Examine Both the Main Characteristics of Both Visions and Conversion Experiences
Examine the main characteristics of both visions and conversion experiences [30 marks]
Visions and conversions are both a type of religious experience- it’s a subjective experience where an individual reports contact with a supernatural reality, an encounter or union with the divine, Religious experiences are preoccupied by extraordinary psychological state and no one can give real evidence about it.
According to William James, a 20th century philosopher; every religious experience has four characteristics. Ineffability, meaning that these experiences can’t be expressed or it is challenging to express them; people often gain an insight or they learn something from the experience of how to carry on with their life. Transiency, although to the person who experiences it may think it seems to last a long time, in reality it will only have been a couple of minutes; and passivity, the person feels helpless and they weren’t expecting it or looking for it.
A vision is an experience of seeing something in the mind; it is perceived as though the vision is real in the physical world, although it comes with awareness that is said to not physically exist. There are three types of vision: corporeal visions; imaginative visions and intellectual visions. A corporeal vision is something that is seen or heard, and for which there’s no explanation, it’s likely that not everyone sees it but only one person or even a select group. A known example of this is the Virgin Mary being seen in the 1980s at in Medjugorje where a young girl appeared to see an apparition of the Virgin Mary, and through the next 3 days a few others saw her too. Imaginative visions are when a figure is seen in a dream or a state of unconsciousness. The person who sees the vision is aware that they aren’t really there, and they know they’re outside the dream or imagination. These visions are said to have been occurred by a supernatural agent and their reason is to demonstrate religious truths to those
Visions and conversions are both a type of religious experience- it’s a subjective experience where an individual reports contact with a supernatural reality, an encounter or union with the divine, Religious experiences are preoccupied by extraordinary psychological state and no one can give real evidence about it.
According to William James, a 20th century philosopher; every religious experience has four characteristics. Ineffability, meaning that these experiences can’t be expressed or it is challenging to express them; people often gain an insight or they learn something from the experience of how to carry on with their life. Transiency, although to the person who experiences it may think it seems to last a long time, in reality it will only have been a couple of minutes; and passivity, the person feels helpless and they weren’t expecting it or looking for it.
A vision is an experience of seeing something in the mind; it is perceived as though the vision is real in the physical world, although it comes with awareness that is said to not physically exist. There are three types of vision: corporeal visions; imaginative visions and intellectual visions. A corporeal vision is something that is seen or heard, and for which there’s no explanation, it’s likely that not everyone sees it but only one person or even a select group. A known example of this is the Virgin Mary being seen in the 1980s at in Medjugorje where a young girl appeared to see an apparition of the Virgin Mary, and through the next 3 days a few others saw her too. Imaginative visions are when a figure is seen in a dream or a state of unconsciousness. The person who sees the vision is aware that they aren’t really there, and they know they’re outside the dream or imagination. These visions are said to have been occurred by a supernatural agent and their reason is to demonstrate religious truths to those