There is a certain amount of mistrust towards experience from some of my fellow students at Seminary. Not all students, but some. There are professors as well who seem to get weak in the knees when any conversation about personal experience comes up in class. Even though I can appreciate not letting class time devolve into personal testimony at the expense of other critical learning, I'm confused by the apparent mistrust of experience which I find so central to my faith. The following is my understanding of how experience and faith interact.
From time to time the religious have an experience in which they are brought to the limit of themselves and confronted with that which is ultimate and beyond. Those who have confronted the “Wholly Other” use words like
