For Otto, the numinous can be understood to be the experience of a mysterious terror and awe (Mysterium tremendum et fascinans) and majesty (Majestas) in the presence of that which is “entirely other” (das ganz Andere) and thus incapable of being expressed directly through human language and other media.
What does numinous experience mean?
To define the numinous experience is a difficult, if not impossible, task. The word was coined by Rudolf Otto in 1917 in his book, The Idea of the Holy, in which Otto says of ‘numinous’ and its definition: The reader is invited to direct his mind to a moment of deeply-felt religious experience
What is Otto’s theory of religion?
Otto therefore understands religious experience as having mind-independent phenomenological content rather than being an internal response to belief in a divine reality. Otto applied this model specifically to religious experiences, which he felt were qualitatively different from other emotions.
What aspect of the sacred is designated by the term mysterium Tremendum?
To call it the mysterium tremendum is to accentuate the awe-fulness of the holy, its ability to evoke fear and dread. This is the aspect of the sacred that allows it to be designated the ‘Wholly Other’.
What are the three elements of Otto’s Mysterium tremendum?
Rudolf Otto’s Concept of the “Numinous”
“Mysterium”: Wholly Other, experienced with blank wonder, stupor.”tremendum”: awefulness, terror, demonic dread, awe, absolute unapproachability, “wrath” of God. “fascinans”: potent charm, attractiveness in spite of fear, terror, etc.
What does the term numinous mean?
Definition of numinous
1 : supernatural, mysterious. 2 : filled with a sense of the presence of divinity : holy.
What is the opposite of numinous?
refined. Adjective. ▲ Opposite of having or imbued with supernatural powers, attributes or qualities. average.
Was Rudolf Otto a Phenomenologist?
Rudolf Otto (September 25, 1869 – March 5, 1937) was an eminent theologian and religious scholar in the German Protestant tradition. He is particularly remarkable for his contribution to the phenomenology of religious consciousness and his work in the fields of comparative religion and the history of religion.
What is the name given to the holy by Rudolf Otto?
The Idea of the Holy: An Inquiry into the Non-Rational Factor in the Idea of the Divine and its Relation to the Rational (German: Das Heilige. Über das Irrationale in der Idee des Göttlichen und sein Verhältnis zum Rationalen) is a book by the German theologian and philosopher Rudolf Otto, published in 1917.
What is Livingston’s understanding of the relation between religion and culture?
Livingston believes religion is a trait unique to our species, but universal to all of us. For a Christian to learn about Buddhism and vice versa, this is considered spiritual promiscuity. There is a very distinct difference between religions and ideologically secular societies.
What are the characteristics of mystical experience?
According to James, mystical experiences have four defining qualities:
Ineffability. According to James the mystical experience “defies expression, that no adequate report of its content can be given in words”.Noetic quality. Transiency. Passivity.
What is a conversion experience?
Conversion is the act or process of changing something into a different state or form.
What is the principle of credulity?
The principle of credulity, which relates to ‘the hearer’, is defined by Reid as ‘a disposition to confide in the veracity of others, and to believe what they tell us’ (IHM 6.24, 194/196b).
What is Hierophany religion?
Hierophany is a term for manifestation of the divine. It is a broader term than the more familiar term, theophany, because it allows non-personal forms of the divine to become manifest. The term was popularized by the noted scholar of comparative religion, Mircea Eliade (1907–1986).
