Religious experience argument the existence of god. A religious experience has significance for the person who experiences it. In their place, he suggests how we ought to explicate religious experience. Its also known as the argument from first cause, the. A compelling new work makes the case that most modern arguments against belief are attacking the wrong god.
The one theology book all atheists really should read news the. Religious and philosophical views of albert einstein. Ontological proof and the critique of religious experience. George explains in more detail how philosophers and theologians define a religious experience.
Rs aqa as religious experience study guide by katiewestby includes 50 questions covering vocabulary, terms and more. A religious experience proves that god exists do you. Almost everybody who is religious will claim some sort of religious experience i do not have evidence to back this claim, it is an assumption about which i freely admit i may be completely wrong. After that first book, i found other books with more scientific evidence. We realize that many people, both believers and nonbelievers, doubt that gods existence can be demonstrated or even argued about. The existence of god what we call religious experience can differ greatly. Those who wish to wedge religion into everyones life describe a good experience as religious in an effort to gather in the sheeps. What if most modern arguments against religious belief have been attacking the wrong god all along. For most christians, one god is represented by three distinct aspects, which make up the holy trinity.
A significant number of people report transcendent experiences of what has been called in the west cosmic consciousness, and in the east samadhi wholeness, satori enlightenment, moksha liberation, or nirvana unconditioned consciousness, etc. God, santa claus wikimediamilles studio via shutterstock can we prove that god exists. Reviews of books with scientific evidence that god exists. The argument from religious experience arguments for the. Apart from conversations with god, religious experiences include miracles and other hardtoexplain phenomena. Religious ecstasy, on the other hand, is the result of neurotransmitters being released during certain events. Douglas geivett, professor of philosophy at talbot school of philosophy, biola university. Either way, the god concept becomes real to the person doing the believing. There is no evidence of higher value or authority than the word of god. They are interesting because evaluating their soundness requires attention. A religious experience sometimes known as a spiritual experience, sacred experience, or mystical experience is a subjective experience which is interpreted within a religious framework. After over 40 years of not believing that god exists, i was dared by a christian friend to read a book. In this section you will find arguments of many different kinds for the existence of god. Opponents of the religious experience argument claim that religious experiences involve imagination rather than perception, and point out that there is always the possibility of fabricating artificial experiences of god, or that the experiences may not actually be religious at all but are merely interpreted that way by religious people this would go some way towards explaining why it seems.
Einstein believed the problem of god was the most difficult in the worlda question that could not be answered simply with yes or no. What can atheists say about religious people using the. List of books and articles about religious experience. The best arguments for gods existence dont challenge atheists. Opinions on god are everywhere, but answering the question does god exist. I mean, real evidence that shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is a god. That kinda sums up the typical disagreements found on the forum though. When people argue against god s existence with you, share these six proofs. Religious experience is human experience labeled as something different. Under certain conditions, religious beliefs generated by religious experiences are likely to be true. The varieties of religious experience pragmatism a pluralistic universe the meaning of truth some problems of philosophy essays library of america. Arguments why god very probably exists the conversation.
This is the best proof that god exists in my opinion. Recommended books on the existence of god natasha crain. Lee strobel is a journalist who believed science proved there is no god. However, the apologetic thinkers were aware that many people held a contrary. Some reports exist of supernatural happenings that it would be difficult to explain from a rational, scientific point of view. Theologians make the distinction between religious experiences and paranormal phenomena. A personal experience that cannot be described in normal language. List of books and articles about existence of god online. Many people have been led to believe its impossible to prove the existence of god, but nothing could be further from the truth. Among those who follow this mode of the religious traditions is where we find many saints and re. Religious experience is defined as more or less direct inner communion or encounter with something divine.
Experiences that are part of a religious life include the ups and downs of faith, doubt, sacrifice, and achievement. I interpret science through the lens of the word of god, which presupposes the truth of genesis. Ultimately, what we see in human experience, science, logic, and history leads to a confident answer. There are compelling reasons for believing that claims of religious experience point to and validate spiritual realities that exist in a way that transcends mater. Now, rebecca newberger goldstein, known to edge readers as a philosopher who has interesting things to say about godel and spinoza. Religious experience stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. This is the ultimate book on the evidence for god s existence. The experience cannot be proved, but the individual will be convinced of the reality of what has happened. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. I can say as others have said that it is circular logic, but let me take a somewhat different spin. Religious experiences can be characterized generally as experiences that seem to the person having them to be of some objective reality and to have some religious import.
In my humble opinion, any one of the books below have sufficient scientific evidence to prove the existence of god. Examine the strengths and weaknesses of the argument for the existence of god based on religious experience. The author, a geological engineer, describes the geological systems of the earth, dating methods, including radiometric dating, and shows that the earth was made within thousands, not millions, of years. Does the fact that people have reported religious experiences prove. Richard swinburne is formerly nolloth professor of the philosophy of the christian religion, university of oxford.
In my opinion, the best proof that god exists is this. The argument merely indicates the probability of god and this is of little value to a religious believer. Moral arguments for gods existence form a diverse family of arguments that reason from some feature of morality or the moral life to the existence of god, usually understood as a morally good creator of the universe. Through a deeper investigation of science he however gradually came to the discovery that science actually proves the existence of god. The big question is whether god really exists outside the brain, such as the above mentioned apple.
Therefore, my religious belief that god exists is likely to be true. Discover librarianselected research resources on existence of god from the questia online library, including fulltext online books, academic journals, magazines, newspapers and more. But, an experience with god, for the believer, settles that question, for them, and at the end of the day, thats really all that matters. While others may not have the ability to prove the existence of god, through anothers experiences, they also cannot disprove this existence. Moral arguments are both important and interesting. The argument from religious experience a level philosophy. Religious experience argument for the existence of god. The question arises as to how humans can be sure that the spiritual being, the supreme being actually exists. The vast majority of believers dont even read theology, and are barely aware of the arguments for god made by sophisticated theologians. That reality can be an individual, a state of affairs, a fact, or even an absence, depending on the religious tradition the experience is a part of. While you dont owe anyone an explanation for your faith, knowing how to defend. This view is a deadly mistake and would lead to atheism.
Religious experience does it prove the existence of god. Genocidal noahs ark story, and example of yhvh directing the israelites to extinguish a neighbourin. William james proves that god exists in his book the varieties of religious experience. What do atheists think about the argument from religious. Philosophy of religion stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. People have so many definitions of god so it is hard to prove that god exists. Debates over the existence of god can be tricky, especially since the burden of proof often falls on the believer. The faith of many religions is centred on a god or gods. William james popularised the concept many religious and mystical traditions see religious. Scientific proof of god the case for a creator several scientists. Einstein used many labels to describe his religious views, including agnostic, religious nonbeliever and a pantheistic believer in spinozas god.
A person may say they had personally seen, heard or felt god. Can a religious experience show that there is a god. These experiences seem to suggest that he either exists or that he exists by suggestion. The existence of god based on religious experience essay. Read 101 answers by scientists with 71 recommendations from their colleagues to the question asked by krzysztof trzcinski on aug 1, 2019.
This firsthand experience is utterly convincing to that person. The argument from religious experience the argument for god, based on personal religious experiences, is an argument that cannot be refuted by others. We dont look at the world and then say this is truth, therefore we must conform the scriptures to what we see. Can one believe in the existence of god without following any. For example, such mystical experiences that can only be explained by. The argument from religious experience is an argument for the existence of god. The christians experience does not prove that god exists, any more than the hindus religious experience proves that brahma or vishnu exists. It holds that the best explanation for religious experiences is that they constitute. Religious experience refers to the moment in which a believer has a revelation from god or another religious figure.
I was surprised to find that there was scientific evidence for the existence of god. Religious experience, argument for the existence of god. God and religious tolerationthe proof of god wikibooks. In my opinion, no it doesnt prove anything to the world in general. Philosophy of religion involves all the main areas of philosophy. The cosmological argument is an argument for the existence of god that says that god is the first cause that created the universe source. The argument from religious experience the argument many people have experiences they identify as religious. Philosophy of religion proofs for the existence of god an. The evidential force of religious experience by caroline franks davis clarendon press, 1999. The understandings of religious experience offered by the likes of schleiermacher and otto go with it. David bentley harts the experience of god, published. A religious experience could be a dream or vision where god speaks to a person, or it could be a miraculous healing. Learn about and revise the way christians see god and explore christian ideas of truth with bbc bitesize gcse religious studies. A religious experience may make a believer of you but it may not prove god exists as your experience may not.
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