This book explores religious epiphanies in which there is the appearance of God, a god or a goddess, or a manifestation of the divine or religious reality as received in human experience. Drawing upon the scriptures of various traditions, ancillary religious writings, psychological and anthropological studies, as well as reports of epiphanic experiences, the book presents and examines epiphanies as they have occurred across global religious traditions and cultures, historically and up to the present day. Primarily providing a study of the great range of epiphanies in their phenomenal presentation, Kellenberger also explores issues that arise for epiphanies, such as the matter of their veridicality (whether they are truly of or from the divine) and the question of whether all epiphanies are of the same religious reality.

Auteur

James Kellenberger is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at California State University, Northridge, USA. His previous books include Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, Dying to Self and Detachment, and, most recently, The Everlasting and the Eternal, and Wisdom: Folk, Arcane, Practical, Religious, Philosophical, Mystical.

Contenu

Acknowledgements.- Introduction.- Part I Traditional Epiphanies.- 1. High Relief Epiphanies.- 2. Quiet Epiphanies.- 3. Dialogue Epiphanies.- 4. Unconscious Epiphanies.- 5. Epiphanies of Unknowing.- Part II Prophetic and Mystical Epiphanies.- 6. Prophetic Epiphanies.- 7. Mystical Epiphanies.- Part III Epiphanic Encounters.- 8. Epiphanic and Near-Epiphanic Encounters.- 9. Possession.- 10. Sacred Mountains, Rivers and Heavenly Bodies.- 11. Epiphanies Without God.- Part IV Epiphanies in the Modern Period and Today.- 12. Epiphanic Prayer.- 13. Visions and Apparitions in the Modern Period.- 14. Contemporary Epiphanies.- 15. Epiphanic Nature.- 16. Miracles.- Part V Issues.- 17. Concerns About False Apprehensions.- 18. Further Issues.- 19. The Nature of the Religious Reality Experienced in Epiphanies.- 20. Conclusions.- Bibliography.- Index.