Friday, July 27, 2007

Slain In The Spirit

Depending on whether or not you have been exposed to Christianity, you may or may not know that there are different modes of thoughts that are not as biblically concrete as the core doctrines, especially that concerning the death, burial and ressurection of Jesus Christ.

One such belief is that of being "slain in the Spirit". Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia concerning this phenomenon: "Being slain in the Spirit is a term related to the Charismatic movement and Pentecostalism which describes a religious phenomenon in which a person enters a state with loss of all motor control over their body and falls to the floor during an event perceived as a personal encounter with God's glory power, usually associated with occasions of public prayer ministry when the laying on of hands is practised."

Here is a documentary (now public domain) that follows the practices of a community of Pentecostals in Scrabble Creek, West Virginia. It is called Holy Ghost People and includes snake handling, speaking in tongues, the curing of diseases, and singing. It was filmed by Peter Adair.

Note: I am awaiting approval to link to another video that puts being "slain in the Spirit" in a different light. If I obtain that permission, I will post it.

I have obtained permission and here is the link to the other video. It is a large file (good quality) and well put together. Note: if you have slow internet, you will probably not want to take the time to watch this. It is 8 minutes long.

Some questions:
-What are the biblical examples of being slain in the Spirit?
-Do certain passages in the Bible lend themselves to being interpreted in such a way as to give credence to being slain in the Spirit?
-Do you think this issue should be divisive amongst Christians?
-What are your thoughts concerning this practice?
-When did this practice become an "accepted" Christian practice?