Understanding Religious Experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Understanding spectral Experience - Essay ExampleIn this paper, the role of mystic women in different religious philosophies give be tackled as well as the basic tenets of these religions as to fully understand mysticism as a specific type of religious experience.The etymology of mysticism can be traced from its Greek roots which literally mean to conceal. Revels contends that mysticism is rooted from something deeper which goes beyond the senses, intellect, and imagination, leaving it unexplained. It provides a conscious extemporaneous experience of connecting with the One. Martin declared that mysticism offers a difficult to describe event that often, the mystic would describe it in a disallow way (155). According to Woods, mysticism is not a religion in itself, but an essential segment of a religion (20). In Catholicism for example, a person is granted sainthood if he or she has lived a holy life, follows the ideals of the Catholic Church earnestly, and has offered at least tw o miracles after death. Several catholic saints fork up experienced mysticism during their lifetime, to name a few there is Saint Joan of Arc, who had a vision of savior from her childhood Sister Faustina who had a vision of the abysses of hell and St. Nicholas, who became a popular Christmas symbol. In contrast with Woods, professor Caird defined mysticism as an exclusive religion wherein the attitude of the mind is swallowed up in methodicalness to reach a full relation to God (qtd. in Fleming 5). The nature of mysticism is constant with that of otherworldliness and provides a revolt against cold formality and religious torpor (Woods 20). Themes of mysticism are often associated with the movement of the Supreme Being felt by the senses. Underhill quoted the mystic experience as a point of deviation into the world of spirituality and denying the world in order that it may find reality (2). A tactile sensation