(Part I) Argument for the Existence of God based on Religious Experience: An Introduction

  Blaise Pascal was one of the most important thinkers in the history of philosophy, mathematics and religious matters.  His famous “Wager” remains a favorite of Christian apologists.  But Pascal didn’t always believe this way; when he was eighteen years old he suffered an illness that would leave him in pain for the rest of his life.  Not a day went by where he didn’t suffer and, sadly, he took his pain out on those around him as well.

  After a near-death experience in October 1654, Pascal lay unconscious for almost a month.  On November 23, from 10:30 to 12:30 at night Pascal had a religious experience.  He described the experience as follows: 

       “From about half past ten at night till about half past
        twelve, Fire. God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of
        Jacob, not of the philosophers and the learned.
        Certitude, certitude; feeling, joy, peace. God of Jesus Christ.” (Pascal Pensees 363)

Pascal

   The experience would change his life.  In the next eight years Pascal would write the majority of his religious writings—changing Christianity forever. 

   I have also had what I suppose was a religious experience, though I feel that it is one of the most ineffable events of my life.  All that I know was that all of my senses were dulled, I felt lifted outside of my body and I could see myself lying in bed.  I was awake and I could feel a dim light around me.  I also knew that I wasn’t alone.  I literally felt like I was surrounded and lifted up.  I had one thought the whole time:  Jesus.  I know it sounds cliché to say that I felt a word, especially one like “Jesus”, but I don’t wish to tell anything but the absolute truth. 

  There is no doubt that many people might be skeptical of my experience.  They could claim that I was under hypnosis, for I was thinking about religion at the time, or that I had a delusion.  That is of no concern to me and I suppose this is also true for anyone who claims to have had a religious experience.

Argument stated…

  What I hope to do in the next couple of posts is establish an argument for the existence of God based on religious experience.  In other words, I hope to prove that a “spiritual realm” exists outside of nature, because people have had experiences outside of nature.  This is important because the Naturalism is the foundation of Atheism.  (Naturalism is the belief that there exists nothing outside of what is physical.)  By proving that supernaturalism is true, and thus that naturalism is false, I will have proved that God is necessary.  There will be four premises to the first argument:

1) There are two ways of explaining reality: naturalism or supernaturalism.
2) Naturalism can only be true if nature is the only thing that exists.
3) Things exist outside of nature.
4) Thus naturalism is false.
5) Since naturalism is false, supernaturalism is true.

Based on this I will argue that:

1) If naturalism is false then atheism is false.
2) Naturalism is false.
3) Thus, atheism is false.

If atheism is false, then one must believe that a God exists. 

   At this point, someone may ask, “why go to the trouble of providing such an in-depth argument for the existence of God?”  No one can ever prove that God exists; it is a decision every man and woman will have to make independently.  However it is of essential importance to give people a reason to believe that God exists.  If God doesn’t exist, then your faith is pointless.  Paul makes the same point with Christ, “…if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”  (1 Corinthians 15:14 NIV).  If God doesn’t exist, then the first words of the Bible are meaningless, “In the beginning God…”  You might say that it doesn’t matter whether it’s rational to believe in God or not.  It may not matter to someone who has experienced God in their own life, but to people who have not, it can be very important.  It’s also essential to the defense of the Christian faith as well as the study of theology. 

   In the next couple of posts, I hope to establish the fact that something exists outside of nature.  I’ll do this by providing proof that religious experiences occur outside of nature.  Essentially, if such things as religious experiences occur, and if they occur outside of the mind, then nature cannot be everything.   If I establish this premise in the next few posts I will have proven the hardest part of this argument for God’s existence.

Religious Experience:  Definitions

    I will start by defining religious experience.  Generally speaking, religious experience is considered something that the individual (or group) has which lasts for a short period of time, something in which the individual feels that they have learned something of value, and something that cannot be reproduced.  What this means in plain language is that religious experience is a one-time, unrepeatable event that the individual feels was valuable.  This is basically the definition put forward by William James.  However, I have taken out his second criteria—i.e. the inability of description.  The reason for this is that some individuals are better able to communicate than others. 

    At this point, it is important to make a distinction.  There is a difference between “experiences” and “beliefs”.  Experiences are actual events that we sense.  Beliefs are ideas, symbols, etc. that we believe in.  The two concepts can inform each other (for example, our beliefs do play a role in how we interpret experiences).  However, beliefs do not dictate experiences.  If Jesus Christ did walk out of the tomb, then it was an actual event that anyone who was there could have witnessed.  They may disagree over how it happened.  But the fact that Jesus walked out of a tomb would be agreed to by spectators regardless of whether they were atheists or theists. 


   I hope that you will be able to read all five of my posts.  Remember, they will always be available via the archive.  Please feel free to follow this blog or comment on any of my posts. 

Coming soon…Part II:  Argument for the Existence of God based on Religious Experience:


(Pascal's Pensées, translated by H.F. Stewart (New York: Modern Library, 1947), p.363.)
Photo source:  http://www.mathematik.ch/mathematiker/pascal.php