What is a religious experience?

[Joakim]

I can’t come to think of any good words to start this conversation at this time, but I recently attended a debate/lecture called "The nature of religious experience". They didn’t give all the answers, far from it, but I became rather curious about this phenomena.

Anyone got a good guess on what this is?

[Christian]

I suppose any experience in association with religion can be deemed a religious experience, but I find that people who mention this are referring to a personal revival within themselves and the formation of a new outlook on things - dependent on what religion they are involved with.

But I believe that there are only two religions in the world, the religion of Jesus(Selflessness) and the religion of satan(Selfishness) and that the myriad that we have today are merely different types of the two, so for me a spiritual revival(as per my previous definition of a religious experience) is when one appreciates the virtue of Jesus's selflessness and the vice of satan's selfishness and that they realize that one is against us and the other is for us and that if we should be for he who is for us then we are liberated from he who is against us. From what I have learnt of major religions the fundamental distinction between them and Christianity is that one is selfish(by works we achieve grace) and the other is selfless(by grace we achieve works).

Joakim, read my post "Reasons to believe in Christianity" under personal testimony you will see my spiritual revival which confirmed and solidified my opinion of above that of ourselves we can do nothing but through Christ we can do everything. It was a physical, spiritual, emotional and mental revival of immense proportion of which I am glad to be an advocate of the fact that all can receive of the same.

Also I've noticed your comment and was just wanting to pose something for your contemplation.

Would you agree that all things exist in perfect relativity with each other and that change only occurs with one thing when it occurs with that which would change it?

Would you agree that all relation is cause and effect?

Would you agree that as one effect has its antecedent cause that their must be one principal cause? The Absolute?

I try to never argue with anyone as debates and arguments are fruitless, so I merely ask you and any other that may view this to consider whether or not what I say is true.

[Kashkin]

But I believe that there are only two religions in the world, the religion of Jesus(Selflessness) and the religion of satan(Selfishness)
I really hope you were using Jesus as an example of selflessness and not the only path and method of being religiously - or otherwise - compassionate. Other relgions do exist you know, and even godless hacks like myself value selflessness. There are also many more paths to "Satan." I would also imagine that very few people who take those paths actually worship Satan... So I'm seeing a few generalisations here.

As for religious experience? I'd say Pantheists have it the best. Basically everyday is a religious experience. Pantheism includes the teaching "God is all, and all is God." Must be nice.

Edit: Forget that, I just read your other thread and it turns out, you're raving! So yeah, just forget the whole logic and reasoning thing, I can see that's not a big thing for you.

[Christian]

You know Kashkin that that is precisely what I meant

I think that if you examine the details of this and my other post you will find them to be well founded

Jesus and Satan are two real beings, therefore the situation that I am attempting to exemplify are not improbable and were indeed inevitable.

Never presume that the obvious is true, truth is more important than the facts

Attempt to prove me wrong and follow my links, it will simply be heaven's gain

Now I should mention that I don't believe all conspiracy theories are true, we have to evaluate them on their own individual merits using simple research and our God given common sense. This what I have done and what I have placed across is plausible, and to me true, but this is something you have to consider for yourself.

Christian

[Xamonas Chegwe]

Attempt to prove you wrong, christian? I wouldn't dream of it. You put more people off christianity with your inanities than a humble atheist like me could ever hope to.

btw, haven't you ever noticed how close the name Santa is to Satan? Coincidence? I think not!

[Whifflingpin]

""I call God Duvel, Brother"
"It sounds very like Devil....And what call you divine, I mean godly?"
"I call that duvelskoe"
...
"Would it not be a rum think if divine and devilish were originally one and the same word."

George Borrow, "Lavengro"

.

[Orionsbelt]

For myself a religious experience is the experience of wonder. I have had a few of these moments in my life where things are clearly beautiful and I have a certain kind of inherant understanding. A few have been the sun, a contemplation of people all over the world busy with their day to day lives all at once, the wonder of a tree that "sleeps" over the winter. The buddists believe that all life is sorrowful. They try to eliminate life in themselves and thereby eliminate pain on the path to illumination. I think otherwise. It's all very wonderful. Pain is part of that wonder as is death. I try everyday to learn to accept the world as it is and be at peace with it. The christian notion that we are somehow being punished is somewhat foolish to me as well. I think Jesus was trying to teach this notion and we missed it. He is a hero figure living in the painful world and loving it. In my opinion, most religious folks live in death. They can't wait to die so they can enjoy all of the good things that they deny themselves here. This seems very wierd to me. I'm not talking about going selfish, socio-pathic, or criminal. I will go with Mark Twain on this one. He was quoted to have said "A harp, a hym book, and a halo, good God what a swindle. Give me heaven for climate and hell for company."

[Kashkin]

truth is more important than the facts
This might be my gosh darned, general predjudices speaking, but by golly; aren't facts what make that ol' thing called truth?

So you know, in order to use...

simple research and our God given common sense.
Wouldn't one evaluate the facts and base their version of the "truth" on them?

Although in your case, I imagine a room full of faeces throwing monkeys, with a big viewscreen so you can watch and spot patterns in the poop, and thus form such ideas as you have.

... I like monkeys.

[Orionsbelt]

refer you to William James

[Joakim]

I am not sure I believe in religion, but I do believe in free will.
I suppose Christian’s definition of two religions how extreme they may sound could be defined in my philosophy as two basic ways, one that is defined by compassion or love if you would rather use that word, may sound a little corny though, the other by fear and/or ignorance.
But that does not mean an action is either one or the other but a combination of these, nothing is black or white.
I think this experience is often interpreted to show you that everything is connected and you are part of it, and I think it’s also supposed to make you think in new ways.

I use the word supposed but I really have no clue if this is intentional by a something or if it’s a part of evolution, or both.
If I have to guess I would say there are many religions for us but they all lead to the same place. I don’t believe in Satan or hell or heaven as it is described but if I have to guess this world is what we make of it and earth can be just as bad as hell at times and equally amazing other times.

Christian, I read your post before I posted this. There where many things in your post that made me a little concerned with how you are feeling at the moment and some things that I did understand but I felt you did not explain in a way that would prevent people from thinking you are raving.
And then there was one thing that made me rather curious:
The Madonna and child can be seen in :
-Buddhism
I don’t know much about all religions but I know some about Buddhism, I have never seen this.

But then again, im not sure of anything anymore.

[Evergreenleaf]

I would say that a religious experience must be something that convinces a person that a religion is right. Maybe it's a moment where things suddenly make sense, or a connection is made; maybe it's a feeling that one has that one attributes to divine intervention or something.

I can't say for sure. I've never had one, myself. Religion is not for me.

[jon1jt]

Religious Experience---there was a great article in Time magazine last year, I think, that went into the latest findings on the brain and religious experience, and the little I can remember from this wonderful article was that a region in the brain has been uncovered that excretes (or is sensitized) during a period of time people claim to be having a religious experience. More interesting is that the phenomena cuts across religions.

I believe that there is no religious experience---unless you want to consider delusions of grandeur "real experience," which I do not. It's interesting the scores of Christan folks who claim to have had seen or heard Jesus's voice during a religious experience always involves jesus, never Yahweh, never Muhammed. The reason seems obvious, the strict adherence to narrative. Harold Bloom got it right: He said, minus Judeo-Christian scripture, there is no religious experience that involves jesus. Jesus is the centerpiece of the narrative, and a narrative that successfully instantiates a demonic force that's out to destroy the religion out of which it was born, you have yourself...well, the ingredients for a vibrant religious experience. Nazism was a similar animal. Watch the old Nazi films of Nazis marching in unision to the German Anthem. Many were having a full-blown religious experience right there (their own demented version). I think anyone interested in topic should check out JOSEPH CAMPBELL'S POWER OF MYTH on video/DVD, aired first on PBS. Incredible!!!!! I highly recommend it. Well, I don't want to violate the spirit of this thread, so I'll ride off into the sunset now. Enjoy-

[Theshizznigg]

"The greatest enemy of the church is not Atheism, but false religion."

That being said, I've never really had an overly religious experience. I can feel Gods presence when I pray to him, and it is truly an enlightening feeling for the mind.
I feel the holy spirit when I earnestly pray for something, like the other day I witnessed a clean up of a car accident, and as I passed I felt the urge to pray for that person, that he/she they, would be alright.
I also feel at ease when I've given my confessions, but that is merely relief of my own burdens.
Whats funny is that it never happened to me, when I went through my first course of Christianity, and now that I'm in my second I feel it.
Which is even odder for me, because I'm not a very spiritual person either.

Aside from those two thing, If i'm in a congregation, and they really are hot christians, then one can usually feel the aura that they exude.

Other than that, I can't say I've ever had any religous experiences.
My brother would be the one to ask for that, he died three times, and went blind before, he fully recovered from his head injury.
Shizz.

"Love andu Peace!"

[Mililalil XXIV]

Religion must be a reconnection to GOD. There is an experience of this reconnection, but it is all for nothing if one afterward strays from GOD, failing to ever afterward have a perpetual experience of GOD as one's own LIFE.

[Pendragon]

What is a religious experience? Long ago a man named Pilate asked a question of a condemned prisoner named Jesus. A simple question. "And what is truth?" Ask either of these questions to any hundred people and you'll likely get a hundred different answers. Some may be similar, but if you dig a little, it won't take too long to unearth some point upon which they cannot agree. The question is kind of a "loaded" one. My own view would likely interest no one but myself and quite certainly would be disbelieved by the grand majority. If you really require an answer to any question, you cannot beat personal experience as a method of learning all about it. And that is my answer to both questions. :nod:

[higley]

Very insightful, Pendragon :)

For me, a "religious experience" means simply: you experience God. It doesn't have to be a humongous event that creates a tidal wave of emotion; it can be the little things. Some times, when things work out in an unexpected way, or a small misfortune results in a wonderful thing down the line, you experience God and you're reminded that he's always there and he's got it covered :P

[woeful painter]

for me...it's when I feel God's love through all that happens to me throughout the day...no matter what event happens...no matter how odd it may get, 'coz God's signs of His great presence can sometimes be the least of what we expect...or what we only wish to expect...or see...I believe one must go beyond the limitations of human comprehension...