Slain in the Spirit
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Being slain in the Spirit is a term in Christianity which describes a religious phenomenon where 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 and power, usually associated with occasions of public prayer ministry when the laying on of hands is practiced.
Being slain in the Spirit occurs in many contemporary Charismatic or Pentecostal Christian church meetings. It was also extremely common in early American (late eighteenth-century) Methodism, particularly at camp meetings and love feasts. Many refer to the phenomenon as "falling under the Spirit's power", "falling before the Lord" or "resting in the Spirit". They call it resting in the spirit for it is said in Psalms 23:2 which says "He lies me down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters."(New American Version).
On occasions of public prayer ministry when the laying on of hands is practiced, church members or attendees come forward to the front of the church to receive a special work of the Holy Spirit from the Pastor or service leader. Often a significant amount of time is spent singing and praying during the church service before this point. Attendees are then prayed over and touched by the service leader, they perceive the Spirit of God upon them, and they fall, usually onto their backs. In most cases, their fall is broken by deacons, catchers, ushers or orderlies behind them to prevent injury.
Many Christians who experience this believe that they have been healed or given a special blessing by God. Others report seeing visions or hearing God's voice.
Whether voluntary or involuntary, "falling before the Lord" as a human response to the manifestation of the Holy Spirit is seen by many Pentecostals and Charismatics as a phenomenon that is in harmony with the Scriptures. In the Bible, falling while in the presence of God was at times also accompanied by manifestations of trembling, physical weakness and deep sleep.
Instances of voluntarily falling before the Lord to worship or pray may be found in Genesis 17:3 and Joshua 5:14. References to voluntarily falling as the result of feeling overwhelmed by a divine presence are found in Numbers 22:31, Judges 13:20, Ezekiel 1:28, Ezekiel 3:23, Ezekiel 43:3, Ezekiel 44:4, Daniel 8:17 and Matthew 17:6. However, these verses seem to imply falling forward in humility, and it would seem there are no verses to imply falling upon being touched by someone.
Instances of involuntarily falling before the Lord as the result of feeling overwhelmed by a divine presence are found in 1 Kings 8:10-11, Daniel 8:27, Daniel 10:8-11 (possibly implied), Acts 9:3-4 (also Acts 26:14) and Revelation 1:17.
Both voluntary and involuntary falling before the Lord can also occur as the result of a power encounter—a person feels that the power of God is overtaking the power of a demonic force that has sought to control or oppress him or her. References to falling in the context of power encounters are found in Mark 3:11, Mark 9:20 and Luke 8:28, and John 18:6.
Some Christians argue that the practice is neither described nor prescribed in the Bible, and that it is, at best, a psychological phenomenon or, at worst, of satanic origin. Proponents of the practice consider that it cannot be satanic as it occurs in services centered around Satan's enemy, Jesus Christ.
A similar state with loss of external awareness and motor control occurs as the result of a variety of rituals and dances in various religious and cultural traditions; see the article on religious ecstasy, Many are of the opinion that these events can be explained by psychological antecedents which could be a variety of different feelings, like "fire","electricity", " holy laughter", or a "cool wind".
Some see similarities in the manifestation of this phenomenon to a form of seizure disorder, though there may be a similar, if not superior, psychological benefit as is found in ECT seizure therapy.
[edit] See also
God Struck Me Dead, Voices of Ex-Slaves by Clifton H. Johnson ISBN 0-8298-0945-7 describes similar experiences in the accounts of nineteenth century African American spirituality.
The 1967 film Holy Ghost People by Peter Adair documented an Appalachian Pentecostal church service in which several people are slain in the spirit.
Similar experiences are also reported by those who experience a Kundalini awakening.
