Special revelation and enlightenment (AQA GCSE Religious Studies A): Revision Note

What is the idea of the divine?

• The idea of the divine refers to the qualities or attributes of God, particularly in Christianity and Islam

Christianity and the divine

• Christians believe that God has certain characteristics that allow them to understand God better

  • Christians believe that God is omnipotent: 

    • He created the world and was responsible for the resurrection of Jesus

  • Christians believe that God is omnibenevolent: 

    • He sacrificed his own son for humanity, which shows how much he loves all human beings without exception

• Christians believe that God is just: 

  • God is fair to all, and he forgives those who apologise for their wrongdoings

  • The Psalms say, “God is fair and just” (Psalm 25:8)

• Christians believe that God is omniscient:

  • Christians believe that God knows every person’s inner thoughts as well as all that has happened and all that will happen in the future

• Christians believe that God is transcendent:

  • For example, God does not live and die as we do; he is eternal, and complete understanding of God is beyond the human intellect

• Christians believe that God is also immanent:

  • God has interacted with the world throughout history, for example, Jesus being sent to earth

  • Nowadays, people believe that God is immanent, as He works miracles and answers people’s prayers

• Christians believe that God is also personal:

  • This means that God can have a meaningful relationship with humans

  • It also means that God is listening to prayers and knows each individual’s situation

Islam and the divine

• Muslims also believe that God has certain characteristics that allow them to understand God better

  • An important characteristic of Allah for Muslims is Tawhid:

    • This is the belief in the oneness of Allah

    • The understanding that there is no partner or equal to Allah

    • This belief shapes Islamic worship, especially salah (daily prayer) and Shahadah (declaration of faith)

• Like Christians, Muslims also believe that Allah is omnipotent, omnibenevolent, omniscient, transcendent and immanent 

  • Muslims also believe that Allah is merciful

• The qualities and attributes of Allah are important to Muslims for many different reasons:

  • Believing in the attributes of Allah helps Muslims understand how Allah relates to the world and to them personally:

    • These qualities show that Allah is powerful enough to create and guide, and He is loving enough to forgive

  • Belief in the nature of God also shapes how Muslims live their lives:

    • Muslims try to live in a way that pleases Allah by following the Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) example

    • Knowing that Allah is omniscient and just encourages Muslims to act morally and responsibly because they believe that Allah will judge their actions

  • Belief in the nature of God can also strengthen faith and trust in Allah:

    • In times of difficulty, Muslims reflect on Allah’s nature, for example:

    • Ar-Rahman (The Compassionate)

    • Al-Hakim (The Wise)

What is a special revelation?

• Special revelation is when God reveals Himself directly to an individual or group in a personal, unique way

  • It is considered a powerful religious experience and an important source of belief and guidance

• There are certain key features that relate to an event that might be called a special revelation:

  • The experiences are usually personal and direct and happen to a specific person

  • They would lead to a belief in God or strengthen one’s faith

  • They can often involve hearing God’s voice, seeing visions or receiving a holy book

  • They are frequently recorded in religious scriptures

• There are several examples of special revelation in Christianity

• A significant example is the conversion of Saul, which is written in Acts 9:

  • Saul, a persecutor of Christians, saw a blinding light and heard Jesus speak

  • His name then changed to Paul, and he became a leading Christian missionary

  • This experience shows that God can reveal Himself and transform lives

• Another example is the transfiguration of Jesus: 

  • This is an event in the Gospels in which Jesus’s appearance is dramatically transformed, revealing his divine glory

  • Jesus was transfigured before his disciples, and a voice from heaven said:

• There are also examples of special revelation within Islam

  • The revelation of the Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is a significant event for Muslims:

    • The angel Jibril (Gabriel) revealed the Qur’an to Muhammad over a period of 23 years

    • The Qur’an is the final and most perfect revelation in Islam

• Sacred texts are often seen as special revelations themselves

  • Both the Bible (Christianity) and the Qur’an (Islam) are considered special revelations because:

    • They are direct messages from God

    • They guide believers on how to live

    • They are used in worship, prayer and decision-making

• Special revelations are important to religious believers for many reasons:

  • They can offer certainty and a direct experience of God

  • They may provide scripture that forms the basis of religious belief

  • Special revelation events can be life-changing and inspirational

  • They reinforce the idea that God is active in the world

What is a vision?

• A vision is a form of special revelation in which a person:

  • Sees or experiences something supernatural

• Aspects of visions include:

  • They are often seen as a message from God, a saint or an angel

  • They can happen in a dream, during prayer or in a state of ecstasy

• In the Bible, it is taught that God communicates with His people through visions and dreams, and some Christians believe that God still speaks to people in this way

Types of visions

• Different types of visions exist that do not always involve a physical experience

  • An imaginary vision is one where a person may see the vision with their “mind’s eye”:

    • The person may be awake or may be dreaming at this point

    • This could be a dream about communicating with an angel or a message from God

  • A corporeal vision is a physical appearance that is seen with a person’s actual eyes:

    • This could be a person seeing a saint standing in front of them or an important religious figure

  • An intellectual vision is where no image is seen, but the person feels a deep spiritual understanding of or insight from God

Christianity and visions

• There are many examples of different kinds of visions within Christianity

• Peter’s Vision of the Sheet (Acts 10:9–16) explains how Peter had a vision of a sheet descending from heaven that listed animals that were considered unclean:

  • At this point, a voice said: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean”

  • This vision led to the belief that Gentiles can become Christians, which was a key shift in the early church

• Julian of Norwich was a 14th-century Christian mystic who had a series of revelations (called showings) during a severe illness:

  • She saw visions of Christ’s suffering and was given spiritual insights

• St Bernadette was a young girl who saw 18 visions of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes in 1858:

  • The vision told her to dig, and a spring of healing water was found

  • Since then, Lourdes has become a major pilgrimage site for Christians

Islam and visions

• There are also examples of visions within Islam

• The first revelation to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is a very important vision within Islam:

  • The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was meditating in the Cave of Hira

  • The angel Jibril (Gabriel) appeared and commanded: “Read!” (Iqra)

  • This was a corporeal vision and the beginning of the Qur’an’s revelation

  • It’s the most significant vision in Islam, marking the start of Muhammad’s (pbuh) role as a prophet

• The Night Journey (Isra and Mi’raj) is also a significant event for Muslims:

  • Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is taken on a miraculous journey in a single night

  • He travels from Mecca to Jerusalem (Isra) and then ascends through the heavens (Mi’raj)

  • He meets earlier prophets (for example, Moses and Jesus) and sees paradise and hell

  • He receives the command for Muslims to pray five times a day

The importance of visions

• Visions are important to Christians and Muslims for many reasons:

  • They may be seen as proof of God’s existence or communication with humans

  • They may lead to conversion or strengthen faith

  • They can offer guidance and comfort or inspire religious action

  • They support the belief in a personal God who cares and interacts with people

What is enlightenment?

• Enlightenment is described as a state of spiritual awakening and the gaining of a deeper understanding of reality

  • It is often described as understanding the true nature of existence

  • In religion, enlightenment often means direct personal awareness of God or the ultimate reality, beyond ordinary understanding

• Enlightenment can be seen as a form of special revelation because:

• It is a direct, personal experience of the divine

• It may give knowledge about God or reality that goes beyond human reason or human senses

• Unlike visions or miracles, enlightenment may not involve seeing or hearing anything because it is often about inner transformation

Examples of enlightenment

• There are many examples of enlightenment from different religions:

  • In Christianity, St Teresa of Ávila experienced deep mystical prayer leading to a union with God, which has been described as an overwhelming love and understanding of God’s presence

  • In Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, gaining insight into the nature of suffering and the path to overcome it

  • In Islam, Sufi mystics seek enlightenment through dhikr (the remembrance of God) and meditation, experiencing closeness and awareness of Allah

  • In Hinduism, Ramakrishna was a Hindu mystic who entered deep states of meditation and reported direct union with the Divine (Brahman)

  • In Sikhism, Guru Nanak had a profound mystical experience while bathing in a river, in which he said he had been in God’s presence and received the message that there is one God who is the same for all humanity

• Enlightenment can give religious believers knowledge of the divine in many different ways:

  • It could be through a direct experience, which may feel more certain and personal than other ways of encountering God

  • These experiences can be transformative by changing the believer’s life

  • The experience can strengthen one’s belief in God and the teachings of that religion

  • The experience can often be difficult to describe but can be deeply convincing for the person