The “Ridiculous” Defined
In order to provide an answer to the question that titles this post, we must clearly understand the question. “Why do Christians accept the ridiculous?” That is the question at hand. In the following posts, I will provide a clear answer to the question. In this post, however, allow me to make the question clear so that I may later make the answer clear.
What is Meant by “the Ridiculous”?
Most Christians, I believe, see the need for local churches to experience a revival. Most Christians, in my opinion, are eager to please the Lord, to experience His presence, to be drawn closer to Him, and to have greater understanding of His word. In their quest for a genuine revival, however, many sincere Christians deviate toward ridiculous phenomena.
Recently I read a book by Hank Hanegraaff entitled Counterfeit Revival. While I know little concerning Hank Hanegraaff, I will say that in this work, he hit the nail on the head. In this book, Hanegraaff gives one example after another of counterfeit expressions of revival. These expressions are what I refer to as “the ridiculous.” What are the expressions to which I refer? Allow me to list a few, and you can judge whether or not they qualify as being “ridiculous.”
“Holy Ghost Glue”
Rodney Howard-Browne, in his pamphlet Manifesting the Holy Ghost, tells of a lady who was stuck to the floor with “Holy Ghost glue” –
She was lying there from noon until 1:30… At 1:30, she tried to get up. She couldn’t. All she could do was flap her hands. So she was lying there flapping away – flap, flap, flap, flap… 2:30, 3:30, 4:30… At 4:30 the woman was still saying, “I can’t get up. I’m stuck to the floor.” (pp. 26-27)
Rodney Howard-Browne goes on to tell how he and another minister, since they were not stuck to the floor, went and grabbed a sandwich before the evening service, leaving the woman stuck to the floor! Do you believe the Holy Spirit is really interested in “gluing” people to the floor, or does this seem ridiculous to you?
The “Holy Ghost Gun”
Rodney Howard-Browne, in his pamphlet Touch of God, tells of his “Holy Ghost gun” –
It felt like my fingertips came off. I felt a full volume of the anointing flow out of my hand. The only way I can explain it is to liken it to a fireman holding a fire hose with a full volume of water flowing out of it. The anointing went right into her. It looked like someone had hit her in the head with an invisible baseball bat and she fell to the floor.
He goes on to tell how he told his congregation –
I’d better look out where I point this thing. This thing’s loaded now!
In spite of this warning, Howard-Browne went on to “shoot” everyone in the church. He says –
They hit the floor just like someone had slammed them in the head with a Louisville Slugger. (pp. 76-77)
It is a sad truth that, when some think of revival, they think of a preacher going around shooting people with a “Holy Ghost gun,” and people falling to the floor in response to it. This incident, to say the least, makes a mockery of the Holy Spirit.
Up to this point, I would surmise that most readers agree that these examples are certainly ridiculous. However, from this point onward, I will be moving “closer to home.”
“Drunk in the Spirit”
In Acts 2, because the bystanders heard the Galileans speak in languages they had never learned, the bystanders supposed the Galileans to be drunk. The Bible is clear that those present on the day of Pentecost thought the speakers were drunk because they heard them speak in their own native tongues.
Acts 2:11-13 – “…we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.”
It is clear that on the day of Pentecost, there was an audience that heard the wonderful works of God in their own native languages. Because they knew that the Galileans could not have learned those languages, some mocked, accusing the Galileans of being drunk. Listen carefully – no one on the day of Pentecost was accused of being drunk because they staggered around! Not one of the Galilean speakers was accused of being full of new wine because he acted senseless, bumped into various objects, or fell in the floor. Yet, from this passage, there are some who insist that when revival comes, some will be “drunk in the Spirit,” staggering around like drunken sailors. Another verse that some use to try to justify being “drunk in the Spirit” is Ephesians 5:18. Let us examine this verse:
Ephesians 5:18 – “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”
Some interpret this verse to say, “Don’t be drunk with wine; but instead be drunk with the Spirit!” This is neither what the verse says nor means. There is no command in this verse for Christians to be drunk. This verse gives us two conditions in which we may find ourselves – “drunk with wine,” and “filled with the Spirit.” This verse does not compare these two conditions; this verse rather contrasts them! Paul is not admonishing the Ephesians to imitate the drunken man by being “drunk with the Spirit.” Instead, Paul is instructing us to not be like the drunken man, but to rather be “filled with the Spirit!” Being filled with the Spirit is in complete contrast with being drunk with wine. Those who are full of the Spirit are not like those who are drunken, but are rather opposite of such people! We are commanded continuously to be sober (I Thessalonians 5:6; I Thessalonians 5:8; Titus 2:2; Titus 2:4; I Peter 1:13; I Peter 4:7; I Peter 5:8); to be sober-minded (Titus 2:6); to be vigilant (I Timothy 3:2; I Peter 5:8); and to be watchful (Revelation 3:2). Paul tells us that those who are drunken are drunk in the night, and exhorts us to rather be children of the day, watchful and vigilant:
I Thessalonians 5:6-8 – “Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.”
In spite of clear biblical teaching exhorting Christians to be sober, watchful, alert, and vigilant, some insist that we should be “drunk in the Spirit,” meaning that we should model our behavior after ungodly drunkards, and that we should do so in the name of the Holy Spirit. I will say here that the phrase “drunk in the Spirit” is not in the Bible. It is not a biblical concept. It is entirely man-made.
Frances Hunter, in her book Holy Laughter, tells this story of a pastor who
…opened his Bible II Corinthians 9:7 and started to read about how God loves a cheerful giver. He never got beyond the first few words! He must have taken a big gulp of the new wine and it really hit him, and not only did he laugh, he discovered he was completely incapable of reading. He got so totally intoxicated with the Holy Spirit he finally had to give up. He couldn’t even stand up. (p. 99)
Frances Hunter describes this pastor of being “so totally intoxicated with the Holy Spirit” that he could not stand up. Yes, dear friend, this is what I mean by “ridiculous.”
This brings me to my next point, which is closer to home still yet.
“Holy Laughter” or “Laughing in the Spirit”
These phrases, “holy laughter” and “laughing in the Spirit,” are not found in the scriptures. I have preached against this phenomenon for many years, and people have opposed my preaching each time. The truth, however, is not changed. “Laughing in the Spirit” is a concept foreign to the word of God. Laughter cannot be found as a form of worship in the Bible. Please note that I am not saying that it is a sin to laugh. Laughter oftentimes is an expression of joy. In the Bible, laughter is sometimes referred to in a positive light. However, to say that the Holy Spirit comes upon a person to make him or her laugh uncontrollably is a concept not found in scripture. Laughter is not shown in the Bible as a form of worship. As a matter of fact, the first time we see someone laughing in the Bible, it was not an expression of faith; it was rather an expression of doubt. Sarah laughed when she was told she would bear a son in her old age. In the Bible, laughter is often associated with doubt, scorn, ridicule, and at times expression of joy – but never with worship. If you disagree with me, the burden of proof is on you – show me where I can find “laughing in the Spirit” in the Bible.
In two interviews with Julia Duin, Rodney Howard-Browne gives details of two incidents where his church was filled with “holy laughter.” In the first incident, Howard-Browne was preaching on the subject of hell. He said, “The more I told people what hell was like, the more they laughed.” In the second incident, Howard-Browne was preaching on the biblical story of Ananias and Sapphira, a couple who was slain by the Holy Ghost for lying to Him. As he told the story, “everyone ended up on the floor laughing.”
The further away you stay from “holy laughter,” the better off you’ll be.
Ridiculous Prophecies
It is not uncommon in some instances of so-called revival to hear “prophecies,” many of which are ridiculous. When a man (usually a preacher) gives forth a prophecy, he is telling either the congregation as a whole or an individual within the congregation what God is telling him to say.
I was scheduled to preach at a meeting some time ago. A visiting minister was asked to sing a song. He was already positioned on the piano bench, so he simply began to play and sing. After his singing, he began to prophesy. “Somebody in here has a headache,” he said. “And it’s either in the front part of the head, the middle of the head, or the back of the head.” Later, the man prophesied again. “Somebody in here is experiencing pain, either in the wrist, the elbow, or the shoulder.” He then asked for people who fit this description to come to front to receive prayer.
That’s ridiculous! That’s so absurd as to be ludicrous! This man did not need God to tell him that someone had a headache; in a crowd of four someone has a headache! The church world is full of self-proclaimed prophets who claim that God says this and God says that. There’s going to be a lot of people at the Great White Throne Judgment who claimed that God said this and God said that, but they’re going to find out that God did not say those things. What do you think about prophecies such as these? Do you call it revival or ridiculous? Prophecies such as these are ridiculous! Why don’t these “prophets” call someone out of the crowd who has lupus? Why don’t they call someone out and tell them that God said they have a serious condition involving mitochondrial DNA? They don’t do that, and they won’t! They only prophesy about headaches and backaches because if the crowd is bigger than ten, they’ll be right every time! We certainly need a revival and you won’t find it in places where these ridiculous prophecies are being spoken.
These manifestations are only a few among many that are commonly found among so-called revivals. These manifestations are not marks of true revival. They are ridiculous, non-scriptural expressions.
