Religious Experiences in New Religious Movements - Case Study Example

Religious Experiences in New Religious Movements Religious experience refers to receiving a revelation from a religious figure. It is usually hard to explain the occurrence of such phenomena. Ideally, it is a form of conversation with God. According to McDermott, there is a difference between paranormal phenomena and religious experiences. The religious experiences are extraordinary. However, paranormal phenomena are attributed to poltergeists or ghosts while religious experiences are attributed to God’s act (McDermott 13). Often the religious experience can be achieved through prayers or mediation. The essay will focus on the religious experience I had. In particular, the contribution will be on the power of prayer. Prayers change things as often narrated by Christians when giving testimonies. I am no exception as I experienced the power of praying and believing in God. The religious experiences are subjective hence difficulty in accessing objectivity based on personal experiences. This is because they concern thoughts and feelings instead of being based on evidence or facts. This can be used to prove that God exists. People often claim that they have experienced something supernatural happening to them hence their continuous testimonies on how their lives changed after the experience (Wildman 187). The experiences explain the answered prayers, divining healing, and other religious phenomena that people witness. My religious experience follows the mediation and prayers I usually conduct. It was difficult to note that they were a revelation from God as I seldom take a keen observation of the occurrences in my religious life. This was life charging as I was committing myself to serve God fully by getting saved and believing that Jesus died for our sins. Deep in thought, I would wonder how things happened in my life given that I usually read the bible once in a while. I consider it my weapon whenever I am sad or happy. The sense of peace triggered by the Holy Spirit as explained by the theologists concentrates on making transformations in people’s life. Every day, I take two to three minutes kneeling on the floor beside my bed and make a short prayer, I see visions. The visions usually are unclear as I could not distinguish if they were my imagination or were real events. As a member of the choir in my local church, I typically recite various hymns when taking my chores at home. My parents had created a firm foundation to be religious and be a believer of God. I adjusted to this comfortably as there were benefits. It helped me follow a righteous path hence avoid the behavior shifts that usually happened when one joins college. All my life, I wanted to lead a dignified life, and God was giving me a chance of following him by being faithful and adhering to his word. The world of religions opened my mind in comprehending the Christian rituals that help Christians focus on the common good of spreading the word of God to the world. For example, the culture of discipleship has seen many people commit to become missionaries and help reach out to people who have not heard about the bible (McDermott 37). Arguably, religious and mystical traditions indicate that spiritual experiences are revelations which are caused by the divine agency. These are different from the ordinary natural processes that have no leakage with a supernatural being. These are real encounters with higher order experiences with God. The experiences are often not realized by people. Skeptics, however, believe that religious experiences can be endured (Roberts 207). This can be done using the characteristics of the human and scientific study. The experience can only be explained using a theological framework. Historically, the control of religious experiences originated in the early 19th century. This was developed as a defense to overcome rationalization of the western society. William James is known for mainstreaming the concept in many societies. James noted that the religious experience is noetic indicating how people who have experienced the transformation (Roberts 210). A person will feel they have learned a valuable lesson and gained knowledge that is hidden for the human understanding. The vision I saw was spiritual as I could see a white cloud in front of me whenever I pray. This signified the right path I was following as my spiritual pastor later guided me on the significance of the visions. It was a terrifying experience, but with time I got used to it, it reached a point where I thought I was being warned on the path I had chosen in following Christ but this was a form of calling to encourage me to proceed. Ideally, God wanted me to be an item to help in making other knows him. The passive occurrence as James William explained indicate how the experience happens without one’s conscious in control. This shows that the activity cannot be experienced at will or be turned off whenever one wants (Wildman 215). Additionally, philosopher and psychologists William indicate that the experience is impossible in that one cannot express the occurrences using mere words. It was a mysterious encounter. I even asked my parents about it, and they thought I was hallucinating or was under some form of hard drugs. This put me in an awkward position as they became worried I had fallen off from being stern Christian to being a notorious person who relies on drugs. The transient experience is usually temporary (Smith 12). This is true since, after some days, the vision I was seeing had faded away. The state of mind usually comes to “normal” as expressed by the Smith. The structured relationship is developed in gaining experiences. The nature of the religious experiences shows the preternatural elaboration on the way things occur the following nature. It is imperative to note that not all mysterious experiences are spiritual since some people use drugs which induce such experiences. According to the psychopathological state, a drug-induced process is not religious experiences. There two religious backgrounds, they include mediated and immediate experiences. The mediated experiences are sacred and are witnessed through rituals, religious groups, special persons, and natural world among others (Wildman 220). The direct experience only comes to the believers without being intervened by mediators or any intervening agency. The concern is on the way people perceive religious experiences. Some tend to exaggerate their experience. This happens because of the false prophets and leaders of the church that tries to seek to win more people to have huge congregations. They have self-interest which usually involves money and promiscuity. The first time I saw the white cloud I was frightened. I had considered myself doomed as the previous day I had lost controlled and had a fight with my mother. I reconciled with my mother as it was a minor misunderstanding. Later the following night, I was ready to sleep but opted to pray before retiring to bed. All the lights were on but as soon as I closed my eyes unusual dark covered the room. I tried opening my eyes but to no avail. My heart was beating very fast as though it wanted to pop out. I thought something terrible was going to happen to me considering the previous fight with my mother. The bible cautions children to honor their parents often, and I saw this as a form of punishment. Despite my apology, I thought God was going to punish me with permanent blindness or something of a sort. After a while I found myself praying profusely. I could not tell what I was altering, but I felt my spirit lifted and was literacy speaking in tongues. A white cloud emerged as my eyes remained shut. It triggered my nerves, and I could not feel myself. I was shaking but calmed as there was softness in the atmosphere. The cloud formed something like a person’s hands spread in opposite directions as if ready for a hug. God wanted to embrace me, I thought to myself. This was a fascinating experience given the changed tone in the way the mysterious cloud showed some friendless. My faith was shaken but was hopeful my eyes would open. I opened them with no difficulty. God was talking to me through prayers. I often prayed for various things. I loved peace and prayed that there be peace all over the world. I am often saddened by different reports that have affected humanity, especially terrorist attacks. I often asked God to change the hearts of the people and show love for all. Additionally, as a tool of communication, prayer played a significant role in putting men in a position that I can support myself. I had prayed to God to help me secure a job as I pursued my studies. This is no thought a religious experience that should act as a testimony. During some of my prayers, I usually ask God to use me in spreading his word and transforming lives. I often talk to my colleagues about knowing God and strengthening one’s paths for the betterment of their lives. The night of visions reinforced my spiritual journey; I slept peacefully and narrated about my experience with my parents who were in awe and disbelief. Creating a connection with a supernatural being is paramount. In this case, any believer should have a connection with God. We often are thankful for the gift of life but fail to abide by the teachings of Christ. Sometimes Christians only remember God when they are sad or have lost someone they love and fail to remember him during the times of happiness and joy. This is living a dishonest and hypocritical life. The religious experience has made me always to appreciate whatever came my way (Wildman 222). Above all the essence of living should be accredited to God who has the right to give and take. Since I became a Christian, I served God unconditionally. My praying experience was intense and often asked God for guidance. I profoundly know that my experience was connected with God. This is because of the biblical revelation on how God would appear to people in the form of a voice, cloud or using Jesus to convey a message. For example, Moses witnessed a burning bush followed by instructions by God on how he was supposed to save the Israelites from the cruel leadership of Pharaoh. The spiritual part of my experience was the communication that was distinct on how God wanted me to embrace change in my life. The challenges that I had experienced as I grew had molded me to be an upright Christian. The subjectivity of the possibility and control of emotion in overcoming self-deception require following the realities of life. People desire to witness religious experience for the sake of it but are on based on forgiveness and prayer. People should seek forgiveness and the face of God without subjecting themselves to unnecessary gimmicks that put their faith in doubt. Following the church, doctrine helps Christians not to go astray as God revelation is through our deeds and how we treat others (Hammer 14). Things we do should concentrate on the scripture. The bible has the final authority when it comes to spirituality. Concentration is put on the persons have to engage in when fostering their faith. The process was contravening as my faith grew each day. However, our experiences should not contradict with the teachings of the bible. My belief in God was improving each day as I received support and encouragement from the people around me. I even became a role model citing the way a Christian should behave and stay. MacDermott explains the essence of understanding the major world religions. Engaging people with other faith do the process by setting their understanding in Christian faith, and practice create the connection. The central belief of Christianity indicates the connection Christians create when communicating with God. Christians follow the doctrine laid by Jesus in revealing their commitment to understanding and developing their faith. Just like my experience in spirituality, I consulted the Bible and the close people I trust to explain and understand the occurrences. Ideally, meditation process creates the spiritual experience that is supporting the narrative of following the Christian rituals and traditions (Roberts 209). The concern is on the way people perceive the revelations. Some feel scared while others draw themselves closer to God and want to experience more of their spirituality not impress others but to gain an in-depth understanding of the significance of the revelations. It is in everyone’s expectations that spiritual or religious revelations are per the biblical teaching on faith manifestation. I usually desire to do disciplining as I have become a living testimony on the existence of God and knew what is required of me to ensure my faith is firm and abide by the Christian teachings. I usually have many believes that Christians support but some have hard time understanding them despite my belief. For example, the essence of miracles, I often thought miracles are deceptions or delusions that people make but owing to the spiritual experience I believe in miracles and its manifestation in supporting the faith of the Christians. The experience made some of my friends changes their life as they deemed it recommendable considering the positive things that have been happening in my life. This also works as a testimony that has influenced people to work towards achieving their righteousness and redemption. As a tool to do discipleship, I commit to serve the lord and help people understand the significance of prayer. Praying has been a significant tool in my life. I pray when I am sad or happy. This is the unconditional commitment that God wants us to pray. This way, the world will be a better place to live. God will be my protector all my life given my dedication and believe in praising him. Christianity follows the teaching of the bible and gets to know the past experiences in the Old Testament. God had various ways of revealing his love and protection for his people. For example, Jesus died to save the world and Christians have been in preparedness for the second coming of Christ hence the need to repent our sins and be ready for the kingdom of the Lord. Conclusively, religious experiences are unique. People share their experiences, and all cite God’s communication but they form of revelation is different. My spiritual experience was a fulfilling one and helped shape my life and view of Christianity. I have maintained the habit of praying regularly. It is a way I see the favor of God and get a chance to ask him for protection care and love among people. For an experience to be conspired religious, it should conform to the biblical or a form of belief that the doctrine subscribes to. The experience has made me remain firm in redeeming my faith and be ready to face the challenges of life. The illustration of my experience has brought joy in my heart to know that God is there for all of us and nothing set against us shall prosper as indicated in the bible. I have committed to stay in the lord and serve him unconditionally. Works Cited Hammer, Olav. "Religious Experiences in New Religious Movements." Oxford Handbooks Online, 2016. McDermott, Gerald R. World Religions: An Indispensable Introduction. Nashville, Tenn: Thomas Nelson, 2011. Roberts, Gary E. "Prayers: Overcoming Doubts." Developing Christian Servant Leadership, 2015, pp. 207-210. Smith, Huston. The World's Religions. San Francisco: HarperCollins Publishers, 2008. Print. Wildman, Wesley J. "The brain-group nexus: the social power of religious and spiritual experiences." Religious and Spiritual Experiences, pp. 187-226. Read More