Altered States of Consciousness and New Testament Interpretation of Post-Resurrection Appearances

Abstract

"The New Testament (NT) has traditionally been interpreted as alleging paranormal experiences and phenomena. Included in this broad category are accounts of apparitions of the dead, visions of another world, glossolalia, prophetic revelations, exorcism, and so on. Biblical criticism of the last 150 years or so has challenged the traditional interpretation. The genre and historical sources of the NT have been closely examined in an effort to determine whether such accounts should be demythologized or given some other interpretation, perhaps a non-reporting one, such as a liturgical interpretation. But the approach that treats them as reports of experiences of one kind or another remains the default position against which others compete"