Though psychologists, leaders of divergent religions and skeptics evaluate spiritual revelations in different ways, most agree that sudden, dramatic epiphanies can occur. Though some reports of personal transformation may be hoaxes, many may be real. True spiritual revelation can lead to great personal change, which may in turn lead to the development of significant, worldwide movements and religions.
Revelation in Christianity
St. Paul, who wrote much of Christianity’s sacred text, experienced a similar revelation when he was blinded by a flash of light with a loud voice on the road to Damascus. The voice told him to stop persecuting Christ’s followers. As a result, he became a Christian and spread the new religion throughout the world.
Christianity has institutionalized the process through which ordinary adherents come to a spiritual awakening. In some denominations, this occurs as a form of spiritual “rebirth” I which adherents kneel at the altar and state that they accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior. This act of redemption is often inspired by a rousing sermon or the performance of a ritual healing, and often follows, or is followed by a confession of sins.
In the Catholic Church, members are encouraged to regulary confess their sins, perform an act of penance as a means of making amends, and ingest the body and blood of Christ. These steps are considered holy sacraments, whcich eventually lead to redemption, and are meant to effect a spiritual transformation which wil make further sin less likely. According to the Bible, Jesus often treated the forgiveness of sins as a necessary part of any kind of transformation or healing; in this way, he illustrated the spiritual importance of confession as a means to spiritual transformation.
Revelation in Buddhism
Buddhism began when a young man named Siddhartha, weak from the hunger of his self-imposed asceticism, fell into a cold stream. He was jolted into an “enlightened” understanding out of which he created the four noble truths. These four noble truths are that life means suffering; the origin of suffering is attachment; the cessation of suffering is attainable; and the path to the cessation of suffering.
Adherents of Buddhism continue to seek their own enlightenment through meditation, discipleship and the study of Buddhist texts. Zen Buddhist texts contain stories (called koans). These koans usually have a surprise ending, which is meant to evoke an awakening, or jolt, similar to the laugh response at a joke’s punch line, or the sense of discovery which might come from solving a complicated math problem. Each of these small realizations, it is hoped, will lead to even bigger awakenings, through which the student eventually achieves enlightenment, and begins to teach others.
Personal Spiritual Revelation
Many people in many different parts of the world have had private revelations that have led them to make profound changes in their own lives. While there are variations in method and results, cross-cultural examples of spiritual experience show several common features. William James, in his consequential work The Varieties of Religious Experience describes such experiences as the process by which “a self hitherto divided…becomes unified…in consequences of its firmer hold upon religious realities.” In nearly all cases, the experience leads to a new awareness of received wisdom, or of a great force or deity in the universe; it occurs in conjunction with, or as a result of, a thorough spiritual examination and confession of transgressions; and transforms behavior, usually from self-serving to charitable.
Whether revelations occur to ordinary believers or spiritual giants, they often form the foundation for significant movements. They are often accompanied by confession, personal transformation and the education of others. They have occurred throughout history and throughout the world. While some reported revelations have been hoaxes, many clearly seem to have been real, and to have lead to great change.
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