Being Slain in the Spirit Can Be Dangerous and Financially Rewarding
- Posted on April 14, 2010
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A woman in Michigan has won a sizable monetary judgement against her church.. Here's the deal. Mount Hope Church held a service in which Judith Dadd got a little too much of the Spirt and fell, injuring herself...
Sounds like a Benny Hinn push gone bad.
But anyway... in her lawsuit, Ms. Dadd claimed her pastor defamed her when he accused her of insurance fraud, faking her injuries, and renouncing her faith. A previous jury had awarded Dadd $317 in damages for her injuries as well as slander, libel, and false light.
The most recent court decision affirmed Dadd's negligence claim (worth $40k), but reversed the damages for libel, slander, and false light.
You can read the article here.
Hmm... lots of questions here.
1. Would God allow you to hurt yourself while worshipping him? I'm not sure that I've ever heard of this kind of worship-related injury before.
2. What responsibility does a church have in this kind of instance?
3. Can we agree that it probably would have been good for the pastor not to accuse of insurance fraud and faking injuries?
4. But what if she really was faking injuries and committing insurance fraud? Should the pastor have been justified in calling her out if that's what she was doing?
5. Maybe we should change the terminology from 'slain in the spirit' to 'impaired in the spirit'. If she would have actually been 'slain', there would have been a lot more damages.
Ok. Time to turn off my mind. It's getting me nowhere.
What do YOU think?
Todd
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Dave on Wed, April 14, 2010
Many (not all) churches that practice “spirit slaying” also proclaim a prosperity gospel. If a person truly believes that this act was an act of God, would it be consistent for them to also believe that this was God’s method of providing financial prosperity?
Leonard on Wed, April 14, 2010
This happened out here in Cali a few years back. The catchers missed and the lady knocked her head on the communion table. They had to call the ambulance. I don’t know if she sued but it did seem ironic.
It was a full gospel meeting… I thought they should have healed her after that.
CS on Wed, April 14, 2010
Leonard:
“It was a full gospel meeting� I thought they should have healed her after that.”
That’s hysterical! But, the problem is for them to heal her, they would have to push her down even harder, and decided that wasn’t worth the risk.
=)
—
CS
Thom on Wed, April 14, 2010
Oddly enough, I met an older woman who had a similar experience. She was slain in the Spirit and was caught and laid on the floor, but the catchers didn’t quite catch the next guy and he fell on her and broke her arm! (I testify that this is true!) Because she was an older woman and was in a cast for between 2 and 3 months.
Our church does a monthly lunch for the community and she would come. I never asked her about how the church handled her situation becuase I thought that it was something between her and the church. I also couldn’t hardly talk to her about it without starting to giggle a littlel (Hey, I’m human!)
JOB on Wed, April 14, 2010
I witnessed this myself, so feel free to attack my credibilty…...
During a service a woman was moved by the Holy Spirit, not pushed (the pentecostal church I grew up in did not do that), fell back, slammed her head on the pew, we all saw and heard it, this didn’t stop the Holy Spirit from moving on her. She was asked later if she was hurt she said she didn’t feel nor was their any signs of an injury.
Anywho, despite the emotions and abuses that men and woman bring to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, I thank God that they are still active in the church today as they were in the book of Acts.
I’ve read all the cessationalist arguments, they are weak at best. So the constant searching for instances of abuse is what’s left to argue their point. Pentecostal movements in the US was founded with people they honestly searched the scriptures. God honored that by pouring out His Holy Spirit, He will do it again today.
Leonard on Wed, April 14, 2010
JOb,
Funny to me anyway that the very argument you use to blast other churches bothers you about how people treat the pentecostal experience. Ironic.
I see not biblical precedence for slain in the Spirit. Weak at best are the ones I have heard. I find much of what I see in pentecostal churches to be fine, but much of what I see in the public pentecostal world to be less than solid. not about gifts, not about God the Holy Spirit… about peoples interpretation and abuses.
JOB on Wed, April 14, 2010
Blast other churches?
You have no proof of this anyway I go back to the ole if you don’t like someone Noble post, good day Leonard.
Leonard on Wed, April 14, 2010
JOB,
I do not dislike you in any way. And you have not blasted other churches and leaders here on MMI? Wow, there must be another JOB posting.
CS on Wed, April 14, 2010
JOB:
“During a service a woman was moved by the Holy Spirit, not pushed (the pentecostal church I grew up in did not do that), fell back, slammed her head on the pew, we all saw and heard it, this didn’t stop the Holy Spirit from moving on her.”
How do you know that the Holy Spirit was moving on her and caused her to fall?
—
CS
Peter Hamm on Wed, April 14, 2010
I am not a cessationist, by any means, but Leonard, I agree that I do NOT see this in Scripture and am a bit skeptical about it.
That said, I do know of quite a few people who practice and believe it who are pretty orthodox, so who knows.
In any case, it sounds like a real mess.
David Camphouse on Wed, April 14, 2010
What of this instance?
Acts 20:9-11 (New International Version)
9Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 10Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” 11Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left.
Maybe that is just another wrongheaded form of “slain”
JOB on Wed, April 14, 2010
CS, Obviously you don’t believe that God can do such a thing so I I doubt there is any way that I can phrase, describe or explain what happened that will change your mind. God’s presence is a mysterious thing, people respond to it in different ways. But aren’t we all heretics anyway?
Leonard,
People who like me don’t mischaracterize the things I say and even if I do make a comment that seems “negative” people that like me seek to understand me better and will eventually find the positive I hope for. So,if you like me, I hate to see how you interchange with those you don’t.
Peace
CS on Wed, April 14, 2010
JOB:
“CS, Obviously you don’t believe that God can do such a thing so I I doubt there is any way that I can phrase, describe or explain what happened that will change your mind. God’s presence is a mysterious thing, people respond to it in different ways.”
Actually, I do believe that the Holy Spirit can move someone. I wanted to know how you are able to discern when this occurs, particularly, in the situation you cited.
“But aren’t we all heretics anyway?”
Come on, man. Be serious.
—
CS
ian on Thu, April 15, 2010
I attend a pro “slain in the spirit” church, I personally find that whole area disturbing, but it’s not an issue of separation for me. My main discomfort is not that people go down, it’s the designation of “catchers”. This seems like a contradiction as the message can only be interpreted as either: The Holy Spirit is out to hurt you, best have someone to protect you, or alternatively: sometimes it is of the HS, but most of the time it is the person faking it or the pastor pushing them down.
I don’t have a problem with someone being slain in the Spirit, I don’t see that as anti-biblical, although nor do I see it as a clear biblical teaching - what do I have a problem with is administrating your prayer lines to protect people from either the Holy Spirit, the Pastor or themselves! Firing the catchers is the surest way to ensure that those “slain in the spirit” have been slain in the Spirit!
Leonard on Thu, April 15, 2010
Ian,
“Firing the catchers is the surest way to ensure that those �slain in the spirit� have been slain in the Spirit!”
This is funny!
I think the whole slain thing is not biblical. That is my problem with it.
JOB, not sure what to say…
CS you are the heretic!
let the bodies hit the floor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lvU-DislkI
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