A phenomenological study of the Christian experience of God
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Date
1998
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Abstract
The influence of existentialism and phenomenology on modern psychology necessitates an accurate description of the experience of God without any preconceptions or bias. This study explores the way Christians experience God. This is done by means of a phenomenological explication of first hand descriptions of six participants. The primary aim of the study is to describe, and come to a better understanding of the experience of God through arriving at a universal structure of this phenomenon.
Firstiy an overview of major theoretical developments, and the history of thought pertaining to religious experience, is given. The phenomenological approach, the theoretical foundation un¬derlying the method, and major contributions within the fields of psychology and phenome¬nology of religion are also discussed.
Six protocols are included on the basis of them being articulate and authentic accounts of the individual experiences. These protocols are analysed by using a phenomenological method of investigation. The first step is to break the protocols down into Natural Meaning Units (NMUs). Thirteen themes are subsequently identified and the NMUs are arranged according to the themes. A psychologically Transformed Meaning Summary for each theme is formulated for each individual.
The identified themes, in order of their significance for the participants, are: 1) Relationship; 2) Paradox/Tension; 3) Love; 4) Development and growth; 5) Creation; 6) Beyond the ra¬tional; 7) Direction; 8) Contemplation/Inner feeling; 9) SufTermg/Death/Dying; 10) A sense of a presence; 11) Anger, 12) Submission to a higher power, 13) Theological insight. A specific situated structure of the experience is formulated for each person, with a subsequent synthesis or universal structure of the experience to reflect the general experience of the participants. The findings are validated and discussed. The participants rate the extent to which the univer¬sal structure discloses their individual experiences at an average of 7.75 on a scale from 0 to 10. The study concludes with some recommendations as to how the findings of (his study can be put to use in future research.
Description
A dissertation submitted to the Faculty ofArts, University of Zululand, in fulfillment for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Psychology, South Africa, 1998.
Keywords
Christian life