Check out this video and comment on what you think about it. Are these manifestations of Sacred Power? Why or why not?
Which academic discipline (Phenomenology, sociology, anthropology, history or psychology) would you use to to an analysis of this group or these practices?
Watch closely the man in the suit 22 seconds into the video. Does he go up or down at first?
Have you ever experienced anything like this?
Compare what you see in this video with some of the miracles of Jesus. What is similar? What is different?
Luke 5:12-15 (pay special attention to 14 "tell no one")
Luke 8:49-56 (also notice verse 56 - "he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened")
Matthew 9:27-31 (again, read verse 30 - "Jesus warned them sternly 'See that no one knows about this'")
Are there any ethical guidelines to how sacred power should be used? What are the dangers of sacred power?
I was quite surprised when i watched this video because I have never seen such a thing before. I could not understand why he was doing this to people I believe it is not sacred power, it is magic. This is purely my opinion, I could be wrong, but this is how i felt about it.
ReplyDeleteWow...never knew this thing kind out thing could happen close to where I live. Even though I could understand every word he said to the people, I believe it could be a type of sacred power. If I were to study this religious phenomenon I would study the guy's psychological morphology in the way how his words were an outreach to the peoples' soul.
ReplyDeleteThis video was definitely weird and almost laughable. I don't think he is harnessing any type of sacred power or energy. To me it seems like what's happening is mostly psychological. I'm not saying one can't have a numinous experience, but it is very unlikely to happen in arena where people probably paid money to have such an experience
ReplyDeleteWhile I will admit to being ambivalent about what I just watched, I would not call this Sacred Power. I'll answer my why not in more depth later. But first, the other questions.
ReplyDeleteTo analyze these groups and practices, I feel the best academic discipline from the ones available is psychology. In watching the video, you can clearly see that Benny Hinn is very skilled in understanding people. In understanding people, he knows how to manipulate the emotions of his large audiences and build himself so that he gains the respect he wants from them. The people who come to see him have an earnest desire to do so and really believe what he does is true. Much like with when you sincerely believe in hypnotism, you are easier to be hypnotized, the same goes with these people who “feel” the Holy Spirit through Benny Hinn. In choosing psychology to analyze these groups, one can better understand what techniques work in manipulating the masses.
At 0:22 and replayed at 2:43 of the video, a man is slightly jolted into the air before falling. The man is being supported by two men as his legs don't seem to be able to allow him to stand. When we look back at 0:20 and 2:41, our eyes are drawn to the the cries of the man who cannot stand on his own and Benny Hinn's waving of his hand and yelling. These are common tools of misdirection as we miss the man place the front of his feet on the ground and push himself into the air. So I would count pushing yourself in the air as going up first.
I have not experienced anything like this. If we're referring to the faith healing shown, that is.
From my reading through the Bible passages the similarities are that the two people heal others in the name of the same God. However it stops there. From what I infer, Jesus Christ was not only a prophet, but a teacher as well. If people went and told all of Jesus' miracles I believe the masses would just see him in the likeness of a carnival show performance and overlook his teachings. Meanwhile, faith-healers like Benny Hinn get their attention from these miracles they perform. Another difference is the types of miracles. You will not find Benny Hinn treating leprosy or making the dead rise again.
There are many ethical guidelines that need to be noted. One problem of this sacred power is that this belief in faith-healing has people rejecting modern medicine under the pretense that this sacred power will heal their debilitating diseases. Another problem is that it's a swindle that nets people like Benny Hinn or Peter Popoff hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars in donations even after their methods are proven false. People who are sick and vulnerable are preyed on at these events like psychics do to their customers asking about deceased relatives. If you go to a show you will see how many people who are truly sick and disabled are turned away from these events.
With the points that: Benny Hinn manipulates audiences(and their wallets) through beliefs that these people cling very close to, Benny Hinn's attention-seeking through his faith-healing, and his lack of ethics in regard to playing with people's emotions and getting people to choose faith-healing over modern medicine are my reasons that I cannot call this a manifestation of Sacred Power.
I completely agree with you Stephen, and to add a little more to what you said, and I admit I might be biased by my beliefs, it is true that faith can heal, there's people that have actually healed through prayer, I have seen it myself. But anyway that doesn't mean that people should stop going to the doctor or avoid going, that's something dangerous that no one should ever do, just as not accepting blood transfusions and so on, I believe that's murder and suicide. But Benny Hinn my opinion of him is that he is a false prophet and he is manipulating people, and as he does that he gives off the wrong image of how the Holy Spirit works. Bible verses that support him being a false prophet are:
Delete2 Corinthians 11:13-15 - For such [are] false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. (Read More...)
1 John 4:1 - Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2 Peter 2:1-3 - But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. (Read More...)
Matthew 7:15 - Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Matthew 24:24 - For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
And there's more here:
http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Bible-Verses-About-False-Preachers/
good points all. I especially liked Romaissa's comment that this was not sacred power but magic. One of the differences between magic and true sacred power is that magic is used by people to manipulate the divinity to get their desired result. Good points. Does anyone have a contrary point of view? Did anyone review the scripture passages about some of the miracles of Jesus?
ReplyDeleteI strongly believe that miracles stopped at the axial ages when all religions started ... I don't think that anyone of us has such power.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I don't believe that is real. I feel like its more of a show than an actual ceremony. I don't think that human being can posses sacred powers and feel like this more of a magic show.
ReplyDeleteThis video was very interesting, I had no idea that events like this occurred. I do not believe that this act portrays sacred power. I think that they bewitch people in to believing that it is "real" and "sacred" through the use of magic. He abuses of peoples undying trust in religion to trick them into thinking they actually have some sort of scared power over them. This is solely my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI found the video pretty funny but I do not believe in what I saw. I do not believe a person cause cause another to fall to their feet like in the video. Maybe some humans do possess sacred power, but this video is not an accurate display of it.
ReplyDeleteI was pretty skeptical about this video. I do not believe in religion but I do like to be open-minded when it comes to different scenarios. I would classify this as a academic discipline of psychology. I also do not believe in magic, so I do not think it was magic either. I feel as if they were all doing this themselves, and he didn't have anything to do with it. At 22 seconds I think he went up first but I feel as if the men carrying him pulled him up. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before.
ReplyDeleteIt was really hard for me to watch this video until the end. It was really strange and discomforting to be honest, mainly, because I definitely do not believe anything that happened in it. Sometimes, when something like religion becomes part of our daily lives to a very high point, fanaticism can occur. At least that is my personal opinion about this. As other classmates mentioned, it is very hard to believe that one person, because he "has" sacred power, can make others fall and make them feel the presence of their God.
ReplyDeleteThis video was absolutely shocking to me considering the fact I had never seen something like this before. It's pretty outrageous and, quite frankly, scary. It seems to be something very powerful but I don't understand why people would engage in such an activity. It was difficult to watch for me, personally.
ReplyDeleteI have experienced what many call a "fall out" in the Spirit, once at church. However, it was nothing like this and I feel like this actually a negative way to portray the power of God. This seems more scary and exaggerated than it does holy. I'm not sure whether the man goes up or down first, but it all seems like a show and I think that makes a lot of people turn from God rather than run to Him.
ReplyDeleteI think that this might have a psychological explanation ....
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anas, but then again there's always events we can't explain.
ReplyDeleteWhen i watch this video i was so shock but then i just don't believe this is true , I understand there a lot of things can't explain but i just don't think this is one of them
ReplyDeleteFrom my view, this looks like too much of a show. I know some people who claim to have this overwhelming feeling but not to the extent of convulsions. I feel that these grand stadium practices shed a bad light for christians in general. -Michael Cinco from MonWed Intro to religion
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