The Experience of God
A Phenomenology of Revelation

Boldly argues that divine revelation makes much more sense if it is thought in terms of experience rather than belief.

Robyn Horner (Author)

9781009100434, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 20 October 2022

250 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 1.9 cm, 0.49 kg

'Robyn Horner's book is an able and intelligent exploration of the prospects for a phenomenology of revelation in a secular age.' Joseph Rivera, Dublin City University

Belief and credal commitment sometimes seem to make less and less sense in the West. A kind of 'cultural amnesia' has taken hold, where formal religious adherence begins to seem almost unthinkable. This is especially so for the idea of divine revelation. Robyn Horner argues this means we need to re-evaluate how theology proceeds, focusing not so much on beliefs but on experience. Exploring ways in which the experiential might open human beings up to divine possibility, the author turns to phenomenology (especially in the French philosophical tradition) because it seeks to examine unrestrictedly what is given through involved encounter. Bringing phenomenology and poststructuralism together, Horner develops the idea of revelation as an 'event' wherein God interrupts and exceeds human experience, affecting and transforming it. This striking concept, named but largely unexplored by theology, articulates a notion of supernatural revelation which now starts to appear both coherent and plausible.

Part I. The Problem in Context: 1. Introduction to the book
2. Living in a secular age
Part II. Revelation in contemporary philosophy and theology: 3. Revelation as a philosophical problem
4. Revelation as a theological problem I – Theology and metaphysics
Part III. THe Event of Revelation: 6. A hermeneutic-phenomenological approach to theology
7. Revelation exceeds experience
8. Revelation affects experience
9. Revelation shapes experience
10. The event in person – Revelation transforms.

Subject Areas: Christian spirituality & religious experience [HRCS], Christian theology [HRCM], Phenomenology & Existentialism [HPCF3]