Prefacio del Libro – la filosofía de la religión

It was been said western philosophy has ‘’carried the burden of god’’. Despite
attemps earlier this century to eliminate God from the philosophical arena, philosophy
of religión has emerged again as a prime topic in contemporary thought. Numerous
book have been published on the topic, but few have been satisfyingly positive from a
theistic viewpoint.

The pressing questions on the contemporary scene are four: firts, is there any
basis in reality for a religious, but is there a real transcendent object of these experiences
(e.g., God)? Or, is the object purely illusory or entirely imaginary? Secondly, is there
any basis in reason for belief in God? Can the existence of God be proved or disproved?
Is there any validity to the theistic arguments? Thirdly, whatever the basis in experience
or reason for belief in God, is it even posible to speak meaningfully of a transcedent
being? What significance do words have when they are torn from their empirical
rootage and applied to some transcendent being beyond the word? Finally, in view of
the claim that there is a Good and powerful being beyond this world, how does one
account for evil? If god is Good, why did He allow this plague of evil? And if He is
powerful, why does he not overcome it?

May theists have written on these topics. But apart from anthologies, there are
few texts available that attempt to answer these questions from a theistically positive
philosophical perspective. It is my conviction that piecemeal critiques of nontheisms
will not suffice. The theist must enter the arena with a positive and comprehensive case
of this own. It is in this Spirit that we have surveyed the field of issues and presented
arguments for clasical theism.

TRADUCCION
 CAPITULO UNO – DIOS Y EXPERIENCIA

Defining religión is notoriously difficult. And defining experience is an even

more formidable task. But in orden to understand what is meant by religious experience
it is necessary to do both. Let us begin with the broader área of experience.

THE MEANING OF EXPERIENCE

By experience is meant the consciousness or awareness that individuals have.

Experience is the awareness of a subject but not necessarily a mere subjective
awareness. That is, all experience is subjective in that it something that subjects or
individuals have; however, not all experience is purely subjective: there are objective
referents for at least some experiences. Experience is the state of consciousness of an
individual who is aware of something as other whether of one’s self, or self awareness.
But even here there is at least a psychological distinction between the self which is the
subject of the awareness and the self of which it is aware.

Experience may be viewed in two ways – generally and specifically. Experience

in general is the totality of consciousness like that of being alive. A specific experience
is focusing on a given aspecto or momento within the whole of one’s consciousness,
such as a cetain event in one’s life. Or, the difference, respectively, is like that between
the awareness of being in a state of marriage and getting married (i.e., the consciousness
of taking a wife in the ceremony of marriage). In this study we will be concerned
primarily with religious experiences, for the following reasons: firts, Because
experience in general is the backdrop and basis for particular experiences, just as vision
is the general faculty which makes it possible to focus on this or that particular object.
Secondly, religious experience in general is more readily avalible to men in general.

Not everyone has had a special religious experience, such as a mystical

experience. But, as shall be argued subsequently, religious experience in the general
sense is both more readily avalible to, and more understandable by, men in general. this,
will be made more explicit once religión is defined. First, however, we must distinguish
different levels of experience.

The mos basic leve lof experience may be called primary awareness. It is the
basic unreflective consciousness an individual has. Secondary awareness is the
consciousness of being conscious; it is being aware of the fact that one has awareness.
Unlike men, animals give on evidence of this secondary awareness. Within this
secondary awareness there are many activities such as remembering, reflecting, relating,
and reasoning. All of these presuppose or build upon primary awareness.

The study of religious experience undertaken here will treat both kinds of
awareness. It will recognize, however, that primary awareness is fundamental to
secondary awareness, even though secondary awareness may be necessary for getting at
primary awareness.

Furthermore, it is recognised that in order to get at the religious awareness of

other people on does not have direct Access to either their primary or their secondary
awareness. In order to understand the religious experiences of others one must depend
on their expressions of these experince. In brief, expressions of experience must be
studied to understand the experiences behind these expressions, and secondary
experience must be studied in order to understand the primary experience behind it. And
primary religious experience in general (as opposed to special religious experience) will
be the primary center of concern. Special religious experiences may be used to illustrate
a focusing or intensifying of the experience which is more generally available for men
in general. but precisely what is meant by a religious epxerience?

THE MEANING OF RELIGION

 Attempts to define religión have been generally unsuccessful at gaining
universal acclaim. And yet vast majority of these definitions include at least one
common element: pagina15