
The Varieties of Religious Experience
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Narrated by:
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John Pruden
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By:
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William James
First published in 1905, The Varieties of Religious Experience is a collection of lectures given at the University of Edinburgh in 1901 and 1902. William James was a psychologist and, as such, his interest in religion was not that of a theologian but of a scientist. In these 20 lectures, he discusses the nature and origin of religious belief.
The average believer is one who has inherited his religion, but this will not do for James's inquiry. He must find those believers who have a voracious religious faith because these people have also often experienced a number of peculiar psychological episodes, including having visions, hearing voices, and falling into trances.
Students of psychology and those interested in the mental process of belief will find these lectures informative.
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A Unique, Empathetic Inquiry
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Understanding Religious Experience
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A book about everyone else’s experiences
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Still gives a person a perspectives that you hadn't necessarily considered or even thought of before.
Don't overlook this book just because you have an atheist overview on life.
I wasn't religious, and I still am not
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A series of lectures easier to understand by the ear than the eye
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I have been interested in religion since I started Grade 1 at a Catholic school in the exurbs (at that time) of Toronto. I had a sudden conversion experience to what I would now call pantheism at age 18. I am now a member of a Unitarian Universalist congregation.
As a psychologist addressing an audience of eminent theologians and philosophers, James quotes long excerpts from the writings of many men and women about their own religious experience. Sudden conversion to godly devotion is one phenomenon about which such primary material was abundant. My sudden conversion was less dramatic than any of those James recounts.
A fascinating but horrifying phenomenon is the extremes of "asceticism." I heard bits of the legends of Christian martyrs and ascetics from the nuns who taught at my school. Nightmare stuff, still.
Historically, this work came at a very interesting time for the intellectual culture of Europe and the United States. "On the Origin of Species" had been published 40 years before and had been gaining acceptance and respectability continuously. As Darwin knew, his work was a challenge to the authority of the Great Jaweh. In these lectures, the profound changes in the character of the Great Jaweh (generally just called "God") over the centuries are laid out and analyzed scientifically, along with the stories of powerful deities who have come and gone.
More than 100 years old and still entirely current
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The narrator does a great job. The audio quality is solid. This is a great way to experience the book.
Religion and all its varieties
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terrific, if you like 19th century psychology
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A must read
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Very mixed quality
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