Religious Experience in the 19th and 20th Centuries

It is worth having a few good examples to hand in this subject from recent claims about religious experiences.
What I intend to do here is to list a number of claims about religious experience and I wish to make it clear that I pass no judgement on any of them. As far as your examiner is concerned none of the following is inadmissible although from a critical viewpoint you, the reader may feel that some are less convincing than others.

St Bernadette of Lourdes 1858
In 1858 Bernadette Soubirous, a young girl aged 14 experienced a vision near a spring just outside the French town of Lourdes. The vision was of a lady who revealed herself as the “immaculate conception.” Bernadette believed that the vision was of the Virgin Mary. It is said that between February and July 1858 that the apparition appeared to Bernadette 18 times. There was a certain level of scepticism initially but soon a grotto was built, pilgrims began arriving and miraculous healings were recorded. Bernadette was declared to be a saint by the Roman Catholic Church in 1933.

Our Lady of Knock (Southern Ireland) 1879
On the evening of 21st August 1879, two women from the village were walking back to their homes in the rain. As they passed the wall of the church they saw figures standing there who were said to be the Virgin Mary, St Joseph and St John. Angels were seen around them. The women called several other people to the church and they also experienced the apparition. A total of 13 villagers saw the Virgin Mary clothed in white, wearing a crown. Other villagers, who did not go to the scene, reported that a curious light could be seen that evening around the church. In time pilgrims came to the village to see the place where the vision had been reported and some pilgrims claimed miraculous healings. The Roman Catholic Church endorsed the claims in 1936. The site was visited by Pope John Paul II in 1979.

Our Lady of Fatima (Portugal) 1917
Three shepherd children experienced six visions of the Virgin Mary at Fatima in Portugal. The visions, which were only seen by the children took place on the 13th day of six consecutive months starting in May 1917. The visions are quite complex and involved secrets which the children were asked to keep. News had spread about the visions and when the last apparition came there were over 70,000 people present to witness it. Even so Mary appeared only to the children. The waiting crowd however experienced a “Miracle of the Sun” which, according to the records, declared that the sun made wild movements in the heavens.

Those three should do you for Marian visions. There are many more, including
Our Lady of Guardalupe 1531
Reported visions of the Virgin Mary in Egypt – Zeitoun 1968 and Assiut 2001-2002.
Toronto Blessing (Toronto Airport Fellowship – Canada*) 1994
This was a group religious experience which fascinated the press in Europe, but, apart from the congregation at the Airport Church in Toronto, was largely unnoticed in Canada and America. The name was given to a form of ecstatic worship experienced in this evangelical community. Members of the congregation would shake laugh uncontrollably, roll on the floor or even pass out at the touch of one of the ministers. This last action became known as “slaying in the spirit.”
Pentecostal evangelical churches were divided about the validity of this experience. Many believed it was a manifestation of the spirit of God. Others claimed it was demonically inspired.
Some churches in London practised slaying in the spirit. Others claimed to have experienced the “blessing”. Communities in South America and Africa also became involved in this sort of charismatic worship.
Along with the Toronto Blessing you might look up Slaying in the spirit and the phenomenon known as speaking in tongues. There are good links to all of these on my website follow the link-click here.

 

One final suggestion I would make for a candidate who wants to chance an original idea – why not include:-

Religious Society of Friends
A meeting for worship is conducted in silence. The silence is kept so that Friends may experience not just peace and quiet but also something of God. The purpose is to allow an openness to the inspiration of God or the Spirit.
Unlike the specific apparitions of Mary it is through the silence that individuals feel in touch with something beyond themselves. They attempt to enhance this experience when a Friend is moved to speak. Apart from the silence and the occasional contribution there is no other aspect to the worship in a Quaker meeting.

In this section I would use internet sources

St Bernadette http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=147
Knock http://www.marypages.com/Knock1.htm
Fatima http://www.theholyrosary.org/fatimaapparitions Beware though the site has piano music playing a Marian hymn
For more recent examples of religious experience, I would suggest the following link to my web page. Corporate Religious Experience
*Toronto Airport Fellowship is now known as “Catch the Fire Toronto.”

Thinking about religious experience part 2

Religious experience in Islam
The whole basis of Islam depends on revelations given to Muhammad. The Qur’an, the holy book of Islam was revealed to the Prophet in a series of visions. It is also true to say that Muhammad struggled at first with the very idea that he was receiving revelations. It was only through the counsel of his wife Khadijah and his cousin Waraqah that he came to believe that his experiences were of a similar nature to Old Testament prophets and messengers of God.

Religious experience in Christianity
You need to be familiar with two or three personalities and to be aware of distinctive ideas that they held. In an A level essay you are not going to have time to say very much about individuals, but key ideas and phrases associated with each person are important.
I have selected 3 (4 if you include St Paul on the road to Damascus… it is a poor essay that fails to include him as an example…see my earlier note on religious experience in the Bible). The three I have selected here have clear distinguishing features and can easily be researched if you have a wish to know more about them.

Julian of Norwich (Mother Julian) 1342 -1416
Mother Julian was a recluse from Carrow Abbey in Norwich. At the beginning of 1373 she became gravely ill. A week later a priest was called to administer the last rights. He placed a crucifix in front of her bed where she could meditate upon it.
As she looked at the crucifix she received 16 showings (Mother Julian’s term for a revelation.) The first 15 happened within five hours and the 16^th took place the following night.

Quotation

• “All the blessed teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ was shown to me in three parts, that is to say by bodily sight and in word formed in my understanding and by ghostly sight.

Significance

• She attempted to describe the nature of the relationship between God and humans.

Main theme – God is love

• Julian saw the whole creation sustained by God’s love. God continues to be involved in the process of creation. “closer is he than breathing.”
• God is seen as master and creation is his servant.
• God as Mother – Julian also talked about God as Mother.

St John of the Cross 1542 – 1591
He was a Carmelite monk and a reformer of his order. He believed that monastic discipline had been relaxed among Carmelite monks of his own day. He initiated a series of reforms which proved unpopular. As a result of this he was imprisoned for 9 months and his ideas led to a split in the religious community.
He wrote extensively about Christian mystical experiences and is known for his writing about the progress of the soul through meditation.

He spoke about

• The night of the senses The soul is purified by the experience of this. The soul maintains itself through pure faith, having departed from the senses.
• The night of the spirit. This follows the night of the senses. Here the soul is purified by Divine Action. This experience is often accompanied by great suffering.

St John saw all of this as a purifying process during which the soul is prepared for union with God.

St Teresa of Avila 1515 – 1582
She was a Carmelite nun and is one of the best known Christian mystics. She received a series of visions which she claimed provided her with insights into the nature of God.
She was a reformer of the Carmelite Order for women. Her insistence on absolute poverty in the house which she founded was not acceptable to many churchmen. Nevertheless her reforms prevailed despite serious opposition. Her pattern was followed eventually by a number of male Carmelite religious houses.

Teresa’s mysticism was catalogued by her in four stages

1. The first is “mental prayer”. This marks a withdrawal from the world and contemplation of the Passion of Christ.
2. The second she refers to as “prayer of quiet” in which the human will is lost in that of God. This completes the move away from the distractions of the world.
3. Next comes the “devotion of union” This is an ecstatic state, but one which is described as a blissful peace. It is moving towards a union with God.
4. Lastly Teresa speaks of “devotion of ecstasy or rapture”. This is a passive state in which awareness of being in the body disappears. Some of the language used in this section seems imbued with almost erotic symbolism. For many in the church this was too much.

In 1572 she claimed to have experienced a “spiritual marriage with Jesus.”

Despite all of this she drew up a scheme for examining claims about religious experiences.

1. Experiences should be within the traditions of the church.
2. The would be visionary must discuss claims with a spiritual advisor.
3. They should bring about some sort of change in the life of the person.

A really good image to be aware of in connection with St Teresa is Bernini’s statue of the Ecstasy of St Teresa, which is in the Basilica of Santa Maria Della Vittoria in Rome. There is a very balanced interpretation of Bernini’s masterpiece at click for link.

Further reading
St Julian of Norwich
Revelations of Divine Love – Penguin Classics A C Spearing and Elizabeth Spearing,

St John of the Cross
The Impact of God Soundings from St John of the Cross by Jean Vanier and Iain Matthew. Contains a good introduction from Jean Vanier

St Teresa of Avila
St. Teresa of Avila: A Woman for Her Times, Her Culture, Her Church and of the Living Spirit [Paperback] by Sonya Quitslund PhD; Susan Muto PhD  You can usually find fairly cheap second hand copies of this book.

Thinking about religious experience part 1

Before we look at what scholars say about religious experience, it seems important to know who and what is involved in the subject. Some A level text books are not good at suggesting where you might find stories describing religious experiences. On the other hand you may not have time to read original accounts. Here I am going to suggest some sources of information which you may research in greater depth if you have the time and the interest.

The Bible as a source of religious experience

Old Testament
The Old Testament is full of stories where the individuals encounter God.
Abraham is called by God Genesis in chapters 13, 15 and 17, but perhaps the story to focus on is:-
Abraham’s proposed sacrifice of his son Isaac Genesis 22 In Hebrew it is a very poetic and beautifully written story, known to many Jews as the Akedah.
Jacob has a dream in Genesis 28 where he sees a ladder set up from heaven to earth and the angels of God ascending and descending.
Jacob has a much more physical encounter with God/an angel in Genesis 32:24-32. Here Jacob wrestles with a being until daybreak.
In the book of Exodus it is worth reading how Moses was called by God. He sees a bush which is burning, but which is not consumed by the fire. From out of the fire God speaks Moses’ name. Exodus 3:1-6.
Samuel, prophet, priest and king-maker receives a call from God as a young boy. He had been taken to live at the shrine at Shiloh. In the night he hears the voice of God calling him 1 Samuel 3:1-14.
Isaiah, the Old Testament prophet receives his call from God by means of a stunning vision in the Temple at Jerusalem. Isaiah 6:1-9.

New Testament
The Gospels suggest that Jesus was also the recipient of religious experiences.
Baptism of Jesus was accompanied by a visionary appearance and the sound of a voice. Mark 1:9-11
Transfiguration Mark 9:2-8 describes a vision seen by 3 disciples of Jesus in which the voice of God is heard and Jesus is seen along with Moses and Elijah in a glorified state.
One of the most detailed religious experiences in the New Testament is the so called conversion of St Paul on the road to Damascus. Acts of the Apostles 9:2-9.
This text, I think is a basic essential in any discussion about religious experience.
In detail it says
Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. 8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Please note I am merely drawing attention to examples of where the Bible records accounts of religious experience. All of these accounts are of course subjects of theological discussion. The purpose of this article is simply to draw the reader’s attention to what I think are the major accounts of religious experience made in the Bible and to enable students to find the stories for themselves.

The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyrighted 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and are used by permission. All rights reserved.