Religious Experience as Evidence for the Existence of God
There are some things in this world that are quiet hard to explain. This happens due to the development in people’s knowledge, where the people need proof or evidence for everything that they have to do or believe in. in this era where metaphysical analysis is a reality, people believe in things they can see, or test. It is no wonder that there are a lot of laboratory tests and experiments that are carried out day after day; all with the aim of providing proof for what the people believe in. Philosopher.org.uk (n.d) has it that one of these developments in the people’s knowledge has made it hard for people to believe in the existence of God. The argument is that with the development of enlightenment, many philosophers tend to look down upon the religious beliefs that there is God. After all, there is no proof or evidence that God actually exists. With reference to this, many arguments have been brought up about the existence of God. This essay will highlight some of the evidence provided that God exists, but the main focus will be laid on religious experience as the main proof that God actually exists.
According to Philosophy of Religion (2012), there are various arguments about the existence of God. These arguments include the ontological argument, the theological argument, the moral argument and the argument from the religious experience. Kreeft (1994) also had an input on this issue when he argued about the 20 arguments about the existence of God. The main problem is that all these arguments are aimed at providing evidence that God really exists. This is as indicated by Ignatius Press (2012).
Doyle (2012) also has an input on this issue. He argues that the reason as to why it is hard to prove the existence of God is that there is simply no way to prove that He actually exists. He argues that the reason as to why scientists, philosophers and thinkers cannot prove the existence of God is mainly because they look for evidence that God actually exists. However, it is quite hard to prove this since there is no way that such proof can be attained. As such, Doyle (2012) argues that the best way through which the existence can be approved is through the religious experience.
According to Philosophy of Religion (2012), there are quite a number of arguments as to whether religious experience should be admitted as evidence that God exists. In order to understand these arguments better, there is the need to understand what they are in the first place. The religious experiences are defined as the argument from the experiences of God to the existence of God. The argument is that individuals can only experience something that is existent. As such, there is no way that individual can have an experience of God if God does not actually exist. He must be there for the individuals to experience him. That is why Doyle (2012) argues that one can only understand the real experience when one has had it.
However, there are some arguments against the existence of God. Three of these arguments against these experiences are as follows. One of them is the argument that these experiences are at times perceptual. That is, the kind of experience which an individual having the experience “perceives something external to them.” this argues that the people have no real experiences but only have imaginations. That is why these are called experiences. It is actually impossible to tell whether the experiences are real or not.
Another cause for doubt as to the admissibility of the religious experiences as evidence of God is the fact that the experiences at times do conflict. Philosophy of Religion (2012) argues that there are quite a number of religions in the world. The surprising factor is that all these individuals argue that they have the religious experiences which make their religion valid. All of them are equally confident that they have the actual feeling. The point of concern is that these religions conflict and do not agree on some things. As such, it is hard to tell which one of them is true. If one of them is taken as valid, then all the rest are validated as well since there is no way to tell which one is true or not.
The last argument against the religious experiences is that there is the subjectivity of experience. This runs all the way to the traditional philosophical sceptism, which existed from long time in history. Based on these three arguments, it becomes quite difficult to use the religious experiences as proof that God exists.
In conclusion, this essay has looked at whether religious experiences can be taken as proof of God’s existence. It has been noted that all the arguments that try to explain the existence of God try to look for the evidence. Based on these arguments, it is hard to admit the religious experience as evidence sine there is no proof as to whether they are real or not. Nevertheless, the essay seeks to stand with the assertion presented by Doyle (2012). It is simply not possible to provide proof that God really exists; this can only be done through experiencing him. Following this argument, then the religious experiences can be taken as evidence for the existence of God.
Doyle, D.P. (2012). Is there a God? Does God Exist? Where is the Proof? Retrieved on 22nd Nov. 2012 from http://www.thevoiceforlove.com/does-god-exist.html
Kreeft, P. (1994). Twenty Arguments For the Existence of God. Retrieved on 22nd Nov. 2012 from http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics-more/20_arguments-gods-existence.htm
Kreeft, P. (1994). Can You Prove God Exists? Retrieved on 22nd Nov. 2012 from http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/gods-existence.htm
Philosopher.org.uk. (n.d). Philosophy and the Proof of God’s Existence. Retrieved on 22nd Nov. 2012 from http://www.philosopher.org.uk/god.htm
