In a previous blog, I told you about my experience in a Pentecostal church with speaking in tongues. Another equally bizarre ritual in my church experience was what some outsiders would describe as “Holy Rollers”.
This is where a person who is under the influence of the Holy Ghost would run, jump, roll on the floor or some other odd emotional outburst attributed to the manifestation of the Holy Ghost.
Pentecostals rely heavily on emotionalism so when a preacher, song or an excitable moment occurs something is likely to happen.
There was a lady in one church where we all knew to make her a path because when we would pray for her, she would always scream and then take off running around the church. I have seen others roll around on the floor, jump the pews or fall out under the spirit on the floor.
Some people in the church called this “shouting” and certainly shouting was involved.
Did people ever get hurt?
Yes but that wasn’t supposed to happen when a person was under the spirit. At least that’s what I had been told.
I remember once when a woman was dancing, shouting and twirling in the spirit when she stumbled and fell into a pew which knocked out one of her teeth and she bled profusely. She required some first aid. After church when we were going home, my mother asked the question to my dad as to why did the woman get hurt if she was under the spirit. He didn’t have an answer. Maybe she wasn’t in the spirit?
Just with speaking in tongues, I never understood the need for these emotional outbursts. I never did any of this and it was probably mostly because of my introvert personality. I was never prone to these physical gymnastic demonstrations in the spirit.
Honestly this kind of nonsense made the church look like more of a sideshow than anything else. I can’t help but wonder what God really thought about this.
So why do Pentecostals act this way?
Dancing in the spirit refers to spontaneous dancing that occurs during a Pentecostal worship service. The worshiper is overtaken by the power of the holy spirit and begins to move uncontrollably. The dance is unchoreographed. The dancer closes his or her eyes, yet does not bump into any other person or object thanks to the guidance of the spirit. Worshipers are encouraged to keep their attention on God and ignore the physical manifestations of other worshipers during the service.
Another manifestation of the holy spirit is known as being "slain." I have personally witnessed people being “slain” in the spirit. This is a description used by Pentecostal and charismatic Christians to describe a form of prostration in which an individual falls to the floor while experiencing religious ecstasy. Believers attribute this behavior to the power of the Holy Spirit. Other terms used to describe the experience include falling under the power, overcome by the Spirit, and resting in the Spirit. The practice is associated with faith healing because individuals are often slain while seeking prayer for illness.
In my previous life I once attended a Benny Hinn service where he would wave his white coat over the audience and rolls of people would fall out as if he had sprayed them with something to render them unconscious. It is a bizarre sight to see and totally hard to comprehend. Did Benny Hinn have such a powerful anointing or was it more of the power of persuasion?
So is this God?
No, it isn’t. God doesn’t need people to act silly in order to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. These types of ridiculous sideshows of emotionalism has only given the Holy Spirit an inaccurate representation. In the Pentecostal church, this is the only part of the Holy Spirit they assume to be. There is absolutely no need for the spooky demonstrations.
Many Pentecostals view the Holy Ghost the same as the force in Star Wars. This isn’t some spiritual superpower. The Holy Ghost/Holy Spirit is personal. He intercedes and comforts us. He calls, sends and empowers us to live the life of a believer. Jesus said the Spirit would teach us. He intimately knows us. He is more like our spiritual GPS in this world and keeps us on course.
