Rudolf Otto

“Worship is the thankful and adoring confession of the 'Numinous'.”

“Rationalism has, therefore, a right to exist in the domain of religion, and it has a function to perform there. But it has no right to be the whole of religion.”

“The deepest and most fundamental element in all strong and sincerely felt religious emotion is the 'mysterium tremendum'.”

“The numinous is thus felt as 'wholly other,' that is, it is something whose kind and character are incommensurable with our own.”

“The holy is a category of interpretation and valuation peculiar to the sphere of religion.”

“This 'wholly other' state is so completely beyond our comprehension that it can only be grasped by symbols and analogies.”

“The truly 'mysterious' is that which is beyond conception.”

“The numinous is a category of value and a state of mind that is sui generis and irreducible to any other.”

“The mysterium tremendum is the element of awe and dread, while the mysterium fascinans is the element of attraction and fascination.”

“The creature-feeling is the emotion of a creature, abased and overwhelmed by its own nothingness in contrast to that which is supreme.”

“Religion is the experience of the holy.”

“The 'wrath' of God is the 'tremendum' itself, as it is felt and experienced by the mind.”

“What is characteristic of the numinous is that it is felt as objective and outside the self.”

“Feeling is the alpha and omega of religion.”