Is there ever a time in the Bible where God the Spirit is refered to as the Spirit of Laughter? I have never seen this before and a Charasmatic person just brought it up and I was like "What!!??" Checking here before I tear his false spirit up.

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Joseph F Scibbe
Chaplain Assistant
Chapel of Wings Ft Rucker Al
Ephesians 1:4-7, 1 Thessalonians 2:8, Romans 12:1-2
Titus 2:2 - But you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.

http://twitter.com/just_joe_scibbe

I'm not, VERY well informed (scriptural) but I have at least been through the New Testament....I honestly have NEVER heard anything about this stuff. If anything it sounds to me like its a very bad misinterpretation of some bible verse (what bible verse that could be...I have no idea) however don't listen to me unless some other more informed person using scripture shows I am right

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Joshua
Non-Denominational
Fair Haven, Vermont
Romans 1 = Smack to the face about the human condition!
24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. - Romans 7:24-25

A cursory search shows no verse with both the words "spirit" and "laughter" in the NIV, NASB, KJV, NKJV, The Message, or the NLT.

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Jonathan
Audio Engineer
Reformed Anabaptist
Ohio

Moroni's magical glasses of proper interpretation:

Why am I not surprised that the person who brought this up is charismatic? There are a few instances in the Psalms (Ps 2.4; 37.13; 59.8) where God laughs but this is mocking wicked mans pride and futile efforts at defying God.

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Stuart
Elder, Lambeg Baptist, Northern Ireland, UK

In Him the fulness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form and in Him you are complete (Col 2.9-10)

The Christian is a person who makes it easy for others to believe in God. (RM M'Cheyne)

my best guess is they are referencing a movement that charismatics attribute to the Holy Spirit. This movement is called the laughing revival and it was mostly popularized by Rodney Howard-Brown. It is completely unscriptural, not to mention ridiculous. Do a google search on "laughing revival" and you will get plenty of info.

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Andrew S.
Covenant Presbyterian Church (OPC)
Abilene,TX

Do you a youtube search and you will actually see, where for 30 minutes there is nothing but laughter in a "church". How can this be attributed to the Holy Spirit when the Holy Spirit's ministry is convict the world of sin (John 16:8)? Surely there are times when one is full of joy, but when a so called pastor laughs for 30 minutes uncontrollably, that cannot be the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God will never hinder a man from preaching the word.

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"I thank Thee that many of my prayers have been refused. I have asked amiss and do not have, I have prayed from lusts and been rejected, I have longed for Egypt and been given a wilderness".-Unknown

Julio, Amaya
Clifton, NewJersey
Reformed Baptist Church of North Bergen

John and Charles Wesley were both seized with laughter one time: they attributed it to the devil.

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Ruben
Moderator
F.P.C.I.
Indiana

Vanities and disguises have covered us, and thereby we are naked; licenciousness hath inflam'd us, and thereby we are frozen; voluptuousness hath fed us, and thereby we are sterved, the fancies and traditions of men have taught and instructed us, and thereby we are ignorant.
John Donne

Board Rules - Signature Requirements - Suggestions?

Calvinistas Conversando
Teología en Mexico
The Howling Wilderness

Really? Have a source?

Journal, v.1

See entries for:

Thursday, October 25, 1739

Saturday, October 27, 1739

and especially

Friday, May 9, 1740

Wednesday, May 24, 1740

I'd figure he was shooting for Isaiah 61:3. It's really popular verse in Pente/Charis churches. You have to read it in King James though to follow the trail here ...

The idea is that 'spirit of heaviness' is a literal spirit, demon oppression/possession. Oil of joy/garment of praise is talking about getting in the 'Spirit' then, which drives demons out.

Please don't shoot. I'm not saying I think this is correct. I'm just saying this is what I would expect to be the thought process.

It might be supplemented by other verses about spirits and joy, etc, but I would be surprised to find a Pente/Charis person who referred to the HG as the 'Spirit of Laughter' who also knew the Bible well enough to find any. But Is. 61:3 is well-known. There are at least three popular Pente/Charis songs that I know that are based on it.

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Caroline
OPC
Schenectady, NY
Blog: The Unlikely Calvinist

online link?

I was present when a congregation of about 40 people all broke into uncontrolled laughter. During a pastoral candidates preaching, a 5 year old let out this extremely loud belch and we all lost it. Timing was everything. BTW, I'm not endorsing this, just sharing a 10 second glimpse of local Church history.

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Rich Koster
1689'er
Browns Mills NJ USA
Often Goofy Reformed Eccentric
Romans 7:14-25

Not a single reference that I know of. What this reminds me though, are "laughing revival" meetings that I attended when I was about eight. Sounds almost like the "Toronto Blesing."

Charismania strikes again!

Oh...I'm a Charismatic, with aeat belt.

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Stephen J. Powell
Middlebury, VT

"Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me" John 14:1 (NASB)

Don't bother looking up biblical references for such things as most Charismatics don't even bother themselves. Their experiences validate well, their experiences. John MacArthur characterized most Charismatics accurately in his Charismatic Chaos.

I've been down that road, trying to show them that such things are unbiblical and unwarranted. They won't appreciate it.

Maybe I'm too pessimistic, but just my humble opinion.

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Ewen
1689 LBCF
Assemblies of God Bible College
Singapore

Hmmmm....I was told when I was a teenager that I had a demon spirit of laughter......

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sarah
WI
OPC
My Pastor's Sermons: Mark Jenkins...he's awesome!!!

An easy way to find Wesley's journal.

Here's the Toronto Blessing version of the "Holy Laughter":


How scriptural does this seem to you?

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Kevin, husband of a truly angelic woman, and father to ten.
Zion United Reformed Church of Sheffield
Ontario, Canada

......whoa.....was that guy on a leash? it IS confusing how people could believe this kind of stuff is of God...I would wager that scriptures probably aren't taught very much at things like this.

....that video is so appalling....no words...everything within me just *rises up*...

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Polly
wife and mom
participating in an OPC church plant effort in Collierville, TN
living in N MS

...and does this?

I'm glad I didn't watch it with sound...looked to me like they where howling?

Sorry, don't know. I couldn't get through it all myself.

After reading on human science, some claim a theory that the skull is like a bowl that holds your brain. When a person jumps up and down like the African dancers, Jim Morrison, Pentecostals or the vedic/Hindu dancers, he or she produces a rhythm in the bouncing brain, which is like a gel. That constant rhythm over time will produce a bliss or a stronger electrical field and the positive and the negative current flows in a circle in the brain and that produces a feel of light being shined down on the forehead. With the circular flow of electrical static in the brain, it also produces a sensation of warmth and good feelings from head to toe including falling or wriggling on the floor. That also causes laughter as well as plain babbling or tongue flicker due to tongue not touching the roof of the mouth as Tai chi masters do. The sensations of light in a tunnel is also produced from a lack of oxygen common in drowning victims in ice cold water. Lack of oxygen or too much oxygen also produces laughter and light on the forehead.
So, it comes with the naturalness of human nature. That will happen in every human being regardless of religion or no religion. If you're worshiping and that happens, they will claim its from God. If you happen to experience that while watching a popular concert, they'll claim it's from the devil. I think both sides or wrong and it's part of our natural human being. Sometimes Pentecostals come to my tai chi Qigong school to rid of the psychological disturbances. Most Pentecostals like it so let them be but ~please~ keep them off the roads.

-----Added 9/5/2009 at 10:13:27 EST-----

Some say John Wesley is the founder of Pentecostalism. I find that odd cause I don't see Charismatics in Methodist churches.

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Dao
PCA
Atlanta, GA

"Free will," says Charles Spurgeon, "has carried many souls to hell but never a soul to heaven."

hmm and I mistakenly thought he was the founder of Methodism

If I remember correctly, the Holiness movement was a splinter group from the Methodists. The Holiness movement had a splinter group from Azusa st/Pentecostal movement and many more groups formed out of that.

Having been in the Methodist denomination for many years, I was aware it was sometimes said that modern pentecostalism "came out of" or was an "offshoot of" Methodism.

The sense was of this was not that Methodists or Mr. Wesley ever believed or taught that new revelation equal to or above that of Scripture ordinarily comes outside of Scripture through two or three spiritual gifts. Nor that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a second work of grace apart from salvation. So there is no basis in Methodism as I've understood it for that ever- and thus no shared basis with pentecostalism.

Methodists were quite open to certain things like "falling under the power of the spirit" that almost might fit into a pentecostal/charismatic practice today.

Keep in mind Methodists are Arminian influenced, deliberately so, but are covenantal of a sort (Pentecostals are Arminian also but dispensational).

The commonality might come from this teaching that one can become almost sinless or perfect in sanctification in this life. That can result in "legalism" as I would understand that term and a striving toward holiness not based quite right on the biblical doctrine of grace.

Methodist became known for Mr. Wesley's "methods" and those of his followers at Oxford who methodically prayed, read Scripture, etc. The danger, biblically, here is coming to rely on the methods themselves for holiness. That's something that can give ride to legalism. That's probably where the greatest commonality with pentecostalism might be.

Lots of dear Methodist brothers and sisters out there... none consider themselves charismatic/pentecostal that I know of.

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Scott
PCA
North Carolina


"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised)"
Hebrews 10:23

Maybe Pentecostalism was an offspring of Wesleyism.

-----Added 9/5/2009 at 10:28:36 EST-----

Don't go there, It'll brainwash you and make you babble like monkeys.

perhaps..but I meant no offense, I was just being sarcastic

My former Southern Baptist church of my youth is now a charismatic gathering place called "Abba's House". I suppose that it is not too far a reach for anyone who wants *feel good religion*.

Abba's House Home Page (Abba's House)

Ron Phillips was my pastor *then*. That is one carefully crafted .....ummm..... project? I watched it happen over the years.....from a very far distance. I left as soon as I got my drivers license and THAT was when it was still a *normal* SBC.

Every time I see a video of an 'outpouring', I'm sooooooooo glad to be a Presbyterian.

I wrote a little song once called 'I'm a Presbyterian' (it's actually based on a real song called 'I'm a Pentecostal' that is wildly popular in the UPCI):


Well, there's more to it, but you get the idea ....

Thats awesome

Love this. I'm an Ex-Pentecostal and this is perfect. But, as a Presbyterian (FPC)...I gotta say, I don't think the jeans would go over big in my church.

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bradstreet
FPC
Indianapolis, IN

"My hungry soul He filled with good,
He in His bottle put my tears,
My smarting wounds washed in His blood,
And banished thence my doubts and fears." Anne Bradstreet

Hey, I hug nearly everyone ... it's a family thing with me!

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Brian Withnell
Deacon, OPC
Leesburg, Virginia

You cannot train for war in the midst of a battle. Prepare before the battle starts; if the battle is long and hard, you will wish you had.