I mentioned in my last Saturday post that for the next little while, we would be looking at articles from The Briefing archive on the Holy Spirit as a precursor to our April issue on the topic.

Today we delve into the area of experience and the Holy Spirit. John Woodhouse in Briefing #85 attempts to cut through the confusion:

There is something of a crisis among many Christians today over the question of ‘experience’. If not a crisis, there is at least much confusion and uncertainty—a fascination and a longing—perhaps even a vacuum. This goes back some time.

Do you remember the remarkable welcome afforded to JI Packer's Knowing God back in the 70s? It seemed to have an impact quite unlike any other recent Christian book. And I am sure that this is partly because of its experiential emphasis. The title of the book is not God, but refers to an experience: Knowing God.

This article will be what theologians call a ‘prolegomena’ and what ordinary people call an ‘introduction’. I want to make sure that you are itching in the places that I plan to scratch in the second article (appearing in the next Briefing issue). In this article, I first plan to map some of the confused territory we face today—not at this stage offering a path through the bewildering jungles, but first pointing out where they lie, what shape they take and some of the wildlife that inhabit them. I will also discuss why ‘experience’ matters for Christianity and why it is important to chart a path through the confusion.

1. Mapping the confusion

What is an ‘experience of God’?

The confusion starts with the very word ‘experience’. What are the characteristics of a Christian ‘experience’? What is an ‘experience’ of God?

Some people use the word very narrowly and specifically. A Christian friend said to me recently, “I have never had a spiritual experience in my life”. This person was being very honest, but since I know him well, I know that he was using the word ‘experience’ in a very restricted sense. In much the same sense, some Christians accuse other Christians these days of being ‘against experience’ or ‘anti-experiential’.

Others of us, however, find this rather confusing. How can you be ‘anti-experience’? It's like being accused of being ‘anti-existence’. The problem is that ‘experience’ is such a general word—such a broad category. It can include virtually all events of human consciousness. We could dispel some of the confusion if we could be more specific, and I will attempt to do so in due course. For now, let us simply note that there is confusion about the extent or nature of the whole subject of ‘experience’.

Christianity in an experiential age

Even if there is confusion about the meaning of ‘experience’, there is undoubtedly much emphasis and interest in ‘experience’ in contemporary Christianity. Some plausibly relate this to cultural factors:

In comparison with recent centuries, the latter half of the twentieth century has emphasised the desire and right of man to experience for himself, that is to receive knowledge through direct sensory perception, through feeling … It is on this basis, rather than on the basis of received traditions and wisdom, or reason or of objective facts, that perceptions are formed and interpretations of life are founded. ‘I know’ or ‘I think’ has been replaced by ‘I feel’. The objective has had to make way for the subjective and man has become preoccupied with the inward quest for self-fulfilment. (Derek Tidball in Christian Experience in Theology and Life, Rutherford House, p. 1.)

In light of this, it is not surprising to find Christians themselves reflecting on their Christian experience. Christian dialogue with non-Christians frequently focuses on Christian experience, because the non-Christian is interested in experience. The non-Christian may want to know, for example, why the Christian thinks that his experience is superior or more authentic. If the appeal of the New Age Movement is largely experiential—if our age craves authentic ‘experiences’—then there is certainly strong motivation to express the gospel in experiential terms. Most of us would say that the gospel can speak to a guilt-ridden age, or to an age seeking the meaning of life. But what has the gospel to say to an age that craves experience?

Read the rest of the article online (3,653 words).

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