Slain in the Spirit?

[Innerfire89]

I see no where in Scripture anyone falling backwards as the result if healing or any kind of edification or being filled with The Holy Spirit, but instead we see the opposite, we see that the prophets fell face first in amazement of God's glory. But when under judgment they would fall on their backs.

Now if someone is being healed why would the healing that is coming from God hurt them? Why would someone else need to catch them? Can God not heal with out hurting?

Why is another human always involved? Why aren't people just slain during prayer? The Holy Spirit is not something given from one to another by touching.

What's really napping when someone is slain in The Spirit? There's a few possiblties.
There a pressure points in the forehead, jaw, cheeks, that when hit pushed cause a dizzy, electric feeling to surge through the body, easily knocking a person to the floor. Anyone familiar with martial arts and the like will know that with little force you can drop an opponent.
Hypnotism, very easy to hypnotize someone as long as they're submissive.
Over excitement, first they get the crowd worked up with music, then when it comes time to be slain they pass out.
Lastly, they might be slain, but by what spirit?

If your church practices being slain in The Spirit it's time you find a new church and reexamine your faith.

This topic is not here to put anyone down. But to warn of false teachers and con men.


Stay strong in Christ and be blessed.

 

[Johnny_B]

You are right everyone that fall back were sinners or enemies of the Lord. The temple guards fall back and so did Paul when he was seeking to kill those that were part of the Church and what did Jesus say? Acts 9:3-6

"As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”

Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”

6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”

Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

Notice Jesus said why are you persecuting Me? Saul was perscuting the Church, but Jesus associated Himself with us the Church because we are His body, also notice there is no donkey, horse or mule that Saul fell off of, that is man interjecting into the Scripture. Saul was not a believer at this time he was an enemy of Jesus and His body, looking to kill all of them that he could.

 

[Ugly]

When I was saved as a teen it was into the Pentecostal movement. We had a big time preacher guest at our church and invited people to come up for healing. I went up.
I had never been "knocked down" Hinn style. Wasn't convinced it was a godly thing.
So I approached determined that I was not going down. As i watched the line of people ahead of me going down like dominoes I was ready.
He got to me, and before his hand touched me I blacked out. I woke up a few seconds later not feeling a thing. In fact nothing had changed at all. But I was confused as to why I went down.
I was at first upset at God, then felt guilty that it was my fault nothing happened.
Once I got away from church I began wondering why did I go down if God did nothing? Why did I not "feel God" afterward. It was a bizarre experience I've never been able to explain. Something tool me down, but it wasn't God.
Eventually I left that entire belief system behind after so many negative experiences within the Pentecostal/charismatic church.

 

[graceNpeace]

Perhaps a bit of balance is called for here.
I have never been part of a church where there were any expectations re: being slain in the Spirit.
In fact we were often cautioned not to fall down just because someone else did.
The impression that I got was that God moved and answered prayer irrespective of the apparent effect on the congregation.

I have visited churches or seen visiting speakers appear to demand or expect this sort of response to prayer which achieved nothing apart from making me feel uneasy.

Luckily, the first church I joined after being saved always taught that God is much bigger than our understanding of Him and definitely much bigger than our response to Him.
Yes, we were a charismatic congregation but IMHO we better grounded in the word of God than any church, of any flavour, I have known since...

 

[Innerfire89]

When I was saved as a teen it was into the Pentecostal movement. We had a big time preacher guest at our church and invited people to come up for healing. I went up.
I had never been "knocked down" Hinn style. Wasn't convinced it was a godly thing.
So I approached determined that I was not going down. As i watched the line of people ahead of me going down like dominoes I was ready.
He got to me, and before his hand touched me I blacked out. I woke up a few seconds later not feeling a thing. In fact nothing had changed at all. But I was confused as to why I went down.
I was at first upset at God, then felt guilty that it was my fault nothing happened.
Once I got away from church I began wondering why did I go down if God did nothing? Why did I not "feel God" afterward. It was a bizarre experience I've never been able to explain. Something tool me down, but it wasn't God.
Eventually I left that entire belief system behind after so many negative experiences within the Pentecostal/charismatic church.

My aunt used to take me to a Pentecostal church when I was a kid. I went up front and the preacher touched me but nothing happened, so I faked it. Lol. I just want to do what everyone else was doing. My aunt was an alchololic and she would sneek booze into church, yet she was being filled with The Holy Spirit at the same time?
Another time me and all the kids lined up to be born again, but the next time did this I got in the line to do it again, I had no clue what it meant to be born again.

For a long time I was confused with what I seen in the Pentecostal church and what went on in the Presbyterian church I grew up in, I wasn't sure which one was real or if God was real, and I felt like something was wrong with me, like I was too bad to be slain in the Spirit.

 

[graceNpeace]

My aunt used to take me to a Pentecostal church when I was a kid. I went up front and the preacher touched me but nothing happened, so I faked it. Lol. I just want to do what everyone else was doing. My aunt was an alchololic and she would sneek booze into church, yet she was being filled with The Holy Spirit at the same time?
Another time me and all the kids lined up to be born again, but the next time did this I got in the line to do it again, I had no clue what it meant to be born again.

For a long time I was confused with what I seen in the Pentecostal church and what went on in the Presbyterian church I grew up in, I wasn't sure which one was real or if God was real, and I felt like something was wrong with me, like I was too bad to be slain in the Spirit.

Well, it seems to me that you are extrapolating your abnormal experiences into something that is normative in Charismatic/Pentecostal circles.

 

[Ugly]

My aunt used to take me to a Pentecostal church when I was a kid. I went up front and the preacher touched me but nothing happened, so I faked it. Lol. I just want to do what everyone else was doing. My aunt was an alchololic and she would sneek booze into church, yet she was being filled with The Holy Spirit at the same time?
Another time me and all the kids lined up to be born again, but the next time did this I got in the line to do it again, I had no clue what it meant to be born again.

For a long time I was confused with what I seen in the Pentecostal church and what went on in the Presbyterian church I grew up in, I wasn't sure which one was real or if God was real, and I felt like something was wrong with me, like I was too bad to be slain in the Spirit.

Actually the first thing I did when I woke up was look around. Saw a line of people with their hands in the air, praying, etc... So I stuck my hands in the air and laid their a few minutes because I didn't want to appear less spiritual.

 

[Joidevivre]

I never liked the term "slain in the Spirit", because it does not appear in the bible. However, the glory of God is oftentimes referred to as a weight, and the people could not stand in the temple sometimes because of the presence of the Lord.

I have been praying in my home (no music, no hypnosis, etc.) and I felt such a weight upon me that I had to kneel down and could not stop praising God. It was a pleasant feeling, and I loved being carried into praise. I've never felt that "Spirit of Praise" totally lifting me into His presence quite like that since.

 

[Ugly]

Perhaps a bit of balance is called for here.
I have never been part of a church where there were any expectations re: being slain in the Spirit.
In fact we were often cautioned not to fall down just because someone else did.
The impression that I got was that God moved and answered prayer irrespective of the apparent effect on the congregation.

I have visited churches or seen visiting speakers appear to demand or expect this sort of response to prayer which achieved nothing apart from making me feel uneasy.

Luckily, the first church I joined after being saved always taught that God is much bigger than our understanding of Him and definitely much bigger than our response to Him.
Yes, we were a charismatic congregation but IMHO we better grounded in the word of God than any church, of any flavour, I have known since...

That is extremely rare for any charismatic church. It is typically expected to see various "manifestations of the spirit".
When it comes to balance I prefer to be cautious. God doesn't require such things to take action, but being too open puts you at risk. And, of course, balance requires a thing to be biblically based. Which much of what goes on on these churches is not, and sometimes even against the bible.

 

[graceNpeace]

That is extremely rare for any charismatic church. It is typically expected to see various "manifestations of the spirit".
When it comes to balance I prefer to be cautious. God doesn't require such things to take action, but being too open puts you at risk. And, of course, balance requires a thing to be biblically based. Which much of what goes on on these churches is not, and sometimes even against the bible.

There is nothing wrong with that: "manifestations of the spirit".
What is NOT expected is that everyone exhibit the same responses.
Yes, people spoke in tongues, there were interpretations, prayer for healing was common, etc.
However, nobody was "expected" to fall over when being prayed for.
Yes, we were taught to desire the gifts of the Spirit (and we were also taught the Biblically correct doctrine that these gifts were for the purpose of ministry) just as we were taught to walk in the fruit of the Spirit, and so, there was no place for boasting or "super-spirituality" just because one did receive one or more gifts of the Spirit.

The churches I belonged to never did throw the baby out with the bathwater and taught the full counsel of God and stood for orthodox doctrine that would be acknowledged by any conservative evangelical groups.

 

[Innerfire89]

Well, it seems to me that you are extrapolating your abnormal experiences into something that is normative in Charismatic/Pentecostal circles.

Not exactly, but it was obviously false that my aunt was being filled with The Holy Spirit and at the same time she was an alcoholic. If God was moving that strongly in her than it should have showed in her actions.

 

[graceNpeace]

Not exactly, but it was obviously false that my aunt was being filled with The Holy Spirit and at the same time she was an alcoholic. If God was moving that strongly in her than it should have showed in her actions.

So n = 1.
And the means that everything else is false?

 

[Innerfire89]

So n = 1.
And the means that everything else is false?

No, just for my aunt it was false. I'm not counting that as evidence against the charismatic or Pentecostal movement.

But let's say for the sake of argument that my experience disproved being slain in the Spirit, what would your rebuttal be?

 

[Willie-T]

I was raised Baptist — no falling down.

Then I was CoC — you were probably going to Hell if you went down.

I knew that I knew!

Then it happened to me. The most glorious experience of truly being "in" Christ that I had ever experienced! Since that first time, I can't count how many more times it has happened.

 

[graceNpeace]

No, just for my aunt it was false. I'm not counting that as evidence against the charismatic or Pentecostal movement.

But let's say for the sake of argument that my experience disproved being slain in the Spirit, what would your rebuttal be?

Well, since YOUR experience proves or disproves nothing no rebuttal is required.

 

[Innerfire89]

I was raised Baptist — no falling down.

Then I was CoC — you were probably going to Hell if you went down.

I knew that I knew!

Then it happened to me. The most glorious experience of truly being "in" Christ that I had ever experienced! Since that first time, I can't count how many more times it has happened.

I must ask how you know your exprince was something that came from Christ?

 

[Innerfire89]

Well, since YOUR experience proves or disproves nothing no rebuttal is required.

If I'm saying that being slain in the Spirit is false because my aunt was even though she was an alcoholic, what would your argument be against me?

 

[graceNpeace]

If I'm saying that being slain in the Spirit is false because my aunt was even though she was an alcoholic, what would your argument be against me?

You AUNT fell down - so what.
It is neither proves nor disproves anything...
It is what is called a non sequitur.

 

[Innerfire89]

You AUNT fell down - so what.
It is neither proves nor disproves anything...
It is what is called a non sequitur.

It's wasn't being used as an arugmemt until now.
It proves that clearly not everyone who is slain in the Spirit has any evidence of even being a Christian, in the least. She also spoke in tougnes and expeinced Holy Spirit laughter, but that's another topic.

 

[Willie-T]

I must ask how you know your exprince was something that came from Christ?

This started something like 25 years ago, and besides the peace and closeness it developed, it has at least tripled my desire to draw closer to Christ.