Thoughts on toronto blessing, kundalini

[davidmartin]

What do you guys think of this?
Call it what you want - the Toronto blessing, manifestations, fire, kundalini, you all know what I'm talking about
People rolling around on the floor, barking like dogs, holy laughter, fire tunnels, etc

It may sound funny, but it isn't. Not when you are there and are spiritually sensitive!

I attended a Christian conference last year and saw things that shocked me, not realising it was going to be all about the manifestations and to put it plainly deception.

Mid-way through the rather weak praise session it started..
Pitiful wailing from the crowd near the front. Horrible to hear
A person in front of me starts laughing a mocking laugh
I felt a darkness descend on the place and started 'fighting back' praying against it. Another person in front turned round to look at me... with a mocking look in her eyes you wouldn't believe
Some guy starts yelling in a demonic way

I felt the strong need to flee. Then I did
Afterwards I was shaking with cold, and popped into a pub to grab a few beers and calm down

So what's your experience?

In my opinion there is a veil over this world at the moment that stops people seeing things clearly
Some Christians are plainly falling into a trap because they have no discernment. They worship the leaders and submit to them

[theophilus]

The Bible warns us that we are not to believe every spirit but to test the spirits to see if they are from God. The "Christians" at that convention obviously failed to do this. You did the right thing in leaving.

[M. H. Lillie]

I am glad to hear this topic has come up in discussion, as it is one that is meaningful to me. I grew up in circles of charismatic/neo-charismatic believers for whom the Toronto Blessing was very important.

I understand that it is a movement that can make some people very uncomfortable, and like any other spiritual phenomenon, individual manifestations can vary and cannot all be painted with the same brush. It is also highly subjective; two people standing side by side in the same situation will most likely not share the same experience.

In your experience, davidmartin, it certainly sounds like this particular conference was not an opportunity for your spiritual growth. It is good to hear that you are confident in following your inner promptings and will leave when a situation does not resonate with your need.

That being said, that does not mean that that same conference was not deeply healing for someone else. The same wailing that may have seemed so distressing might have been the release of years of distress for someone else. Yelling, laughter—these may have allowed unresolved emotions and experiences to surface for those experiencing them so that they might be acknowledged and addressed. Of course, I am only speaking in hypotheticals, which to me is the only way I can speak—it is not for me to comment with any certainty on some else's experience. I know many people who have experienced deep inner healing through such experiences, and it is not my place to argue them out of their blessing.

[davidmartin]

I think it's important for Christians to leap to the defence of what they consider to be the Holy Spirit and raise objections when they receive cause to doubt.
to not speak, for or against, shows a lack of concern or being bothered over whether something is from God or not which is just like putting out a welcome mat for anything or just not caring
it's a good thing to do
and maybe we should be more discerning
I mean prostitutes try to discern whether a client is likely to harm them before they let them into their most personal space. That's how the ***** thinks, and it makes sense!

[M. H. Lillie]

Originally Posted by davidmartin

maybe we should be more discerning

I certainly agree with you about that. The challenge in any religious or spiritual community is to listen for and trust your discernment when it runs contrary to the words and actions of your faith group.

I believe we are each responsible for following our inner promptings regardless of what those around us are doing. By developing our relationship with the Holy Spirit, we can better distinguish between an intuitive prompting and a knee-jerk emotional reaction—"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."(John 10:27 KJV)

Again, I think it's great that you can trust that prompting in your life. It's good to share these stories and experiences, as they can help to encourage someone else who may be struggling to break free of destructive groupthink in their own life. Worshipping and learning in a group can be valuable, but when a different, personal need arises for our spiritual health, discernment nudges us from the well-worn path and points us to the narrow gate.

[davidmartin]

M.H i see what you are saying
focusing on the problem isn't the answer, that is found in the Holy Spirit
if this was taken really seriously it almost certainly would lead to conflict within the faith group over issues of discernment
as our faith isn't personal but communal it's hard to keep individual reactions inside, yet churches always discourage that kind of democracy although we are meant to challenge those outside the church plenty!
if the problems are not that big, it probably doesn't matter
when they are big the chances of conflict are greater
there isn't a question much bigger than whether something is of God or not
so in light of church tendency to group-think its no surprise it would be avoided