Abstract
Harold A. Netland is Professor of Philosophy of Religion and Intercultural Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and has over twenty-five years of teaching experience and missionary work in Japan. His latest work, Religious Experience and the Knowledge of God, explores the significance of religious experiences in understanding and acquiring divine knowledge and emphasizes the importance of religious experiences by meticulously examining their interpretation and evidential force.
The initial chapter dissects the concept of ‘religious experience’, tracing its historical development, and unpacking the meaning of experience, religion, and religious experience. From this anchoring point, the subsequent chapter delves into various types of religious experience. Netland emphasizes the role of interpretation and highlights the intricate connection between religious encounters and their interpretation, shedding light on the impact of framing on shaping our understanding of the divine. The third chapter focuses on the Critical-Trust Approach, offering a method for evaluating religious experiences by exploring how critical analysis and trust intersect in the context of religious encounters, while chapter four compares Edwards and Wesley’s views on experiencing God. Chapter five then examines the connection between experiencing God, fundamental beliefs, and the role of the Holy Spirit, while the sixth chapter turns to exploring mystical experiences within the context of religious encounters. The concluding chapter addresses theistic experiences and their implications for religious diversity and addresses the challenging questions posed by religious diversity.
Netland employs a cumulative-case argument that judiciously gathers and scrutinizes data from a spectrum of experiences and worldly dimensions. The argument’s evidential weight is modest, avoiding definitive proof but offering collective support for Christian tenets through the synergistic interplay of evidence that bolsters the overall plausibility.
In a missiological frame, the book’s inquiry into mysticism captures religious experiences across varied cultural and religious settings. It equips missiologists with an understanding of divine engagement by examining the phenomenological commonalities and variances in mystical experiences, thereby enhancing inclusivity in missiological scholarship.
In sum, Religious Experience and the Knowledge of God is a deftly articulated study of the intricate relationship between religious experiences and knowledge of the divine. Its academic merit is complemented by its dialogical contribution to the discourse on religious plurality, interpretive frameworks, and the transformative power of religious encounters. As such, this work is a valuable resource for scholars, students, and anyone interested in the intersection of philosophy, theology, and religious experiences.