Which two
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1. A____________ experience is one which causes a person to completely change their previously held basic beliefs.
a. corporate
b. conversion
c. numinous
d. mystical
2. A _____________ experience is one which happens to a group of people at once in the same place.
a. corporate
b. conversion
c. mystical
d. numinous
3. A ____________ experience is one which involves a sense of oneness with or non-separation from God or some higher power.
a. numinous
b. corporate
c. conversion
d. mystical
4. A _____________ experience is one which involves an overwhelming sense of awe and wonder which results from finding oneself in the presence of God.
a. mystical
b. conversion
c. numinous
d. corporate
5. An example of a corporate religious experience is…
a. The Buddha achieving enlightenment or Nirvana
b. The Toronto Blessing
c. Moses at the Burning Bush (see Exodus Chapter 3 of the Bible)
d. St Paul on the road to Damascus
6. An example of a numinous experience would be…
a. Moses at the Burning Bush.
b. The children of Medjugorje seeing and hearing the Virgin Mary
c. The Buddha achieving enlightenment or Nirvana
d. A Hindu yogi experiencing the non-separation of atman (the soul) and Brahman (the universal Spirit)
7. The theologian who claimed that religious experiences are numinous was…
a. Steven Katz
b. Rudolf Otto
c. Thomas Aquinas
d. John Hick
8. A problem with the claim that religious experiences are numinous is…
a. That Christians do not typically have this kind of experience.
b. That numinous experiences do not occur in the Bible
c. That some non-theistic experiences cannot be categorised this way
d. That not all religious experiences include visions.
9. Another problem with the claim that religious experiences are numinous is…
a. That not all religious experiences are ineffable
b. That not all religious experiences are transient
c. That not all religious experiences involve revelation
d. That not all religious experiences involve fear.
10. William James found that mystical experiences often do not last. The word he used to describe this is…
a. passive
b. noetic
c. ineffable
d. transient
11. William James also found that religious experiences involve the disclosure of new knowledge. The word he used to describe this was…
a. noetic
b. transient
c. passive
d. ineffable
12. If all mystical experiences share the four features mentioned in the previous two questions, James concludes that this could mean...
a. that these experiences prove that God exists.
b. that these experiences suggest that there may be some wider, spiritual environment which we are not usually aware of.
c. that these experiences confirm the claim that they are always numinous in character.
d. that these experiences always follow from years spent in regular prayer or meditation.
13. A second conclusion that could be drawn from James’s research is that…
a. mystical experiences are genuine, even though they are private.
b. because mystical experiences are private, they do not prove that God exists.
c. there may be a common core to the mystical experiences reported in the major world religions.
d. there is probably an entirely physiological basis to mystical experiences.
14. Which of the following is NOT a criticism of James’s research?
a. He overlooks descriptions of Eastern religious experiences which are neither transient or passive e.g. the Buddhist experience of Nirvana which sometimes involves a permanent transformation that is actively pursued through meditation.
b. James completely fails to acknowledge the positive effects that mystical and other types of religious experience have on people that have had them.
c. James does not consider the possibility that ineffable experiences may be very different from each other e.g. the ineffable Brahman may be very different from the ineffable Allah.
d. As mystical and most other types of religious experiences are private, they cannot be used as evidence for God or some higher power because it is impossible to confirm or deny them.
ANSWERS
b – conversion
a – corporate
d – mystical
c -numinous
b – Toronto Blessing
a – Moses at the Burning Bush
b – Otto
c
d
d- transient
a- noetic
b
c
b