CONTEXT OF RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
The Bible describes how Moses encounters God in Exodus 3: 3-14. Moses is tending his father-in-law's sheep on the slopes of Mount Sinai but is drawn to to the strange sight of a burning bush that isn't consumed by the flames. God speaks to Moses from out of the flames. God gives Moses commands about how he is to be worshiped, identifying himself as "the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" (the ancestors of Moses' people, the Israelites). He gives Moses a duty - to go back to Egypt and free the Israelites from slavery. He makes a promise, that the Israelites shall live in a land of their own. Then he reveals his name to Moses: the name of God is "I AM".
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In the New Testament, Acts 9: 1-9 describes the conversion of Paul. Paul (then called Saul) is a fierce enemy of Christianity and travels to Damascus to persecute the Christians there. On the way he is struck down by a light and hears a voice demanding, "Why do you persecute me?" The voice identifies itself as Jesus Christ and gives Saul an order: he is to go to Damascus and await further instructions. Saul is blinded by the experience and completely helpless.
As a result of this Christophany (encounter with Christ), Saul changes his name to Paul, converts to the very religion he had been persecuting and becomes its greatest missionary and first theologian. |
The monistic tradition is much stronger in Eastern religion (such as Hinduism and especially Buddhism) than it is in Western religions (such as the monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam).
It's also a big feature in the Star Wars films - "the Force" is a monistic religion/philosophy and characters in Star Wars who "feel the Force" are like people having monistic religious experiences!
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Siddartha Gautama is an Indian prince who abandons his life of luxury to become a holy man and seek after the truth of the world. After mastering yoga and meditation he feels no closer to the truth but comes to understand that the path to Enlightenment must involve the acceptance of things rather than struggling against the material world. He sits under the bodhi tree and meditates for three days. He is tempted and distracted by Mara, the demon of desire, and Mara's daughters, representing various selfish urges. Siddartha manages to resist their attacks while not giving in to the opposite temptation to feel fear, disgust or hate towards them. He achieves Enlightenment, a state of bliss with no ego or attachment to the world.
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