Amazing Religious Experience Stories for Kids: Mystical Moments and Types of Revelation

syeda

13/10/2025

Religious Studies

Religious experience

Subjects

Religious Studies

Component 1: philosophy of religion and ethics

Section a: philosophy of religion

213

•

13 Oct 2025

•

4 pages

Amazing Religious Experience Stories for Kids: Mystical Moments and Types of Revelation

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syeda

@syeda_gdps

Religious experiences are profound encounters with the divine that can... Show more

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17/03/2023

Religous experience

[Peterson] et al reasons religous belief" detines a religous experience as one
where a person has or believ

William James' Study on Religious Experiences

This page delves into William James' influential work on religious experiences, highlighting his approach and findings.

William James' "Varieties of Religious Experience":

Believed that verification of religious experiences was not crucial
Focused on the authenticity of the experience for the individual
Acknowledged that religious experiences are not logical proof of God's existence
Emphasized the centrality of religious experiences to religious belief

Quote: "The purpose of religion is not God but 'more life, a larger, richer, more satisfying life.'" - William James

James' Method:

Collected numerous testimonies of religious experiences
Analyzed and categorized them into types
Noted common features across experiences

Findings:

Religious experiences often lead to life transformation
Positive effects include a happier outlook on life and a sense of purpose and meaning
James distinguished between "healthy souls" $open-minded, optimistic$ and "sick souls" (cynical, skeptical)
Religious experiences tend to make people "healthy-minded"

Highlight: James' work provides valuable insights into the psychological and emotional impacts of religious experiences.

Characteristics of Religious and Mystical Experiences

This page explores the defining features of religious and mystical experiences, offering a deeper understanding of these profound spiritual encounters.

Four Ways to Define Religious Experiences:

Ineffability: Often beyond words
Noetic quality: Knowledge gained about God or revelation
Transiency: Experience is not lasting but has a lasting effect on the person
Passivity: No control, feeling taken over or consumed

Definition: Mysticism is the direct knowledge of God, spiritual truth, or ultimate reality revealed through a subjective personal experience.

Types of Mysticism:

Soul mysticism: Finding the soul, complete self-fulfillment
Nature mysticism: Belief that God is immanent in nature
God mysticism: Soul's desire to return to their immortal, infinite Ground (God)

Two Approaches to Mysticism:

Mysticism of love and union: Need to be part of something bigger than ourselves
Mysticism of knowledge and understanding: Need to find answers to the secrets of the universe

Example: A mystical religious experience might involve a sense of unity with the divine or a profound insight into the nature of reality.

F.C. Happold's Three Aspects of Mystical Experience: (Details not provided in the transcript)

Highlight: Because religious experiences are seen as unusual, some conclude they may be illusions or the result of our minds playing tricks on us.

Critiques of Religious Experiences

This page presents various critiques of religious experiences from psychological and physiological perspectives, challenging their validity and origin.

Psychological Critiques:

Feuerbach's view:

Quote: "Religion is an illusion, a fiction people mistake for reality."
- Humans project their wishes onto God due to feeling alienated in their own lives
- If people were able to reach their potential, there would be no need for religion
Freud's perspective:

Definition: Freud described religion as an "obsessional neurosis" that cushions us from harsh realities.
- Religion is a psychological phenomenon
- Belief in God is an obsessional neurosis that religion satisfies
- Freud's model of the mind: Id (human instincts), Ego (shaped by external influences), and Superego (human reason)

Example: Praying five times a day in Islam could be seen as an obsessional behavior that satisfies religious needs, according to Freud's theory.

Physiological Explanations:

The "God helmet" experiment by Persinger
Factors that may influence religious experiences:
- Drugs
- Alcohol
- Tiredness
- Illness
- Fasting

Highlight: These critiques suggest that religious experiences may have natural explanations rooted in psychology or physiology, rather than supernatural origins.

This page encourages critical thinking about the nature and validity of religious experiences, presenting alternative explanations for these profound spiritual encounters.

Religious Experiences: Types, Characteristics, and Critiques

Religious experiences are encounters with the divine that can profoundly impact an individual's spiritual journey and beliefs. This page introduces various types of religious experiences and provides examples from different contexts.

Definition: A religious experience is one where a person has or believes they have had an encounter with God, resulting in a revelation or new knowledge about the divine.

Group Religious Experiences:

Toronto Blessing
Whirling Dervish
Lourdes

Personal Testimonies:

Numinous experiences
St. Teresa of Avila
St. Bernadette

Highlight: The Principle of Credulity suggests that testimonies should be taken at face value unless there is significant evidence to prove them wrong.

Richard Swinburne's categorization of personal testimonies:

Experience of God through common, public, sensory objects
Experience of God through unusual, public, sensory objects
Experience of God through private sensations described in normal sensory language
Experience of God through private sensations that cannot be described in normal sensory language
Experience of God not mediated by any sensations

Example: St. Teresa of Avila's vision of Christ at her side is an example of a private, indescribable religious experience.

The page also mentions the conversion of Saul to St. Paul as a significant religious experience example in Christianity.

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Subjects

Religious Studies

Component 1: philosophy of religion and ethics

Section a: philosophy of religion

Religious Studies

13 Oct 2025

213

4 pages

Amazing Religious Experience Stories for Kids: Mystical Moments and Types of Revelation

syeda @syeda_gdps

Religious experiences are profound encounters with the divine that can shape one's spiritual journey and beliefs. This summary explores various types of religious experiences, their characteristics, and critiques from psychological... Show more

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Join milions of students

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William James' Study on Religious Experiences

This page delves into William James' influential work on religious experiences, highlighting his approach and findings.

William James' "Varieties of Religious Experience"

Believed that verification of religious experiences was not crucial
Focused on the authenticity of the experience for the individual
Acknowledged that religious experiences are not logical proof of God's existence
Emphasized the centrality of religious experiences to religious belief

Quote "The purpose of religion is not God but 'more life, a larger, richer, more satisfying life.'" - William James

James' Method

Collected numerous testimonies of religious experiences
Analyzed and categorized them into types
Noted common features across experiences

Findings

Religious experiences often lead to life transformation
Positive effects include a happier outlook on life and a sense of purpose and meaning
James distinguished between "healthy souls" $open-minded, optimistic$ and "sick souls" (cynical, skeptical)
Religious experiences tend to make people "healthy-minded"

Highlight James' work provides valuable insights into the psychological and emotional impacts of religious experiences.

Sign up to see the contentIt's free!

Access to all documents

Improve your grades

Join milions of students

By signing up you accept Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Characteristics of Religious and Mystical Experiences

This page explores the defining features of religious and mystical experiences, offering a deeper understanding of these profound spiritual encounters.

Four Ways to Define Religious Experiences

Ineffability Often beyond words
Noetic quality Knowledge gained about God or revelation
Transiency Experience is not lasting but has a lasting effect on the person
Passivity No control, feeling taken over or consumed

Definition Mysticism is the direct knowledge of God, spiritual truth, or ultimate reality revealed through a subjective personal experience.

Types of Mysticism

Soul mysticism Finding the soul, complete self-fulfillment
Nature mysticism Belief that God is immanent in nature
God mysticism Soul's desire to return to their immortal, infinite Ground (God)

Two Approaches to Mysticism

Mysticism of love and union Need to be part of something bigger than ourselves
Mysticism of knowledge and understanding Need to find answers to the secrets of the universe

Example A mystical religious experience might involve a sense of unity with the divine or a profound insight into the nature of reality.

F.C. Happold's Three Aspects of Mystical Experience (Details not provided in the transcript)

Highlight Because religious experiences are seen as unusual, some conclude they may be illusions or the result of our minds playing tricks on us.

Sign up to see the contentIt's free!

Access to all documents

Improve your grades

Join milions of students

By signing up you accept Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Critiques of Religious Experiences

This page presents various critiques of religious experiences from psychological and physiological perspectives, challenging their validity and origin.

Psychological Critiques

Feuerbach's view

Quote "Religion is an illusion, a fiction people mistake for reality."
- Humans project their wishes onto God due to feeling alienated in their own lives
- If people were able to reach their potential, there would be no need for religion
Freud's perspective

Definition Freud described religion as an "obsessional neurosis" that cushions us from harsh realities.
- Religion is a psychological phenomenon
- Belief in God is an obsessional neurosis that religion satisfies
- Freud's model of the mind Id (human instincts), Ego (shaped by external influences), and Superego (human reason)

Example Praying five times a day in Islam could be seen as an obsessional behavior that satisfies religious needs, according to Freud's theory.

Physiological Explanations

The "God helmet" experiment by Persinger
Factors that may influence religious experiences
- Drugs
- Alcohol
- Tiredness
- Illness
- Fasting

Highlight These critiques suggest that religious experiences may have natural explanations rooted in psychology or physiology, rather than supernatural origins.

This page encourages critical thinking about the nature and validity of religious experiences, presenting alternative explanations for these profound spiritual encounters.

Sign up to see the contentIt's free!

Access to all documents

Improve your grades

Join milions of students

By signing up you accept Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Religious Experiences Types, Characteristics, and Critiques

Definition A religious experience is one where a person has or believes they have had an encounter with God, resulting in a revelation or new knowledge about the divine.

Group Religious Experiences

Toronto Blessing
Whirling Dervish
Lourdes

Personal Testimonies

Numinous experiences
St. Teresa of Avila
St. Bernadette

Highlight The Principle of Credulity suggests that testimonies should be taken at face value unless there is significant evidence to prove them wrong.

Richard Swinburne's categorization of personal testimonies

Experience of God through common, public, sensory objects
Experience of God through unusual, public, sensory objects
Experience of God through private sensations described in normal sensory language
Experience of God through private sensations that cannot be described in normal sensory language
Experience of God not mediated by any sensations

Example St. Teresa of Avila's vision of Christ at her side is an example of a private, indescribable religious experience.

The page also mentions the conversion of Saul to St. Paul as a significant religious experience example in Christianity.