R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 1

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1 Are Religious Experiences proof that God exists? LO: To explore the four types of Religious Experiences. Do Religious experiences PROOVE that God exists? R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 1

2 So, what is a Religious Experience? An event that people feel gives them direct contact with God. OR A powerful experience that draws you closer to God. R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 2

3 Different religious experiences: Numinous the feeling of the presence of something greater than yourself in nature or through worship. Prayer an attempt to communicate with God, usually through words Miracle something which seems to break a law of science, to which the only answer is God Conversion when your life is changed by giving yourself to God N.P.M.C R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 3

4 Numinous: Feeling the presence of God... Where might you feel in the presence of something greater than you? Looking up at the stars? (the awe and wonder of nature) In a church? During Worship? R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 4

5 Worship Many religious people say you can experience God through worship. People sometimes go to churches where the worship (singing and preaching) is very powerful. Deb Matthews was at one of these services when suddenly her whole body felt warm; I felt the presence of God. Deb was in deep despair and had been thinking of suicide that day. She is now a counsellor for other people who are very depressed. R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 5

6 Prayer & Meditation: Attempting to contact God... Helps you build your relationship with God Feel God s presence Prayer is a two way conversation between you and God. gh-guide-to-prayer/2871.html R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 6

7 Unanswered Prayers; If God does not answer prayers, how do you know he exists? R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 7

8 Why might this lead to agnosticism, or even atheism? Prayer can be defined as an attempt to contact God, usually through words. So when people pray, they are attempting to contact God. Many religious people claim that they feel that God is listening to their prayers... However, some people say their prayers in Church and at home, but never feel God s presence Why does God reveal himself to some and not others? R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 8

9 Unanswered Prayers: A young missionary couple asked the members of their church to pray that they would have a safe journey to their new posting in Nepal. However, the plane crashed killing them and their three young children Why didn t God listen to these prayers? Doesn t God care? God is meant to be BENEVOLENT!!! R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 9

10 Why some prayers and not others? God answers prayers in the forms of yes, no, and wait so in this sense, all prayers are answered God answers in your best interests... R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 10

11 Yes, no and wait... You enter a competition, to win a top of the range sports car and you pray to God that you will win... You don t win the car, and you feel that God has ignored your prayer or doesn t exist at all. However a week after this contest, you find out the person who actually won, died in a car accident involving this vehicle. Could it be that God was looking in your best interests by saying no to this particular prayer? What obligation does God have to answer your prayer for wanting a sports car, when people live in Poverty? R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 11

12 Miracles: God performing acts that go against the laws of science/nature. Make you see God s power (Omnipotence) Show you God must exist due to God acting in the world. God is both Immanent and Transcendent. Super natural events can only be down to God so God exists!!! R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 12

13 Conversion: Changing your life by dedicating it to God The most famous Biblical example of a conversion experience is the conversion of Saul (who hated Christians) to St Paul... R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 13

14 Saul to Paul... Saul was on the road to Damascus, where he would persecute Christians God appeared to Saul in the form of a blinding light God said to Saul, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? God revealed who he was to Saul, and then Saul became a new man and changed his name to Paul R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 14

15 Paul Saul had been terrorising the early Christians. After seeing the light, he was blinded and terrified. He regained his sight after three days. From then on, he became a different person. He became a Christian and spread the gospel of Jesus. His ideas are used in churches throughout the world. R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 15

16 Activities 1. Name four different types of religious experience (N.P.M.C) 2. What is meant by conversion? 3. Re read Paul s conversion experience, why might a theist accept this as genuine? 4. What reasons might an atheist give for denying it was a religious experience? R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 16

17 Religious Experience Summary Some people say it is to know if you have had a religious experience or not. Others say that a experience is one that changes your forever. They believe a religious experience will give you a deeper and awareness of God. These experiences can make a person change their lives and those of around them. people religious difficult life knowledge real R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 17

18 Looking for proof of God s existence Theists say that there are ways you can prove that God exists. 1. A religious experience may have changed your life and made you a better person (1 st hand experience) You may even be willing to die for your faith as a result of your experience!!! 2. A religious experience may have changed the lives of others for the better. (2 nd hand experience) 3. Thousands of people claim to have had a religious experience surely they can t all be wrong / lying / deluded. (2 nd hand experience) 4. There is no other LOGICAL explanation for these religious experiences. These supernatural experiences are due to a transcendent, omnipotent God. 5. Religions are founded upon the religious experiences of their founders / leaders ~ Muhammad, Jesus, Guru Nanak all had religious experiences! R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 18

19 Looking for proof of God s existence Atheists say that religious experiences DON T prove that God exists. 1. Religious experiences are SUBJECTIVE (only the person involved knows what they saw or how they feel there may be NO WITNESSES) 2. Religious experiences are difficult to prove as genuine! 3. Religious experiences could have been made up / unreliable / wishful thinking / illusion / imagination / cannot be trusted. 4. Could there be a scientific / psychological answer to explain the Numinous feeling Prayer answered Miracle Conversion experience It might NOT be GOD that caused the experience! R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 19

20 Circle Debate!!! Argument 1: Religious experiences prove that God exists. Argument 2: Religious experiences don t prove that God exists. R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 20

21 Do religious experiences prove that God exists? (6 MARKS) On the one hand I think religious experiences prove that God exists because I agree because However, on the other hand religious experiences do NOT prove that God exists because.he other hand I disagree because Some religious people may believe that believe that because. To conclude I personally think that Religious experiences do / do NOT prove that God exists because. R Calvert, Colton Hills Community School 21