Conversion and How it Relates to Religious Experience
Conversion has different meanings to different people, and there are
also many different ways to explain it. William James (who wrote ‘The
varieties of Religious Experience (1901)’) describes conversion as “To
be converted is to be regenerated, to receive grace, to experience
religion, to gain an assurance, are so many phrases which denote the
process….” What James is saying here is that conversion is to be
completely changed, to gain something you haven’t had before, to know
what it is like to take part in a faith, to be aware that you have a
promise.
When you say somebody is ‘converted’, as a has being a religious term,
it means that the person’s perception has being changed towards life,
the person now has religious aims which crate the regular core of
their energy. The dictionary definition for conversion is “A change
in which one adopts a new religion, faith, or belief” To me, this is
the easiest definition of conversion that you can get as it describes
conversion so clearly and it’s easy to understand. An example of
conversion is in Acts 9:1-19 where Saul(now known as St Paul) was
converted from being against Christians to actually being one and
preaching the word of God.
Bernard Lonergan is one of the greatest Catholic philosophers and
theologians of the 20th century. (He was a Canadian Jesuit priest)
Bernard Lonergan is the author of the book ‘Method in Theology’
(1972), Lonergan stated that “conversion always involves shifting
horizons” To Lonergan, horizon meant anything that set a limitation to
the things people find interesting and their knowledge. Beyond
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...and decide to commit his/herself to the
conversion. Philosophical problems with religious conversions are
also known about. The four I know of are ‘How does the person
experiencing this know it is God they are experiencing? Why are they
not a universal experience? Religious pluralism: Believers from
different religions refer to Jesus speaking to them or Mohammed, etc,
surely this invalidates these experiences? And lastly, The Believers
speaks of the universal experience happening to them but isn’t this an
infringement on free will? Theses are other challenges to conversion.
In conclusion, I think that conversion can be given many different
meanings, by many different people pf religions, but from looking at
all the different perspectives, we can see that overall conversion has
the same meaning in one way or another.
Faith plays a pivotal role in our construction of religion. The work of Dr. Sharon Parks analyzes faith development throughout one’s life span but pays special attention to emerging adulthood. Dr. Parks has an extensive academic career which incorporates her attendance of Princeton University’s theological seminary. As well as her attendance of Harvard University’s divinity school where she obtained her doctorate. Through her extensive research in areas such as “developmental psychology, religion, theology, leadership and ethics” (Service Resources, 2014) Parks is able to focus her work on faith development. Her work is influenced by theorists such as Erickson, Piaget, Perry and Levinson but primarily it is based off of Fowlers work in faith development. Her background in teaching and counseling has allowed her close access to seeing students during this important portion of their lives.
Momen’s Physiological Model and Evaluation of Religious Experience Momen’s physiological model is put into four stages; the first is preparation which is a situation an individual finds himself in which is beyond their personal bounds of existence leading to confusion, frustration and lack of understanding of the problem. The second is incubation, this is when the emotions that are caused by preparation leads to the individual being over perplexed and turns themselves away and proceeds to another activity. Others will feel illumination whereby the strange feelings one receives are converted by the mind to insights and a newer and greater understanding that is often unexpected. Finally there is verification, this occurs when the individual is baffled by the situation and tries to work out the problem using existing concepts and tries many different methods until a satisfactory conclusion is reached. This model can be used in a religious experience, and makes sense when the word crisis is swapped with religious experience.
I find comfort and security in knowing that love and forgiveness, regardless of my mistakes, is never withheld. Not believing in something greater than myself soon leaves me in the darkness and despair of the unknown and I feel like the meaning and purpose of my life is robbed from me. My religion also impacts my nursing practice. I have faith that God hears our cries and prayers. I believe that he does answer them, although it may not always be in the way that we want, expect or understand. If a patient of mine is struggling I can turn to God for assistance in caring for one of his children. If they happen to disclose their beliefs and are open to talking about them, I can walk beside them on their journey with life and death. An individual’s beliefs, culture and diversity impact actions and behaviours in the workplace (Harris,
My life is governed by the beliefs of the Christian faith. The teaching of Christianity is the driving force that gives me confidence, hope and self-acceptance through God’s unconditional love. God’s love enables me in faith
Jesus. Buddha. Anubis. This has always been one of the most controversial topics throughout history. There have been many civilizations and many wars waged due to religious beliefs. Regardless of who is who and what one believes, all beings believe that what their God, gods, or deities spoke is the truth, the way, and the key to having an everlasting life. The Hebrew seem to now have a religious monopoly with the modern day Christianity, the ideas of the Buddhist reconcile with many of the beliefs of the Hindu, the Egyptians believed in their many gods along with their god –king, and in the midst of all the ancient religions still lies the oldest religions Judaism and Hinduism which are alike in many ways yet completely different. However, the real question is who was right and who was wrong?
One day in grade five, I decided to find myself. Most people are not "lost" when they are eleven years old, but in my own naïve, inexperienced world, I needed a change. My teacher was the indirect cause of this awakening. She was Jewish and opened our closed WASP-y minds to a whole new world of Judaism. We explored the Jewish holidays, learned about the Holocaust, and watched Fiddler on the Roof. This brief yet fascinating view into the world of another religion captured my attention and compelled me to investigate further. I hungrily searched for books on Judaism and bombarded my teacher and my two classmates who were half-Jewish with questions. I decided, after careful (or so I thought) deliberations, that I wanted to convert to Judaism. I did not (and still do not) know why Judaism intrigued me so. Perhaps their high degree of suffering as a people seemed romantic to me. On the other hand, maybe it had to do with the fact that my religion (as my more Roman friends are quick to point out) does not seem to have any clear and decisive beliefs. It could have been the fact that Jews do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God and are still waiting for the Messiah to appear, which seemed to be a good reason as to why there was so much wrong with the world. Whatever it was, it drew me in and launched me into a world of discovery and discouragement.
A Comparison of Two Religious Conversion Experiences A religious conversion is a process of change where religious beliefs previously ignored or unappreciated become significant due to a specific experience or a change in view over time. They are either long term, dramatic or involving a deepening of faith that may lead to the adoption of new beliefs or the prioritising of an individual's faith. Conversions are not exclusive and occur in most religions. The conversion of St Paul on the road to Damascus is the most influential conversion experience in the Christian tradition. St Paul was a major persecutor of Christians and following a conversion became an apostle and the author of one third of the New Testament.
Oliver is someone who denied the truth to himself for months. He was gay and he had finally accepted it. He told his parents, hoping that they’d accept him but unfortunately it was the complete opposite. They thought there was something wrong with him and decided he needed to go to conversion therapy. Conversion therapy is something that thousands of people in the LGBT community go through every ear. Statistics show that about one in three LGBT people have been subjected to some form of conversion therapy (#BornPerfect: The Campaign to End Conversion Therapy, 2014). Conversion therapy is a psychological treatment whose purpose is to change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual. It needs to be banned because it doesn’t work, therapists
The phrase “spiritual but not religious” has become popular in recent American history for those who are trying to describe their religious identity (Masci, 2016). Back home in Australia, No Religion was the most popular choice in the 2016 census at 30.1%, with Catholicism behind at 22.6% (ABS, 2017). Furthermore, McCrindle , an Australian social research firm, found in 2012 that nearly a fifth of Australians identify as 'spiritual but not religious’ (Debien, 2016). As humanity changes its view on religion and society, it also changes its views on personal spiritual exploration. As a result, existential spirituality and our perception of it has developed over the years to fit our beliefs. While traditional existentialism is frequently seen as “harsh and depressing”, particularly when looking at works of Sartre and Nietzsche, the new existentialism is said to explicitly “[embrace] ones capacity for joy.” (Wachs, 2011) In saying this, this is not joy in spite of the existential truths one must confront, but because of
Can experience be properly categorized in the academic study of religion? Can an experience’s significance be determinate and/or meaning derived? Fundamentally speaking, what is the definition of religious experience? These supporting cast members serve to support the overarching question: how does and/or can one properly study the concept of religious experience? This paper comprises conversations from two persons engaged in this fundamental concern, Robert Sharf1 and Matthew Kapstein, about the study of religious experience.
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Homosexuals are currently still being oppressed, but it’s not as bad as it used to be. Doctors, and psychotherapists would have special practices that was used to force the homosexual tendencies out of a person. However, not only doctors would try to cure homosexuality, even some churches would take it upon themselves to force “the devil” out of homosexuals. On top of that, the parents of homosexuals would make them go to these therapies, because they were not able to accept them as they are. Homophobic people may have the slightest thought that homosexuality can be cured, and the process has little risks to it. As a matter of fact attempting to cure homosexuality can be very destructive to one’s brain.
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As the population of the colonies grew larger and more diverse, so did their ideas of religion and social dynamics. A new era of Enlightenment spread through the colonies, spreading a rational and scientific view of living, opposed to traditional religion and superstition. A wave of religious revivals swept through the colonies known as the Great Awakening. These passionate and dramatic revivals performed by James Whitefield and others led to religious dissension. Many ministers disagreed with the message, approach, and influence being spread by Whitefield and his New Light clergy members. Old Light ministers believed they were providing the lower class and minority groups the ability to critique the religious elite. In George Whitefield's, Marks of a True Conversion is an example of one of his powerful and intense