Holy Laughter???

[whatfor]

then we need to stop weddings cause it's not in scripture.

And we need to stop instruments, because they are not in scripture

And childrens ministry is not in scripture

and youth ministry is not in scripture

and short term missions trips are not in scripture

and ushers are not in scripture

I like this, there are so many other examples.

I have personally found myself laughing at home uncontrollably in the past and could only put it down to God doing something.
I have cried as well.

I had a workmate ask me to pray for him a while back, he used to go to church many years ago , so may or maynot be saved.
He had diabetes and still has, he was hoping to receive healing.
The only thing that happened was he spent the next three days laughing and smiling.
He asked what I had done and could only tell him God was doing it not me.

I do not limit God because I can not find something in scripture, it maybe there and I am not seeing it, or maybe not.

 

[Yitzchak]

then we need to stop weddings cause it's not in scripture.

And we need to stop instruments, because they are not in scripture

And childrens ministry is not in scripture

and youth ministry is not in scripture

and short term missions trips are not in scripture

and ushers are not in scripture

This is a crucial point for our discussion. It begs the question of why target the incident of laughing at the altar versus the hundreds of other things that churches practice that are not specifically listed in the bible ?

And don't forget Christmas and Easter , while you're making your list of things churches do which are not in the Bible.

If we are ranking motives. Being opposed because it bothers me personally versus being opposed out of concern for the church to be obedient to the word of G-d. I think that the later reason is a more pure motive. Our concern for adherence to the word should go beyound what annoys us.




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[Faulty]

then we need to stop weddings cause it's not in scripture.

And we need to stop instruments, because they are not in scripture

And childrens ministry is not in scripture

and youth ministry is not in scripture

and short term missions trips are not in scripture

and ushers are not in scripture

Well, some of those actually are in the scripture, but it really doesn't matter. This describes structures and functions we've adapted to our own cultures.

Meanwhile, this 'holy laughter' is being questioned as a movement of the Spirit.

One wouldn't expect to find all future and past various cultural adaptations listed in scripture, as it doesn't disallow those things which do not lead into sin. However, one would expect to find movements of the Spirit, such as this, in the scriptures because those are indeed directly addressed a number of times, and usually in some form of detail.

 

[Yitzchak]

Well, some of those actually are in the scripture, but it really doesn't matter. This describes structures and functions we've adapted to our own cultures.

Meanwhile, this 'holy laughter' is being questioned as a movement of the Spirit.

One wouldn't expect to find all future and past various cultural adaptations listed in scripture, as it doesn't disallow those things which do not lead into sin. However, one would expect to find movements of the Spirit, such as this, in the scriptures because those are indeed directly addressed a number of times, and usually in some form of detail.

One thing worth mentioning here in regard to " manifestations " of the Holy Spirit including laughter. The behaviors that we observe are quite often people's reactions to the Holy Spirit and not actually the Holy Spirit doing those things. This distinction is crucial.

First , there are the whole range of human emotions. In other words a natural reaction to experiencing the supernatural. Take for example , a deeply wounded emotional area. People often repress these sorts of emotions. In the light of truth at an altar call , people are suddenly exposed to seeing a glimpse of themselves or some situation as it really is. Or are released from some burden they have been carrying for a long time.


Secondly , there is the possibility of the demonic. Demons in people , reacted to Jesus by manifesting with foaming , falling on the ground and all kinds of disturbing manifestations. If every time a person is around the moving of the Spirit they begin to manifest , it could be they have a demon in them.

Thirdly , it could be a supernatural prophetic message being acted out as a message to the church.

I suppose the list goes on. But the point I wanted to make is manifestations are not always the Holy Spirit. They could be supernatural , either G-d or the devil. They also could be completely natural and a response to either the supernatural or to the natural.

We can't jump to conlcusions in any given situation. The scripture is silent about a lot of details. But there is certainly a diversity of responses to the moving of the Spirit of G-d both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.


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[Big Drew]

It was sarcasm silly.

Ah, okay...totally went over my head. That's what I get for staying up so late. :o

 

[mrhappy3]

I was in a London conference of Rodney Howard Browne the Holy Ghost bartender.

It was all the rage back then. my dad came with me.

I saw people doing sommersaults and all sorts !

My dad was only a few years in the Lord, and he is from the old school.

It was generally a farce, but we laughed AT IT, not WITH IT.

I have experienced similar though, it was wonderful.

joy bubbled up out of me, a big smile came over my face and I giggled.

Like I say, it was WONDERFUL.


so my conclusion: Genuine and fake are everywhere-we could be wrong to judge

 

[Source Scripture]

Personally, I wouild go directly to God, not a fallible pastor, well intnentioned as he may be, he may also adhere to this strange behavior. The feeling you received, is a good indicator.

Watching Rodney Howard Brown, you can hear this sardonic, often sinister laughter, while he is preaching, in the backround. If someone was channel surfing, and passed by this sermon, hearing the hootish, overly loud "laughter", I think they would be smart to question it.

Paul wanted order with tongues. What would he say to this?

1 Corinthians 14:23 If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?

 

[K2K]

Just a technical point here. When you say unbiblical it implies that the scripture teaches against the practice. I think extra biblical would be the correct term if the Bible is silent about the practice. The fact that the Bible does not say anything one way or the other is not the same as the Bible forbiding it.

He is called Wonderful Counselor. So the Scriptures were not meant to answer all your questions, but rather to turn you to the Lord so He could answer your questions.

So what about laughter? Does it have a place with Christ? Does Isaac have a place with Christ? What does Isaac mean? Does the Lord ever joke with us? Could someone like Sarah find something the Lord said as being funny? If so, sould you take offense to it?

The Lord once told me, "As instructions are given to servants, wisdom to sons, jokes to friends, 'I love you' is said to a bride."

Have you ever heard Him tell you instructions?
Have you ever heard Him tell you wisdom?
Have you ever heard Him tell you a joke?
Have you ever heard Him tell you "I love you"?

Do you have a personal relationship with the Lord?

 

[probinson]

Is there scripture to prove this? Or should I change churches to avoid being part of a group which allows scary (and mildly humorous) unbiblical behavior?

When I was dating my wife, who was a dyed-in-the-wool Nazarene, and who descended from a very long line of dyed-in-the-wool Nazarenes on both sides of her family, I invited her to attend my Charismatic church when a special speaker was in town. At this meeting, it was very "wild", to say the least. People were laughing, people were falling down... it was a type of service that I am confident many of the folks in this forum would gleefully criticize and heartily condemn if it popped up on their favorite "discernment" website.

However, something happened to my wife at that meeting. While she would tell you herself that she thought it was "strange", she also described a peace that she had never really known before. I didn't know how she would react, but I was pleased to find that "wild" meeting was the thing that brought my wife and I closer together in our relationship and in our relationship with God.

I don't know exactly what happened, but I do know that my wife was set free that night, and has never been the same since. Not long after that, she was baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues.

As I sit here 11 years later and I look back at the things God has used to minister to both of us, it astounds me. I think of the scripture that says God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27).

I mean, who would have thought that someone laughing hysterically would be the thing God would use to minister a much needed peace that passes all understanding to my wife? Not me, but that's exactly what happened.

 

[SharonL]

Hey Pete - that is astounding - especially since I was raised strict Nazarene also.

 

[GoldenKingGaze]

The Bible mentions "Oil of Joy".

 

[Mixolydian]

I once went to church that I'd never been to before, this was at the height of the holy laughter craze and the speaker was very obviously trying to pump that aspect up. He'd walk up and down the aisles literally going, "hee hee" ha ha" "ho ho," in a very clipped staccato that didn't appear to have an ounce of joy behind it. Very odd and a bit disturbing.

On the other hand, I can appreciate the stories above of folks who have experienced the joy of the Lord coming out as laughter. Those recounts seemed not a bit out of line with what God was doing in their hearts.

 

[tturt]

Isn't it amazing what offends us? And we're so easily offended - me included. You know people stop going to a particular church because they were offended. But they go to jobs where some of them have been offended. Do you know how many people are offended by tongues? If it wasn't what it is, I really don't think there would be so many threads about it.

What if manifestations were - what if a halo appeared? No, that wouldn't be good. What if an angel sung? No, everybody wouldn't like that either. What if a cloud appeared? Nope. Just having a hard time thinking of a manifestation that fits everyone's definition of what's acceptable.

 

[JimB]

I never put much stock in “holy laughter” because I know how psychologically infectious hearty laughter can be. The only time I can remember being bent over with uncontrollable laughter was after I heard the funniest “Aggie” joke I have ever heard (I still laugh at it 40 years later)—everyone who heard it was bent laughed for 15 minutes and there was nothing holy about the joke (believe me!! … remind me to tell it to you when we get to know each other better. )

~Jim

Love God.


Love people.


Period.​

 

[JimB]

I never put much stock in “holy laughter” because I know how psychologically infectious hearty laughter can be. The only time I can remember being bent over with uncontrollable laughter was after I heard the funniest joke I have ever heard (I still laugh at it 40 years later)—everyone who heard it was bent laughed for 15 minutes and there was nothing holy about the joke (believe me!! … remind me to tell it to you when we get to know each other better.)

~Jim

Love God.
Love people.
Period.​