Holy laughter
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Holy laughter is a term used within charismatic Christianity that describes a religious behaviour in which individuals spontaneously laugh during church meetings. It has occurred in many revivals throughout church history, but it became normative in the early 1990s in Neo-charismatic churches and the Third Wave of the Holy Spirit . Many people claimed to experience this phenomenon at a large revival in Toronto, Ontario , Canada known as the Toronto Blessing .
History
Practices similar to holy laughter were observed in the 1800s in Holiness Christian meetings on the American West. [1] John Wesley encountered uncontrollable laughter in his Methodist meetings, and viewed it as an act of God. [2] It also occurred in Signs and Wonders meetings run by John Wimber in the 1980s. [3] The practice came to prominence in meetings led by the South African evangelist Rodney Howard-Browne in 1993 at the Carpenter's Home Church in Lakeland, Florida and was often accompanied by the " Slain in the Spirit " phenomena. [4] The laughter ranges from very quiet to loud convulsive hysterics, which are said to be accompanied by temporary dissociation. [5] It was also observed in meetings held at Oral Roberts University . [6] The phenomena was then popularized by Charisma and the Trinity Broadcasting Network , and became controversial within charismatic Christianity. [4]
Though primarily found in Protestant churches, it was observed in some parts of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal , as well. [7] The practice spread to the Association of Vineyard Churches , most notably to the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship in 1994. Religious revival meetings at the church became very popular, drawing 75,000 visitors that year. [8] Many attendees at the meetings spent time laughing loudly while lying on the floor. [4]
Analysis
Leaders who have promoted holy laughter said the laughter was a result of joy that was supernaturally being given to people in the meetings. [9] They said the joy was often accompanied by miraculous healing and the cessation of depression. [10] Margaret Poloma of the University of Akron has described the events of the services as a ritual facilitation of catharsis . [11] Philip Richter of STETS has drawn a parallel between holy laughter and laughter yoga . [12]
Reception
Many of the activities at these meetings, particularly the laughter, were controversial within evangelical Christianity . Though some religious leaders such as Pat Robertson embraced the movement, groups including the Christian Research Institute [8] and the Southern Baptist Convention condemned what was occurring. [13] Critics charge that the practice is the result of psychological manipulation , [8] or demonic possession . [14] [15]
See also
References
- ↑ Yung, Hwa (2003). "Endued with Power: The Pentecostal-Charismatic Renewal and the Asian Church in the Twenty-First Century" (PDF) . Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies . 6 (1): 63–82.
- ↑ Porter 1996, p. 108
- ↑ Porter 1996, p. 106
- 1 2 3 Diamond 2000, p. 208
- ↑ Porter 1996, p. 102
- ↑ Poloma 2003, p. 155
- ↑ Cimino 2001, p. 33
- 1 2 3 Diamond 2000, p. 209
- ↑ Poloma 2003, p. 4
- ↑ Poloma 2003, p. 5
- ↑ Poloma 2003, p. 108
- ↑ Porter 1996, p. 119
- ↑ Queen, Prothero & Shattuck 2009, p. 245
- ↑ Diamond 2000, p. 210
- ↑ Blair, Phillip Andrew (April 4, 2019). "Exposing kundalini spirits and the New Apostolic Reformation in the church" . Torch of Christ Ministries . Retrieved August 28, 2019 .
Bibliography
- Cimino, Richard P. (2001), Trusting the spirit: renewal and reform in American religion , John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 978-0-7879-5160-3
- Diamond, Sara (2000), Not by Politics Alone: The Enduring Influence of the Christian Right , Guilford Press, ISBN 978-1-57230-494-9
- Poloma, Margaret M. (2003), Main street mystics: the Toronto blessing and reviving Pentecostalism , Rowman Altamira, ISBN 978-0-7591-0354-2
- Richter, Philip (1996), Stanley E. Porter (ed.), The nature of religious language: a colloquium , Continuum International Publishing Group, ISBN 978-1-85075-580-7
- Queen, Edward L.; Prothero, Stephen R.; Shattuck, Gardiner H. (2009), Encyclopedia of American religious history , Infobase Publishing, ISBN 978-0-8160-6660-5