Writers on religion have singled out differing experiences as being central. For instance, Rudolf Otto (1869—1937) coined the word "numinous." For the ancient Romans there were numina or spirits all around them, present in brooks and streams, and in mysterious copses, in mountains and in dwelling-places; they were to be treated with awe and a kind of fear. From the word, Otto built up his adjective, to refer to the feeling aroused by a mysterium tremendum et fascinans, a mysterious something which draws you to it but at the ‘same time brings an awe—permeated fear. It is a good characterization of many religious experiences and visions of God as Other. It captures the impact of the prophetic experiences of Isaiah and Jeremiah, the theophany through which God appeared to Job, the conversion of Paul, the overwhelming vision given to Arjuna in the Hindu Song of the Lord (Bhagavadgita). At a gentler level it delineates too the spirit of loving devotion, in that the devotee sees God as merciful and loving, yet Other, and to be worshiped and adored.