REEXSPI reviewer

1. Religious Relation
2. Local and International Event
3. Day to Day Experience
4. Inner-Self
5. Goodness of Man

*Every day’s precious gift: CHOICE and CHANCE

K - nowledge = respect all religion

S - kills = respect dignity of man

*dignity = latin word; dignitare = worth & value

V - alues = respect those who are marginalized

*values = latin word; valere = to measure the worth of something

Three Types of Dignity

1. Inherent =”innate”
2. Inviolable
3. Inalienable = “no one can take it from us”

*EQUALITY is not uniformity” ≠ “All men are equal”

[Men are created for 3 reasons:]

1. Origin = all of us came from God

2. Nature
3. Final Destiny = we will all go back to Him

External Senses: Hearing, Seeing, Smell, Touch, Taste

Internal Senses: Memory, Imagination, Consciousness, Instinct

10 BUILDING BLOCKS OF CATHOLIC SOCIAL THINKING

1. The Principle of Human Dignity

2. Respect for Human Life
3. Association
4. Participation
5. Preferential Protection for the Poor and Vulnerable
6. Solidarity
7. Stewardship
8. Subsidiarity
9. Human Equality
10. Common Good

THOMAS AQUINAS AND THE FIVE WAYS

1. The Evidence of Motion

2. The Notion of Efficient Cause
3. Argument from Possibility and Necessity
4. Argument from Gradation of Being
5. Argument from Design

RELIGION - it is a social-cultural system that has a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature,
and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman
agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a
moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

DENOMINATION - a subgroup/a religious group whose beliefs differ in some ways from other
groups in the same religion.

CULT - a system of religious beliefs, especially one not recognized as an established religion, or
the people who worship according to such a system of beliefs.
General Meanings of REX:

1. non-empirical occurrence - may be 'supernatural' (beyond natural)

- It is something observable/verifiable

2. 'mental event' which the individual is aware of either 'spontaneous' or result of 'training' or
'practice'

3. result of REX is being 'drawn into a deeper knowledge or awareness of God'

4. experience is not the divine itself but mediates the divine

5. each experience is unique and cannot be shared

6. 'genuine' REXs improve the individuals concerned

Some Descriptions of REX

Specific experiences such as:

1. wonder at the infinity of the cosmos,

2. the sense of awe and mystery in the presence of the holy,

3. feelings of dependence on a divine power or an unseen order,

4. the sense of guilt and anxiety accompanying belief in a divine judgment, and

5. the feeling of peace that follows faith in divine forgiveness.

point to the: (1) beginning (2) purpose of life and with the (3) destiny of the individual.

· In the first sense, religious experience means an encounter with the divine in a way
analogous to encounters with other persons and things in the world.

· In the second sense, reference is to the apprehension (understanding) of a

(1) quality of holiness or

(2) rightness in reality or

(3) to the 1fact that all experience can be viewed in relation to the ground from which it springs.

· In short, religious experience means both (1) special experience of the divine or ultimate
(direct) and the (2) viewing of any experience (indirect) as pointing to the divine or ultimate.
*conscience = with + sire (to know)

Varied Views of REX

· A religious experience may be understood as any encounter with God, or what is ultimate. It
is an experience of transcendent reality, seen in many different ways in different faith traditions.

· A significant aspect of religious experience is the considerable variety of views:

- conversions (like that of St. Paul)

- corporate or public experiences

- near death experiences or

- mystical encounters

RICHARD SWINBURNE’s Definition

· REX is “...an experience, which seems to the subject (person) to be an experience of God
(either of his just being there or doing or bringing about something) or of some other
supernatural thing.” [The Existence of God, 1991]

Who is RICHARD SWINBURNE?

· Richard Swinburne is a British philosopher. He is an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at

the University of Oxford. Over the last 50 years Swinburne has been an influential proponent of
philosophical arguments for the existence of God.

RICHARD SWINBURNE’s Types of REX

Private Experiences

· Describable in ordinary language – (i.e., a dream)

· Non Describable – experiences of God/wholly other that cannot be explained using words.
Teresa of Avila

· Non Specific – looking at the world from a religious perspective

Public Experiences

· Ordinary Experiences – where a person interprets a natural event as having religious

significance
· Extraordinary Experiences – experiences that violate normal understanding of nature (i.e.,
turning water into wine)

Types of Argument

Some argue from 'direct awareness' –

· the view that God can be known intuitively (directly) by the person perceiving him.

· This is very personal however, and has limited capacity to persuade others.

Some theistic (believers) philosophers argue from

(1) an inductive / credulity and

(2) an a-posteriori / testimony argument based on the evidence of witnesses and testimonies.

An Inductive (Credulity) Argument

1. The Principle of Credulity is summarized by RICHARD SWINBURNE as,

2. “If it seems to a subject that X is present, then probably X is present; what one perceives is
probably so.”

3. This is effectively saying, “This is what I experienced and you must believe me unless you
can prove otherwise.”

Problems with Credulity

1. Circumstances leading to unreliable reports, e.g., use of drugs, or an unreliable subject,

e.g., a liar.

2. The recipient of the experience did not have the ability to correctly interpret the experience,
e.g., a very young child.

3. If it is possible to show that whatever was supposedly experienced was not there.

4. If it is possible to show that what was supposedly experienced was there, but did not cause
the experience.
A-Posteriori Argument

1. The Principle of Testimony: the assumption here is that people usually tell the truth. In
RICHARD SWINBURNE’s words, “We usually believe to have occurred what other people tell
us that they perceived occurring.”

2. He concedes that there may be circumstance in which you do not accept the testimony at
face value of course.

Problems with RICHARD SWINBURNE

1. DESCRIPTION RELATED CHALLENGES: If the subject’s description is suspect, it is no

basis as evidence.

2. SUBJECT RELATED CHALLENGES: If the subject is not reliable the testimony is

weakened.

3. OBJECT RELATED CHALLENGES: Doubts (unbelief) about the nature or reality of God
may make it harder to agree with the interpretation of the REX that is offered.

Religion and Spirituality Are Distinct Concepts

● Spirituality may or may not lead to participation in organized religion.

● Religion—a system of beliefs, practices, rituals, and symbols designed to facilitate
closeness to the sacred or transcendent

Most Americans consider spirituality to be important in their lives, but not necessarily in the form
of religion.

· Perennial philosophy—the universal ideas that underlie all spiritual experience.

Characteristics of Distinguishing Spirituality and Religion

· “We are not meant to be perfect; we are meant to be whole.” ~ Jane Fonda

Inner Wisdom

· Spiritual Intelligence Is an Inner Wisdom Physicist and philosopher Danah Zohar defines
spiritual intelligence (SI) as “the intelligence that makes us whole, that gives us our integrity. It is
the soul’s intelligence, the intelligence of the deep self.”
UPPER: GOD LOWER: MAN HORIZONTAL: man’s relationship to man