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Philosophy of Religion |
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Chapter 5 Arguments for the Existence of God: Experience |
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Section 5. Religious Experiences |
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For
ma A
Religious experience
is an encounter of a human being with a supernatural being, be it a deity
or an emissary or intermediary for the deity, nevertheless a spiritual
entity. Some are quick and pleased to accept a report of someone claiming to have heard the voice of GOD or Allah or of Mary or Jesus. If they are inspired to lead or continue on with moral lives, few would be troubled by the reports but what of these cases? A woman claims to have heard the voice of GOD command her to kill her own daughter who is possessed by Satan. And she does kill her. A man claims that Jesus appeared and directed him to throw his son out of the window and then he does do so. A young man claims he has been commanded by Allah to throw or plant a bomb to kill the blasphemers. He does so. See below for other examples of people who claim a deity or devil spoke to them and issued commands. GOD MADE ME DO IT ! Why is it that people are quick to reject claims of people who report contacting GOD or spirits or emissaries from GOD when the result is some heinous act? Why is it in such cases nearly everyone would look for an alternative explanation to account for the claims being made?When people report having seen Mary or Jesus why is it they are not asked how they knew who it was? Why is it that the reports of the appearance of sacred and divine figures vary? Should not the deity appear the same? Why would Mary sometimes look one way and then appear differently? How does anyone know what Jesus or Mary or Ezekiel or Gabriel looked like?
Not
all who learn of the reports of such religious experiences accept them as
conclusive evidence for the existence of a supernatural reality or
spiritual beings. Many have attempted to give alternative accounts of such
experiences that do not involve acceptance of the existence of any
supernatural entities or reality. Naturalism
is an approach to religious experiences
which explains them as being the result of natural forces. It accounts for
such phenomena in natural terms without recourse to anything that is
beyond the physical realm. In general, all reality and all experiences can
be accounted for (fully explained) in terms of physical processes.
There
are different explanations for the origin and nature of religious
experiences. What they have in common is the rejection of a supernatural
source or object and the attempt to offer a full explanation in
empirically verifiable terms.
Psychological
explanations have been offered by several theoreticians, including Sigmund
Freud. Sociological explanations have also been developed by several other
scientists, such as Emil Durkheim. What they have in common is the refusal
to accept religious experiences as being truthful, accurate, or believable
in so far as the existence of any supernatural reality. One of the
principle reasons for withholding acceptance of the reports is that the
experiences can not be verified and what they report encountering can not
be verified empirically.
Is
the religious experience veridical? Is it truthful? Is it a report which
others can accept as being Correct? Truthful? Accurate? Suppose
we accept that humans
should accept religious experiences as
being veridical UNLESS there exists positive grounds for thinking
otherwise, for thinking that the reports are not truthful, accurate or
correct. Some
do claim that there are positive grounds for rejecting the reports of such
experiences, i.e., against their being veridical experiences
When people hear of those who claim to
have seen god or an angel or have heard a voice or were instructed
by god to kill their child, most people are inclined to think that
the claim is not an accurate and truthful report. Most tend not to believe the person making the claim.
Most people would be inclined to suspect one or more of the
following factors are the more likely explanation of the claim other
than that the claim is accurate and true.
Why is it that people who make reports of contact with the supernatural tend to be isolated individuals, single, reclusive, eccentric, even sexually repressed? In response to these observations some offer that perhaps the human being must be in an altered state of consciousness in order to have the experience of the greater (supernatural) reality which the ordinary consciousness can not contain or reach. Sexual abstinence may be a necessary but not a sufficient condition for having such an encounter.
C.D.
Broad notes that reports or descriptions of these religious
experiences involve concepts and beliefs that are:
1.
inadequate to the facts
2.
highly confused
3.
mixed with error and nonsense
4.
subject to change in time
Broad
notes that these features are also true of scientific concepts and beliefs
and that they have and do change in time.
Perhaps
religious experiences are not pure delusions or illusions. Perhaps
religious experiences are only encountered by those who have an ability to
experience them. Perhaps there are people, even many people, who are
"deaf" to such experiences.
Wallace
Matson
maintains that if
the subject of a religious experience is to be believed there are certain
requirements to be met. Any perception of an individual should be publicly
confirmed. No private experience can establish the existence of God. You
would first need to establish the existence of God by other means on order
to confirm that what was experienced was both God and True. In relation to religious experiences, consider that:
To
confirm what any subject is experiencing there must be
"checkable" statements. Gary
Gutting
1.
many should have the experience
2.
it should exist in different cultures
3.
the experience should produce a major transformation involving ,in
part, the moral life of the individual
Gary
Gutting claims that the three conditions are met by reports of religious
experiences and so they do provide a justification for belief in a
supernatural being, a deity, God. On
the other hand Louis
P. Pojman
is not so confident. He claims that there is both a strong
justification and a weak justification to be offered that Religious
experiences do provide evidence of the existence of a supernatural entity,
a deity.
Strong:
this argument would be so strong as to oblige all people to believe in
God.
Weak:
this justification provides rational support only for those who have had
such an experience (or already accepted the world view that holds such
experiences are possible)
Pojman
argues against such a strong argument
1.
the reports are too amorphous
2.
they reports are circular- acceptance of them depends on background
belief in God 3.
reports are not capable of being confirmed as with perceptual
experiences
Thus,
they are not checkable, not predictable If one has no had a religious experience how can one reach a conclusion as to whether or not such an experience exists as reported? is truthful? Is accurate? Is sufficient grounds to conclude that there is a supernatural realm? that there is a deity? That there is a supreme being? How can non- believers accept the reports of people who claim to have encountered the deity or its emissaries when there are so many alternative explanations for those reports which would provide strong reasons to reject the claim that the reports are truthful and accurate? Outcome Assessment This argument or proof does not establish the actual existence of a supernatural deity. It attempts to argue for the existence of such a being by offering evidence that is highly questionable and for which there are alternative and often more plausible explanations. While the argument can not be used to convert a non-believer to a believer, the faults in the argument do not prove that there is no god. The Burden of Proof demands that the positive claim that there is a supernatural deity be established by reason and evidence and this argument does not meet that standard. The believer in god can use this argument to establish the mere logical possibility that there is a supernatural deity or at least that it is not irrational to believe in the possibility that there is such a being but the argument does not establish any degree of probability at all when there are alternative explanations for the reports of experiences offered. The veracity of the reports has not been established. OUTCOME: The Argument: PREMISES: People report encounters with a deity or being sent from the deity CONCLUSION: There must exist a deity. Problem with argument: 1. __X__Premises are false or questionable 2. ____Premises are irrelevant 3. ____Premises Contain the Conclusion –Circular Reasoning 4. ____Premises are inadequate to support the conclusion 5. __X__Alternative arguments exist with equal or greater support This argument or proof has flaws in it and would not convince a rational person to accept its conclusion. This is not because someone who does not believe in a deity will simply refuse to accept based on emotions or past history but because it is not rationally compelling of acceptance of its conclusion.
Stories & Articles compiled by Nicole Nohs (Nassau Community College, 2012), Based on the book God Made Me Do It: True stories of the worst advice the Lord has ever given his followers by Marc Hartzman Sourcebooks Inc. , 2010 Excerpts at this location: http://www.scribd.com/doc/69701076/God-Made-Me-Do-It-True-Stories-of-the-Worst-Advice-the-Lord-Has-Ever-Given-His-Followers March 2002 the mayor of a small Florida town bans Satan September 1993 San Fernando Valley, CA.... God tells man to rob banks May 2008 in Wisconsin...God told me if i prayed hard enough she would
come back to life... May 2009 in Minnesota. Bank practicing Christianity August 1993 in Texas, 20 naked people emerge from a car that struck a
tree September 2001 in Cinncinati...God told man to steal San Antoni, TX...God tells man to ram another vehicle at 100mph Various dates...God told me to kill and eat people June 2008...God told me to kick her in the face June 2005...God will remove judges from the supreme
court October 2005...God tells president to end tyranny in
Iraq June 2009...God told me to invade Iraq December 2007...God told me to run for president April 2000..."I'm leaving it in the Lords hands" February 2009...God has brought an Africa American
woman back from the dead January 2008, God told me to get Laura Bush to back me
in running for president May 1937, near Stooping Oak,TN...God told me to fast August 2007 in Los Angelos...God tells reality show
contestant thatshe will be in the finals... January 2002, Boca Raton,FL...God writes messages in
the sky January 2008, God told me to resign http://okpns.wordpress.com/category/oral-roberts/ More cases of God's bad advice found and compiled by Nicole Nohs... January 2008 in Texas...God made me kill my girlfriend 2011 Midtown Manahnttan Murder ordered by God http://gaycitynews.com/god-made-me-do-it-defense-in-2011-midtown-murder/ July 2012, It was God's plan to kill Teyvon Martin http://bazaardaily.com/2012/07/25/george-zimmerman-god-made-me-kill-trayvon-martin/ July 2007 in Houston,TX...God made me kill for the ultimate sin http://www.bilerico.com/2007/07/murder_says_god_made_me_kill_1.php November 2009, Nassau County, Long Island, NY...God made me hate gay people... August 2011, God made me cheat... http://blogs.knoxnews.com/silence/archives/2011/08/pearl_god_made.shtml April 2012, God told me to quit Fox news August 2001, Palm City,FL...God told me to kill my son... http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2001-08-17/news/0108170166_1_baby-s-death-baby-s-father-documents June 2011, Lubbock,TX...God told me to kill my son... http://www.9news.com/news/article/205850/188/Dad-God-told-me-to-kill-my-son March 2004, Texas...God told me to kill my 3 sons... January 2012...God told me to kill my pastor... http://www.croydonguardian.co.uk/news/9451737.UPDATE__Mum_killer_to_remain_in_hospital_indefinitely/ February 2009, Virginia Beach,VA...God told me to kill.. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/02/12/Dad-God-told-me-to-kill-my-son/UPI-71281234475937/ November 2006...God told me to kill my daughter... http://trailerpark.blog.ca/2008/01/22/donnelly_god_told_me_to_kill~3613340/ January 2008, God told me to eat my girlfriend... http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20080107/NEWS08/986513661 July 2012, God told me to shed some blood... March 2012, England...God told me to saw off my managers head... June 2012, Effingham,CO...God told me to kill my father... http://www.disclosurenewsonline.com/2011/01/18/accused-in-patricide-god-told-me-to-do-it/ November 2011, God told me to run for president... http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/11/13/herman-cain-god-told-me-to-run-i-was-like-moses/ Unknown date, England...God told me to smoke pot... http://tyneandwear.sky.com/news/article/34951 October 2012, Sacremento,CA...God told me to steal... http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2012/10/07/burglary-suspect-god-told-me-to-do-it/ July 2012, God told me to cut my genitals... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsVHF6mKJZg June 2012, Spokane,WA...God told me to set my apartment on fire... http://www.scout.com/2/1195326.html June 2012, God told me to send her threatening letters... http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/article/2012/06/05/anti-choice-terrorist-god-told-me-to-threaten-her October 2009, Lexington, KY...God told me to steal the car... http://metro.co.uk/2009/10/29/would-be-car-thief-god-told-me-to-do-it-507974/ November 2012, Fort Pierce...God told me to drive 100mph in a 30mph zone... http://www.wnd.com/2012/11/woman-god-told-me-to-go-100-in-30-mph-zone/ December 2004, God told me to kill my parents http://www.chattanoogan.com/2004/12/10/59715/Badowski-Says-Killed-Parents-Because.aspx July 2012, Lexington,KY...God told me to kill dog http://www.lex18.com/news/police-man-claims-god-told-him-to-kill-dog-friends November 2011, Enfield,Conn...God told me to molest boy Lastely, a few stories about the horrible deeds the Devil caused people to do... March 2009, Arlington,VA...Devil made me steal... October 2008, Devil made me do drugs... http://discoveringalcoholic.com/amy-winehouse/the-devil-made-me-do-it more to come if God wishes..... |
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