Courtesy of the You Tube page:
Evangelical Christians around the globe are increasingly holding large children's revivals where they practice a disturbing ritual called "anointing by the holy spirit," "being slain by the holy spirit," "catching the holy ghost," or "falling out."
It is intimidating, physically coercive, deeply stressful, and emotionally manipulative. Children are under tremendous pressure to cooperate, to mimic the adults' bizarre behaviors, and to avoid being judged unworthy, disappointing, or worse, under satan's spell.
The older children and teens are under great peer pressure to fit in. The youngest simply don't understand they're supposed to fall over. Their purity and honesty shines through.
Most are acting, consciously or subconsciously, feeling anxiety and guilt long afterward for not having the "genuine" experience they imagine the rest are surely having. Others are infected by the contagion of mass hysteria, a temporary insanity driven by the shouting, the music, and the cacophony of adults "speaking in tongues" (glossolalia) -- meaningless babbling with the same origin as the toppling over.
The preachers, of course, are paid for results.
What kind of belief system must force itself on children, long before they are able to understand and decide for themselves?
It is child abuse and should not be permitted.
My daughter tried to describe this kind of activity many years ago when she was being subjected to it.
At the time I did not have a frame of reference to help me to understand exactly what she was describing.
Over the years I have learned much, and all of it has made me angry beyond belief.
This is wrong by ANY measure, and the fact that people responsible for it don't see that, makes them unfit to preach, teach, or even parent.
"The preachers, of course, are paid for results."
ReplyDeleteJust what I wrote about Hamm a few days ago. Its not about 'God' at all -- its all about the $$$
Yes, it is about the money. The Cruz' big wet dream is to take over the US and funnel all the money to themselves. I'm not sure what they plan to do with it all...send it offshore? You can bet they will be excited to see people fighting over scraps in the streets, dying of malnutrition and begging for a job. All in the name of their spiteful God.
ReplyDeleteI can certainly understand your anger. I'm curious;did your daughter's mother stay with her religion or did she eventually see the light? of sanity
ReplyDeleteOops forgot the video.
ReplyDeleteFixed now.
I was subjected to this as a child/teenager, but probably on a less intimidating scale by low key evangelists in a small town church. i guess i was just too logical to succumb. even as a child it all seemed so far-fetched and nonsensical. i began my path toward total non-belief at about age 7 or 8 as a result of my exposure to some of this. i sometimes wonder what gave me to the willpower to resist all the insanity.
ReplyDeleteA brain that functions and the nerve to resist the animosity to which you were undoubtedly exposed.
DeleteMe too, Linda. I used to laugh at the speaking in tongues and then the "translator" who could concoct this long drawn out prophecy from someone who just said "ishkabibble shshsh ladue makai soritit shshish" over and over again in tongues!!!
Deletemy friends still laugh when i tell them about being dragged to the alter at age 15 - by my Sunday School teacher -- to confess my sins and be saved. i refused to confess any sins, saying that i hadn't committed any sins. in my mind, at age 15, i could think of nothing i'd ever done wrong except fight with my siblings. my teacher was praying and crying over me -- an ignoramus who obviously did not understand the idea that i was born a sinner. ultimately, i won. i walked back to the pew, unconfessed and unsaved.
DeleteAnd I used to think the RCC was bad - they baptize at birth, major sacrament of communion at 7, confirmation (supposed "free choice" of whether or not to join the church in 8th grade - at ages 12-14,so that when a person is really able to make a free choice, they're already heavily invested and identified as RCC. I laughed at it then as a "free" choice - heck, I couldn't drink, buy a smoke, live on my own or drive a car or even stay out past 10 p.m., but I was being forced by all the adults around me to make such a "choice." What a charade, and what a foolish god if one actually existed, to accept such "choices" as "free."
DeleteTo their credit, the RCC was much more subtle - just some oil and a sprinkle of water at @ 4 months, communion means a decorous procession and a pretty new dress, and ditto for confirmation - though the clothes are much more individualized. And you do get to choose a "confirmation name" and sponsor. Whatever.
DeleteI made confirmation in 5th grade, i guess later they changed to 8th. Reflecting back i have absolutely no idea what these events were about really. If so, I would have said no way Nelly! But, yes the pretty white dress was nice...i kept mine and then when I got married I used part of it to make my flower girl's dress, tea dyed it. It was actually gorgeous.
DeleteAlso, too, we got money for confirmation and communion, but my parents rather than putting it in an account for me for college felt entitled to spend it.
Child abuse in the guise of religion is the worst kind. My Evangelical Right Wing Aunt's "church" does this to their kids. Emotional abuse can effect a child for life.
ReplyDeleteThere is no CAN about it.
Deletethese appear to be classic cult indoctrination techniques. we're probably seeing the end of these sessions that would have been going on for hours already.
ReplyDeletethe adults who participate should be brought up on child abuse charges and let Det. Stabler beat the shit out of them.
To add to your title of this blog entry, Gryphen, obviously American followers of Jesus also don't feel the same in particular about children of the world who come to our borders in fear of their lives from dangerous conditions in their own countries.
ReplyDeleteTrue Christians? Not in this world, or the next.
Jesus loves the legal children,
ReplyDeleteThe legal children of the world.
Red and yellow, mostly white,
They are precious in his sight.
Jesus loves the legal children of the world.
I was raised by "catholic charismatic" parents. This was a big movement in the 70s, 80s,..These are catholics who believe in all the same things you write about - anointing by the holy spirit, speaking in tongues, "dormition" which is being slain by the holy spirit.
ReplyDeleteI have PTSD from it!!! Bunch of fucking griftin freaks most of them were and I have shared some stories before . I was often "prayed over", anointed with magic oil, etc. When I had a bout of depression, my parents took me to a healing mass and people prayed over me, trying to get me into dormition so the spirit could fix me. It is all power of suggestion. I stood there and stood there and never went down..they were trying to nudge and then push me down. It is funny to watch those who can be suggested into dormition and those who have to walk away, rejected i guess by the spirit. lol. They had the people who pray over you and the "catchers" who ease you to the church floor. The catchers were the rejects I guess, the people in whom the holy spirit didn't work and therefore could not pray over people. There is a hierarchy ya know.
Praying in tongues is also no big deal. Try it - just start spouting gibberish and you got it!! Then there are the people who have the "gift of translation" who listen to someone speaking in tongues and then go up to the mic and say what the person said via the holy spirit gibberish. OMG some of these are educated people who fall for this shit. How desperate can you be?
OK, why I have PTSD:
I was young and my parents had these church events 2-3 times a week. So we had babysitters alot. One was a girl who would have sex with her boyfriend and show us how to french kiss...I was 7.
One was a lesbian daughter of one of the church friends who liked to "tickle" my sister and I. Some of the church men liked to kiss my sister and I in greeting and they had gross wet kisses which gag me to think of now. One family had a dad who was a nurse, which is a hard job, so Jesus told him he could quit and take a job as a lounge singer in the Atlantic City casinos. This same family had 6 kids in 8 years, all c sections, and they used to nyquil the kids so they could make more kids. The kids ate hot dogs and mac and cheese and the parents had surf and turf dates weekly. All 8 of them lived in my parents 1 bathroom 3 bedroom rowhouse why they "got on their feet" about three times for months at a time.The catholic charismatic movement got shut down in the 90s by the church and lost many members to fundamentalist groups. My mother got cancer and became mad at god.
I am now an atheist.
Good job catholic charismatic freaks lol!!
Ridiculous! It IS child abuse.
ReplyDeleteThat's a *religious* experience ? Looks like hazing to me.
ReplyDelete