Home Again

Religious experience is frequently used as argument in support of the existence of God. Those who claim to have had a religious experience are often thoroughly convinced, to a great extent, of God’s existence. Peter Donovan, in his essay “Can We Know God by Experience”, attempts to show that religious experience alone cannot serve as evidence for God’s existence. According to Donovan, the notion of a religious experience, in and of itself, is simply an inadequate, insufficient attempt to prove a way in wich Goad can be known. This paper will first state the essential parts of Donovan’s argument, followed by an analysis of his position.
To begin, Donovan first identifies and clarifies the claims of the opposing view; namely, the assertion that religious experience is enough evidence to attain knowledge of God. Arguing from a religious experience standpoint is an argument made from intuitive knowledge. Intuitive knowledge is a direct way of knowing, not from reasoning or...