A religious vision is considered something seen or heard by an individual which they believe to be of the supernatural. Ninian Smart described visions as “Some kind of perception of the invisible world or a perception that some visible person or thing is a manifestation of the invisible world” which is to suggest that visions are down to the interpretation of what one considers out of the real/visible world. For example, they may consist of the appearance of religious figures, seeing the future or being given a message.
These examples may fall into any one of the three main types of vision. The first being intellectual visions in which the individual receives knowledge of a concept or a message (e.g. a revelation from God) through either ideas that are already known to them but then interpreted by what they believe to be God or through ideas presented to them in the vision. Intellectual visions may additionally feature a persistent light, sense of inner peace or a feeling of being called towards a religious way of life as opposed to the appearance of a figure. Saul, for example, experienced an intellectual vision during his journey to Damascus when “He beheld the blinding light with his eyes; he saw with his imagination the personal traits of Ananias; and his mind understood the will of God” (Acts 9:3-12) prompting him to convert to Christianity. Corporeal visions, on the other hand, do entail the appearance of a figure external to the individual e.g. St Bernadette who in the 19th century had visions of the Virgin Mary in Lourdes when she told Bernadette that the spring water had healing powers and a chapel should therefore be built on the site. The final type of vision is the imaginative type wherein they individual imaginatively (i.e. with their mind’s eye) sees something that strengthens their faith or brings with it a feeling of holiness. They cannot see the figure itself but are aware of its presence as perceived by the imagination, either during sleep or during periods of being awake. For St. Peter though, his imaginative vision occurred during sleep, when he had a vision of a sheet full of animals being lowered from heaven which he was commanded three times to eat but as they were ‘unclean’ he declined, yet when he awoke he spoke of the vision saying “God hath showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean” which shows how imaginative visions give way also to intellectual visions.
The Essay on For God So Loved The World
For God So Loved the World Even though I was only a small child, I remember the cold, fall day that I accompanied my father to a nearby cemetery. As we stood above three tiny graves, I recall the tears streaming down my fathers face and the anguish in his eyes. My father was reluctant to explain why we were there for fear that I was just too young and innocent to understand the horrid ...
As a result of the different types of visions and what they encompass, their impacts may vary. For example, some people, having experienced what Peter did, may have imperviously dismissed it as a dream (as it occurred while he was asleep).
However, like Peter, they may have taken a message from the vision and seen that as its purpose. Moreover, as an extension of this, they may be led to a religious life or conversion due to their vision or the message within it, as was the case for Saul who converted from Judaism to Christianity on account of his vision. Furthermore, the location of the vision may become a place of pilgrimage as is Lourdes due to the vision of the Virgin Mary that Bernadette had.
