by mystic » Sun Nov 18, 2012 3:56 am
Red, what church are you from? I participated in a renewal movement where they had certain interventions by the holy spirit. But mine was a little group and only little thing happened. I heard of the neighboring church where there was one speaking in tongues. And at other times I saw in the US people falling into a sort of "trance" state. This seems typical in black churches.
I tried to study the phenomenon, which I always found very little documented. It seems a sort of mouth to mouth transmission. When I saw something happening, I always recognized certain specific techniques that led to the manifestation of the holy spirit. Black people use music a lot. It is very carefully chosen. They start with slow rhythms at acceptable volumes. Then, they slowly increase the speed and the volume. As people begin to move/dance, the atmosphere becomes warmer (maybe a combined effect of the natural heat of moving people, the heat of the candles, the lowering level of oxygen in the air), the pressure on consciousness increasing, somebody bursts in tongues or has other manifestations.
In renovation encounters, it's not much the music, but the pressure on the consciousness is gradually escalated through repeating certain sequences of prayers (like they would be mantras), hitting repeatedly certain topics that might have a certain impact on the sensibility of the people there, declaring things with fervor and quicker and stronger voice.
The Roman church is generally very careful with those things. They are accepted, used, but... no documentation. It is almost hidden, here, in Italy. I think that the reason is that they are sort of "induced effects". If there would be no induction, the holy spirit would not manifest. But... if there is induction it might be just an altered state of consciousness, and not the holy spirit. There are some criteria to distinguish. But, as you might understand, if this would be so real, we would be full of new prophets. And I am aware of no new prophet introduced officially by the church. So, the church knows it is something not so holy. To be really holy, it should happen in the light of the day, without any induction of influence in a prayer group or particular situation. The people would think that the person is "crazy", but after a proper analysis it should be found that the person is prophesying (in tongues, in this case).
So, be careful for the fashion. Speaking in tongues is not something to experience as an alternative life experience. It is usually something that somebody smart (who knows how the psyche works) induces to you to let you think that the holy spirit is descending in you and increase your faith. Black magic, hypnotism, all use the same techniques to make disciples. I'm not saying that the church does something bad, but there are really many aspects to consider. Take it for what it is: something to increase your faith.
"The real opposite of love is not hate, but indifference" (Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz)