This is the sort of thing Bill Maher included in his movie, "Religulous."
Clearly, something's going on, but it seems to have more to do with shaktipat (energy touch) than the Holy Spirit. Of, if the Spirit is involved, it's certainly a good example of a Holy Spirit/kundalini convergence.
What I find encouraging is that the congregation (if that's the right word!) consisted of twenty-somethings. That's a demographic that's notoriously under-represented in most churches. They are the future.
Posts: 1033 | Location: Canada | Registered: 03 April 2009
Right, they were mostly young, and white. I hope this doesn't mean the next generation is expecting to be emotionally titillated when they come to church, however.
I find that style of ministry a bit over-sensationalized, but that's just my personal taste. At the same time, there is such a thing as Holy Spirit infused bursts of joy and laughter.
As for whether the effects seen here are more energy-related "tricks" coming from the personal energetic power of the minister, I just don't know. To call them "glory bombs" is a bit disturbing, again from a personal preference point of view. To me, when God actually touches people with His Glory and heals them with His Power, it's a sacred, profound thing. One of the great Christian healers, Agnes Sanford, shared that she discovered that her own personal energy/intentions could also heal people and that she learned to try to rely on Christ's healing and avoid using her own power. Good lessen here for Christian healing ministers.
