Vision (religion)

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Vision (religion)

In spirituality

Spirituality

Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit, a concept closely tied to religion and faith, transcendence , or one or more Deity....
including religion

Religion

A religion is an organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of myth, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural or transcendence quality, that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power or truth....
, visions comprise inspiration

Inspiration

Inspiration may refer to:* Artistic inspiration, sudden creativity in artistic production* Biblical inspiration, the doctrine in Judeo-Christian theology concerned with the divine origin of the Bible...
al renderings, generally of a future

Future

The future is a time period commonly understood to contain all events that have yet to occur. It is the opposite of the past, and is the time after the present....
state and/or of a myth

Mythology

The word mythology refers to a body of folklore/myths/legends that a particular culture believes to be true and that often use the supernatural to interpret natural events and to explain the nature of the universe and humanity....
ical being, and are believed (by followers of certain religions) to come from a deity

Deity

A deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divinity, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by human beings....
, sometimes directly or indirectly via prophet

Prophet

In religion, a prophet is a person who has claimed to have encountered the supernatural or the Divinity, often one who serves as an intermediary with humanity....
s, and serve to inspire or prod believers as part of a revelation

Revelation

Revelation is the act of revealing or disclosing, or making something obvious and clearly understood through active or passive communication with the divinity....
or an epiphany

Epiphany (feeling)

An epiphany is the sudden realization or comprehension of the essence or meaning of something. Or also known as a big moment of EUREKA! The term is used in either a Philosophy or Literal and figurative language sense to signify that the claimant has "found the last piece of the puzzle and now sees the whole picture," or has new information o...
. Many mystics take the word vision to be synonymous with apparition

Apparition

An apparition is an act or instance of appearing, including:*a Vision such as a Marian apparition; or*certain ostensibly paranormal experiences such as ghost, doppelg?nger or bilocation; or...
.

For religious visions as a literary form, see apocalyptic literature

Apocalyptic literature

Apocalyptic literature was a new genre of prophecy writing that developed in post-Exilic Judaism culture and was popular among millennialism early Christianity....
.

Religious visions are generally categorized as miracle

Miracle

File:Folio 171r - The Raising of Lazarus.jpgA miracle is a sensibly perceptible interruption of the laws of nature, such that can only be explained by divine intervention, and is sometimes associated with a miracle-worker....
s.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Vision (religion)'

Start a new discussion about 'Vision (religion)'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

In spirituality

Spirituality

Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit, a concept closely tied to religion and faith, transcendence , or one or more Deity....
including religion

Religion

Inspiration

Future

The future is a time period commonly understood to contain all events that have yet to occur. It is the opposite of the past, and is the time after the present....
state and/or of a myth

Mythology

Deity

Prophet

Revelation

Revelation is the act of revealing or disclosing, or making something obvious and clearly understood through active or passive communication with the divinity....
or an epiphany

Epiphany (feeling)

Apparition

Apocalyptic literature

Miracle

Resurrection

Miraculous resurrection of one sort or another has been a recurrent theme or central doctrine of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and other Abrahamic religions....
, visions can be readily forged.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian communion in the world with an estimated 225 million members worldwide. It is considered by its adherents to be the Four Marks of the Church established by Jesus Christ and his Apostles nearly 2000 years ago....
, in addition to the religious visions mentioned above, the term vision (theoria
Theoria

Theoria is Greek for contemplation or 'the perception of beauty regarded as a moral faculty' . From within Eastern Orthodox theology it is the 'vision' and or the 'seeing' of God, as the experience of God, achieved by the pure of heart who are no longer subject to the afflictions of the passions....
) can refer to the experience of the "Energies"

Essence-Energies distinction

The Energies of God are a central principle of theology in the Eastern Orthodox Church, understood by the orthodox Fathers of the Church, and most famously formulated by Gregory Palamas, defending the Hesychasm practice....
of God, as the result of the purified nous
Nous

Nous is a philosophical term for mind or intellect. Outside of a philosophical context, it is used, in English, to denote "common sense," with a different pronunciation ....
.

Artistic inspiration

Inspiration

Muse

File:Muse reading Louvre CA2220.jpgThe Muses in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature are the goddesses or spirits who inspire the creation of literature and the arts....
s may transmit the visioning to their loyal followers.

Visions generally have more clarity than dream

Dream

Dreams are sequence s, sounds and feelings experienced while sleeping, strongly associated with rapid eye movement sleep. The contents and biological purposes of dreams are not fully understood, though they have been a topic of speculation and interest throughout recorded history....
s, but traditionally fewer psychological connotations. The psychological mechanism to engender visionary perception and trance

Trance

Trance denotes a variety of processes, techniques, modalities and states of mind, awareness and consciousness. Trance states may occur involuntarily and unbidden....
phenomena is focussed intention and attention.

Entheogen

Entheogen

An entheogen , in the strictest sense, is a psychoactive substance used in a religion or shamanism context. Historically, entheogens are derived primarily from plant sources and have been used in a variety of traditional religious contexts....
s (such as peyote

Peyote

Lophophora williamsii , better known by its common name Peyote, , is a small, spineless cactus. It is native to southwestern Texas and through central Mexico....
) have traditionally assisted in the generation of visions among diverse cultures, as well as in modern western culture.

Some could consider visions to be a manifestation of the 'aha' (lightbulb going off) type of learning associated with Picture thinking or Visual Spatial thinking.

Examples of visions

Vision of God in the Book of Ezekiel
Book of Ezekiel

The Book of Ezekiel is a book of the Hebrew Bible named after the prophet Ezekiel....
vision of a heavenly figure "like a son of man
Son of man

The phrase 'son of man' is a primarily Semitic idiom that originated in Ancient Mesopotamia, used to denote humanity or self. The phrase is also used in Judaism and Christianity, indeed in all Abrahamic religions....
" in Daniel
Book of Daniel

The Book of Daniel is a book in both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Originally written in Hebrew language and Aramaic language, it is set during the Babylonian Captivity, a period when Jews were deported and exiled to Babylon following the Siege of Jerusalem of 597 BC....
Jesus'
Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the Incarnation ....
vision of the dove when baptized in the Book of Mark
Paul's vision of Christ
Christ

Christ is the English language term for the Greek meaning "the anointing", which is a title given to the Reigning Messiah in the given age of the Zodiac....
(a part of Acts of the Apostles
Acts of the Apostles

The Acts of the Apostles is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. It is commonly referred to as simply Acts. The title "Acts of the Apostles" was first used by Irenaeus in the late second century, but some have suggested that the title "Acts" be interpreted as "the Acts of the Holy Spirit" or even "the Acts...
)
the apocalypse in Revelation
Book of Revelation

The Book of Revelation, also called Revelation to John, Apocalypse of John , and Revelation of Jesus Christ is the last Biblical canon of the New Testament in the Christian Bible....
the theoria
Theoria

Theoria is Greek for contemplation or 'the perception of beauty regarded as a moral faculty' . From within Eastern Orthodox theology it is the 'vision' and or the 'seeing' of God, as the experience of God, achieved by the pure of heart who are no longer subject to the afflictions of the passions....
(vision of God) by which Jesus' disciples discerned the trinity
Trinity

In Christianity doctrine, the Trinity is the unity of God the Father, God the Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in monotheism. The doctrine states that God is the Triune God, existing as three persons, or in the Greek hypostasis , but one being....
(in the Eastern Orthodox tradition)
visions of the afterlife in the martyr accounts of Perpetua and Felicity
Constantine's vision
Constantine I and Christianity

Constantine I, Roman Emperor adopted Christianity following his victory in the Battle of Milvian Bridge 312. Under his rule, Christianity rose to become the dominant religion in the Roman Empire, and for his example of a "Christian monarch" Constantine is revered as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church....
of Christ's sign
Emanuel Swedenborg's
Emanuel Swedenborg

was a Sweden scientist, philosopher, Christian mystic, and theologian. Swedenborg had a prolific career as an inventor and scientist. At the age of fifty-six he entered into a spiritual phase in which he experienced dreams and visions....
visions, which formed the basis of a newly revealed doctrine
Jakob Böhme's
Jakob Böhme

Jakob B?hme was a Germany Christianity mysticism and theologian. He is considered an original thinker within the Lutheranism tradition. In seventeenth-century England, he was also known as Jacob Behmen, the corrupted surname approximating the contemporary pronunciation of the German 'B?hme.'...
vision, revealed when he observed the beauty of a beam of sunlight in a pewter dish
Joseph Smith's
Joseph Smith, Jr.

Joseph Smith, Jr. was the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, also known as Mormonism, and an important religious and political figure during the 1830s and 1840s....
First Vision
First Vision

The First Vision is a religious belief held by members of the Latter Day Saint movement that God the Father and Jesus appeared to the fourteen-year-old Joseph Smith, Jr....
Lehi's
Lehi (Book of Mormon prophet)

According to the Book of Mormon, Lehi was a prophet who lived in Jerusalem during the reign of king Zedekiah . Lehi was an Israelite of the Tribe of Manasseh, and father to Nephi, another prominent prophet in the Book of Mormon....
vision of the tree of life
Tree of life vision

The Tree of life vision is a vision described and discussed in the Book of Mormon, one of the religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement denominations published by Joseph Smith, Jr....
Angels of Mons
Angels of Mons

The Angels of Mons is a popular legend about a group of angels who supposedly protected members of the United Kingdom army in the Battle of Mons at the outset of World War I....
Marian apparitions
Marian apparitions

A Marian apparition is an event in which the Mary is believed to have supernaturally appeared to one or more persons. They are often given names based on the town in which they were reported, or on the sobriquet which was given to Mary on the occasion of the apparition....
Nat Turner
Nat Turner

Nat Turner was an United States Slavery who led the Nat Turner's slave rebellion that resulted in 60 dead, the most fatalities in one uprising in the antebellum southern United States....
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa describes of several visions including Kali
KALI

KALI may refer to:* KALI , a radio station licensed to West Covina, California, United States* KALI-FM, a radio station licensed to Santa Ana, California, United States...
, Sita
SITA

SITA is a multinational corporation information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the aviation industry....
, Krishna
Krishna

Krishna is a deity worshiped across many traditions in Hinduism in a variety of different perspectives. While many Vaishnava groups recognize him as an avatar of Vishnu, other traditions within Krishnaism consider Krishna to be svayam bhagavan, or the supreme being....
, Jesus
Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the Incarnation ....
, Mohammed.

Vision (religion)

Examples of visions

See also

External links