Spiritual Experience as the Origin and Goal of Religion
Why do religions begin and why are people religious? Theologian Rudolf Otto proposed that the origin of religion lies in the spiritual experiences that one person has. This person then becomes the founder of a religion based on such experience and any revealed knowledge that might come with it. Other people might have then followed what that one person did and thus have their own experiences... In fact, in every generation, in every religion, it seems there are people who do have religious/spiritual experiences following one or another religion and then inspire other people through the knowledge or even miracles that occur as a result of these experiences. Mind you, these people might be in the minority (especially in the general public). But, at least amongst people who do follow and practice a religion, they do witness people who have had these experiences and some may even have such experience themselves. But I can see how it would be difficu...