Religious Experience – The key features according of conversion and

prayerBy the end of this lesson

you will have:

• Revised what you know so far on

mysticism, N.D.E and Philosophy of Religion

• Been introduced to the key concepts of

conversion and prayer

Concept Map

• Complete your concept map to revise what we have studied so far

Conversion

• Denotes the changing from one set of beliefs to another.

• There are several features

• It is often seen as a ‘regeneration of truth’

Conversion – Edwin Starbuck

• Ordinary or ‘non-religious’ versions of conversions are very similar to religious ones

• Happens only with young adults (14-19)

• They will feel incomplete, imperfect, brooding, depressed, introspective and anxious

• When they convert to adulthood, they will feel ‘a happy relief’ and objectivity

Conversion – Edwin Starbuck

• Starbuck suggests that a religious conversion of an adolescent to an evangelical religion will have very similar feelings

• He sees it as a process of struggling away from sin rather than striving towards righteousness

• He argues that man must ‘stop trying’ to change for a conversion to occur naturally

Conversion – William James

• James believes that it is only certain people who will ever be able to have a specifically religious conversion

• These people will have to be open to religious ideas

Two features of conversion

• A conscious and voluntary experience – the volitional type

• An involuntary and unconscious experience –the self surrender type

Two features of conversion

• A conscious and voluntary experience – the volitional type:

• The features of this type is a gradual change

• A slow development of new moral and spiritual habits

• It may be that on one day the person ‘suddenly feels aware’ of how they have changed

Two features of conversion

• An involuntary and unconscious experience –the self surrender type:

• These represent the subconscious effects

• Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity

• One’s conversion must be left to ‘other forces’

TASK

• Watch this video of St Paul’s conversion. Write on your sheet where you see they key features according to the scholars we have just studied.

• St Paul’s conversion

Prayer

• In the wise sense this means every kind of inward communion or conversation with the power recognised as Divine.

• There are many different types of prayer; blessing, adoration, petition, asking forgiveness, intercession, thanksgiving, praise

Prayer

• People often see prayer as the very essence of religion

• It is often prayer which distinguishes the religious phenomenon from other phenomenon

• It is the conviction that something is genuinely transacted

• We learn things from prayer which can’t be learnt in any other way

Prayer – William James

• James used the example of George Muller of Bristol (19th cent)

• Muller ran orphanages and schools

• He lived by prayer and believing what God provides

• He believed that prayer kept the orphanages alive

• So a key feature of prayer, was that they were answered

Example of Prayer

• Speaking in tongues in Pentecostal churches

• Known as Glossolalia

• The features of this are:

• That people will speak in a holy language unknown to them

• They will feel filled with the Holy Spirit

• People will feel better after they have spoken in this way

TASK

• Write down all the ways in which speaking in tongues may seem religious to some but then may have an alternative explanation to others