Corporate religious experience

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Corporate religious experience

• There are reports of entire groups having some
  form of religious experience
• This is not to suggest that all individual
  members of the group have experienced or
  understood the same thing
• However, the outward appearances appear to be
  similar

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Case Study The Toronto Blessing

• Date 10 January 1994
• Place Toronto Airport Vineyard Church
• What happened
• The blessing occurred during a sermon by
  Pastor Randy Clark. It has been described as an
  outpouring of the Holy Spirit

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Senior Pastor, John Arnott, decribed what he
saw When Randy Clark preached at the Airport
Vineyardalmost eighty percent of the people were
on the floorIt was like an explosion. We saw
people literally being knocked off their feet by
the Spirit of GodOthers shook and jerked. Some
danced, some laughed. Some lay on the floor as if
dead for hours. People cried and
shouted. Since January 1994 this experience
is said to have occurred in other churches around
the world
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First of this type of experience recorded 1979

• South African Minister Rodney Howard-Browne
• He was considered to be the father of Holy
  Laughter

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Typical experiences

• Falling in the Holy Spirit can no longer stand
  in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Some talk of
  being stuck to the floor by Holy Ghost Glue.
• Shaking people shake under the power of God
• Weeping the result of repentance for sins
• Laughing Holy Laughter - when God enters
  your soul it is a joyous experience

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How might traditional Christians respond?
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Links

• http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/324274.stm

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