Consist of indescribable sensations
• St Teresa of Avila
• 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.

9
William James

• Noetic Quality
• Provide insights into unobtainable truths
• Knowledge acquired through intuition and
  perception

10
William James

• Transciency
• Most religious experiences last between a few
  minutes and 2 hours
• But, the significance and effects are out of
  proportion to duration
• Dreaming for a few minutes can seem like hours

11
William James

• Passivity
• Sense of loss of control to higher being
• Taking on of different personalities
• E.g. writing with wrong hand speaking in an
  unlearned language

12
F.C.Happold (1893-1971)

• Mysticism A study and an Anthology (1963)
• Sought to provide context in which to discuss
  mystical experiences
• Two types
• The Mysticism of Love and Union
• The Mysticism of Knowledge and Understanding

13
F.C.Happold

• The Mysticism of Love and Union
• The longing to escape separateness
• Or a desire for union with God
• We are governed by two urges
• The desire to be an individual (separation)
• The desire to be accepted (to be part of
  something bigger than ourselves)
• This is because we are sharers in the Divine
  Life

14
F.C.Happold

• The Mysticism of Knowledge and Understanding
• Another urge
• 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
• James idea of noetic quality

15
F.C.Happold

• As well as two types of mysticism Happold says
  there are three aspects
• Soul-mysticism
• Nature-mysticism
• God-mysticism

16
F.C.Happold

• Soul-mysticism
• Soul is hidden or numinous
• Mystical experience is therefore finding the
  soul
• Looking for self-fulfilment
• This form of mysticism does not deal with God

17
F.C.Happold

• Nature-mysticism
• 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

18
F.C.Happold

• God-mysticism
• A desire to return to ones immortal and infinite
  Ground, which is God
• Idea that human soul is deified
• Becomes God whilst retaining own identity
• E.g. Sufi Muslims

19
Voices and Visions

• Mystical experiences often feature voices and or
  visions
• For example
• Conversion of St Paul (Acts 9)
• Julian of Norwich 14th 15th century female mystic
• 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.

20
Conversion experiences

• Conversion is
• Regeneration
• Assurance of divine truth
• Greater understanding of faith
• Adopting religious attitudes and way of life

21
Conversion experiences

• Psychological Background to Conversion
• 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

22
Conversion experiences

• Prof. Edwin D. Starbuck
• Noted that all adolescents go through symptoms
  similar to a religious experience
• Caused by feelings of
• Incompleteness and imperfection, brooding
  depression etc
• So adolescents who claim to have a religious
  experience could simply be shifting their
  feelings to religion
• Starbuck noted though that theology shortened the
  period of storm and stress

23
Conversion experiences

• William James
• Noted that some people will never turn to
  religion
• Maybe cynical
• Hindered by pessimistic beliefs
• Some are temporally inhibited
• Refuse to believe but change their mind

24
Conversion experiences

• Types of conversion
• Volitional
• Gradual change
• But may one day suddenly become aware of it
• Self-surrender
• Involuntary
• Unconscious experience
• Usually two things are important in conversion
• Present sins with a desire to change
• Positive changes to be made

25
Conversion experiences

• Permanency
• Often converts have little knowledge of what they
  have converted to
• As knowledge is gained so problems are
  encountered
• Some will effectively convert back to their old
  ways
• The gradual volitional change is most like to
  hold

26
Conversion experiences

• Examples of conversion
• Intellectual
• Moral
• Social

27
Conversion experiences

• Intellectual conversion
• 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

28
Conversion experiences

• Moral conversion
• Revolves around lifestyle rather that
  intellectual thought
• James H. Leuba gives an example
• Swearing Tom went to church, took note of what
  the preacher said, went home avoiding the pup
  on the way and became Praying Tom.

29
Conversion experiences

• Social conversion
• Takes place slowly in subconscious
• Followed by a rapid sudden change
• An example would be the conversion of St Paul on
  the road to Damascus

30
Conversion experiences

• William James conclusions
• 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

31
Corporate Revelations

• Toronto Blessing
• 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
• Falling in the spirit
• Shaking
• Weeping
• laughter

32
Putting it all together

• Answer the following exam question in groups
• To what extent do mystical experiences show the
  existence of God?.

33
How to answer

• 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

34
Revelation

• Part 2
• Miracles

35
Miracles

• The word miracle tends to be used in society to
  refer to an amazing event
• 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

36
What is a Miracle?

• Traditional concept
• An interruption to the process of nature that
  cannot be explained by natural laws
• An interruption that bears some deeper, usually
  religious significance
• 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

37
What is a Miracle?

• Richard Swinburne
• Illustrates transgression with biblical examples
  e.g. turning water into wine
• But wine can be made with water as the main
  ingredient
• The miracle is therefore in the timing
• Illustrates the deeper significance
• 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 childs box of
  toys just for spite, these events would not
  naturally be described as miracles.
• Richard Swinburne (ed), Miracles, 1989

38
What is a Miracle?

• R.F. Holland
• Suggests that something does not have to break
  natural law in order to be considered a miracle
• A coincidence can be taken religiously as a sign
  and called a miracle.
• 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 mans handle and
  the train stops a metre from the boy.

39
Can a miracle occur?

• Taking Hollands view, clearly the answer is
  yes.
• However, Hume says
• Nothing is esteemed a miracle if it ever happens
  in the common course of nature
• David Hume, An enquiry Concerning Human
  Understanding, 1748

40
Can a miracle occur?

• Three points to consider
• Doubt as to existence of natural laws
• The argument against miracles from the definition
  of a natural law
• Humes critique of miracles

41
Can a miracle occur?

• Doubt as to existence of natural laws
• If there are no natural laws they cannot be
  broken
• therefore definition of a miracle breaking a
  natural law does not hold
• Brian Davies
• God is equally present in every action
• Therefore on intervention
• Most Theists
• Accept that God has put natural laws in place for
  benefit of humans
• God can, and does, interrupt the natural process

42
Can a miracle occur?

• The argument against miracles from the definition
  of a natural law
• John Hick
• 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
• 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

43
Can a miracle occur?

• Humes critique of miracles
• Did not say miracles
• Simply claimed that we could not prove that one
  had happened
• Laws of nature supported innumerably over
  hundreds of years
• 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

44
Can a miracle occur?

• Humes additional arguments
• First
• Insufficient number of reliable people attesting
  miracles
• Second
• Those testifying to the miracle have natural
  tendency to suspend reason
• Third
• The source of miracle stories are from ignorant
  peoples
• Fourth
• Writers of miracle stories are bias and have a
  vested interest in promoting their religion

45
Can a miracle occur?

• Critique of Hume
• 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
• 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

46
Can a miracle occur?

• Critique of Humes additional points
• 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

47
Can a miracle occur?

• Maurice Wiles
• 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

48
Implications of miracles for problem of evil

• 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

49
Putting it all together

• Answer the following exam question in groups
• Hume has shown that miracles are nothing more
  than an attempt to justify ones religion.
  Discuss.

50
How to answer

• Explain the concept of miracles
• Explain Humes arguments against them
• Critically discuss Humes ideas bringing in the
  ideas of Davies, Hick and Swinburne
• What do you think and why?
• Conclusion

51
Revelation

• Part 3
• Scripture

52
Revelation through Scripture

• Propositional Revelation
• God speaking directly to individuals
• Adam and Eve (Gen 1-3)
• Abraham (Gen 121-3)
• Moses (Ex 3-41-17)

53
Revelation through Scripture

• Propositional Revelation
• Francis Schaeffer
• Acceptance of propositional revelation depends on
  view of the beginning
• 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

54
Revelation through Scripture

• Non-propositional revelation
• 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
• 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)

55
Revelation through Scripture

• Interpretation of scripture
• Literalist view
• Takes the bible literally
• i.e. universe created in a literal 6 days
• Disregards no part of the bible
• Bible is authority
• Literalist would accept propositional view

56
Revelation through Scripture

• Conservative view
• 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

57
Revelation through Scripture

• Liberal view
• 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
  non-propositional approach as origin of the bible
  is not important

58
Putting it all together

• Answer the following exam question in groups
• To what extent do propositional and
  non-propositional views of revelation affect the
  way in which scripture is understood? (45)

59
How to answer

• 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