Taxonomy of Christian voice-hearing experiences (after Cook 2020)
Category | Frequency | Context | Affect | Identity |
Conversion | Once in a lifetime/infrequent | Conversion experience | Positive | Usually understood to be God (or Jesus or the Holy Spirit) |
Calling | Vocational decision | |||
Crisis | Life/death crises | |||
Comfort | Difficult circumstances | |||
Confirming/clarifying | Uncertainty | |||
Communications | May be infrequent or ongoing | Wider relevance | May be positive or negative | May be God, another personal spiritual being (good or evil), or an alter ego |
Conversational | Inner dialogue | |||
Usually more frequent/everyday | Prayer | |||
Companions | Daily life |