Freethought & Rationalism Archive

SimplyAtheistic · 05-29-2003, 07:26 PM

I was recently watching TV and I came across a christian channel. It had this preacher guy who spoke like he was Italian, and he was in a large auditorium. It was funny because people were wiggling and lying on the stage, and when the preacher guy waved his hands over someone they would fall down. They even had the audience turn toward the camera and pray for every person at home. Later he waved his arms at the crowd and the front row fell down, I laughed my ass off. My question is, does anyone know if any of these things are set up so people fall down on purpose or are the people really that delusional and buy into the crap. I say we get into one of the rallies and fight our way to the front, so when the preacher waves his arms for the crowd to fall we just stand there and laugh.

Jake

Pyrrho · 05-29-2003, 09:05 PM

Laughing is certainly one way to react to such things. Interestingly enough, crying is also an appropriate reaction.

Pensee · 05-29-2003, 11:53 PM

Sounds to me like you saw Benny Hinn. I think he's Greek, though. I've been to his concerts (aka crusades) when I was fundy. The falling down is not set up. In my completely non-scientific opinion, I believe it's a case of classical conditioning.

Inconnu · 05-30-2003, 05:44 AM

The only "falling down" I have seen is where the 'mouthpiece' guy physicaly forces the head of the subject back so far that they could only fall down, effectively an assault. I think that everybody there wants to fall over, very odd indeed.

mike_decock · 05-30-2003, 06:29 AM

Many fundies call it "Being Slain in the Spirit". I've been to church services where it happened and it isn't set up. I once went up to the front and the minister pushed my head back after uttering some gibberish but I didn't fall over.

-Mike...

Rushianbeing · 05-30-2003, 06:35 AM

What a coincidence, JakeJohnson, I was watching Morris Cerullo last night, for laugh! You should check him out sometime, he is a piece of work. He had his congregation doing the same thing, although he wasn't shoving them all in the forehead (though he did do this to some)-he simply BLEW on most of them and back they went, jerking and writhing. It's funnier than most sitcoms out there.
I honestly believe with all my heart that these are cases of mass hysteria, which has been proven time and time again to be very easily induced in a crowd of impressionable people. The people that go to these donkey shows are expecting and hoping like hell to be touched by the holy spirt of jebus, and by god that's what's gonna happen if they are determined that it will.
And these guys are MASTERS at inducing this behavior-they command the audience to repeat random phrases that they've shouted througout their diatribes, and the more this happens the more everyone becomes enraptured. Their cadence changes, up and down, as their message gets more and more intense and they stir the audience up into a massive swirling dirt devil of glassy-eyed idiocy. It's no different than Jim Jones and his Kool-Aid Brigade, IMO.
They are truly hilarious to watch, though!! I'm with you, I'd LOVE to go to one and just stand there and giggle and take notes.

p.s. Morris speaks in tongues, too. The phrase he said over and over last night while I was watching was "suck-ya-buh-huh-huh". He got the "suck" part right.

scombrid · 05-30-2003, 07:48 AM

The hand waver with the funny accent is Benny Hinn and the channel was likely TBN .

I saw his spectacle last night (power went out and when I auto-programmed the TV suddenly I get TBN on UHF 18, praise the lawd) on TBN. He knocked over the first three rows and a whole pile of people on stage. One guy kept getting up and running at him and Benny kept knocking him down. At one point Benny started spinning and took out almost everybody on stage including the bouncers. Funny thing is that the spirit must have missed the musicians because they kept playing to keep the mood right.

I think a couple of those that get dropped first are probably plants to set the mood. The others just follow their example. The ones lieing on stage looked like children doing make believe. You remember being a kid and playing cops and robbers or GI Joe or star treck or whatever and you pretend dead/wounded/unconsious/convulsing... the people on stage moved as if consious of their actions even when they've been dropped. Their falls went he knocked them over in the spirit always look rather controled as well.

Just googled and found his crusade schedule:

See the Lunacy in Person

Pensee · 05-30-2003, 08:31 AM

Oh yeah, and I saw a Dateline special on him one time. He wouldn't talk to them. The reporters followed him from crusade to crusade all throughout the contry. The "spirit" "just happened" to appear at 10:30 pm every night wherever he was. The crusade always starts out with the choir singing minus Benny, and Benny always comes out when they sing "How Great Thou Art".

mike_decock · 05-30-2003, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by scombrid
Funny thing is that the spirit must have missed the musicians because they kept playing to keep the mood right.

My brother once played bass at one of his shows. Best paying one night gig he ever did. We once drove by the TBN broadcasting headquarters and it was sickening to see how much money that place must rake in.

-Mike...

Rushianbeing · 05-30-2003, 08:38 AM

How come the speaking-in-tongues language of Morris Cerullo and Robert Tilton sound completely different?

05-29-2003, 07:26 PM	#1
SimplyAtheistic Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Omaha, Nebraska Posts: 503	Funny as hell I was recently watching TV and I came across a christian channel. It had this preacher guy who spoke like he was Italian, and he was in a large auditorium. It was funny because people were wiggling and lying on the stage, and when the preacher guy waved his hands over someone they would fall down. They even had the audience turn toward the camera and pray for every person at home. Later he waved his arms at the crowd and the front row fell down, I laughed my ass off. My question is, does anyone know if any of these things are set up so people fall down on purpose or are the people really that delusional and buy into the crap. I say we get into one of the rallies and fight our way to the front, so when the preacher waves his arms for the crowd to fall we just stand there and laugh. Jake

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05-29-2003, 09:05 PM	#2
Pyrrho Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: United States Posts: 7,351	Laughing is certainly one way to react to such things. Interestingly enough, crying is also an appropriate reaction.

05-29-2003, 11:53 PM	#3
Pensee Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: florida Posts: 657	Sounds to me like you saw Benny Hinn. I think he's Greek, though. I've been to his concerts (aka crusades) when I was fundy. The falling down is not set up. In my completely non-scientific opinion, I believe it's a case of classical conditioning.

05-30-2003, 05:44 AM	#4
Inconnu Regular Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: here Posts: 121	The only "falling down" I have seen is where the 'mouthpiece' guy physicaly forces the head of the subject back so far that they could only fall down, effectively an assault. I think that everybody there wants to fall over, very odd indeed.

05-30-2003, 06:29 AM	#5
mike_decock Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Scottsdale, AZ Posts: 1,505	Many fundies call it "Being Slain in the Spirit". I've been to church services where it happened and it isn't set up. I once went up to the front and the minister pushed my head back after uttering some gibberish but I didn't fall over. -Mike...

05-30-2003, 06:35 AM	#6
Rushianbeing Regular Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: the holler, y'all Posts: 243	What a coincidence, JakeJohnson, I was watching Morris Cerullo last night, for laugh! You should check him out sometime, he is a piece of work. He had his congregation doing the same thing, although he wasn't shoving them all in the forehead (though he did do this to some)-he simply BLEW on most of them and back they went, jerking and writhing. It's funnier than most sitcoms out there. I honestly believe with all my heart that these are cases of mass hysteria, which has been proven time and time again to be very easily induced in a crowd of impressionable people. The people that go to these donkey shows are expecting and hoping like hell to be touched by the holy spirt of jebus, and by god that's what's gonna happen if they are determined that it will. And these guys are MASTERS at inducing this behavior-they command the audience to repeat random phrases that they've shouted througout their diatribes, and the more this happens the more everyone becomes enraptured. Their cadence changes, up and down, as their message gets more and more intense and they stir the audience up into a massive swirling dirt devil of glassy-eyed idiocy. It's no different than Jim Jones and his Kool-Aid Brigade, IMO. They are truly hilarious to watch, though!! I'm with you, I'd LOVE to go to one and just stand there and giggle and take notes. p.s. Morris speaks in tongues, too. The phrase he said over and over last night while I was watching was "suck-ya-buh-huh-huh". He got the "suck" part right.

05-30-2003, 07:48 AM	#7
scombrid Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Central Florida Posts: 2,759	The hand waver with the funny accent is Benny Hinn and the channel was likely TBN . I saw his spectacle last night (power went out and when I auto-programmed the TV suddenly I get TBN on UHF 18, praise the lawd) on TBN. He knocked over the first three rows and a whole pile of people on stage. One guy kept getting up and running at him and Benny kept knocking him down. At one point Benny started spinning and took out almost everybody on stage including the bouncers. Funny thing is that the spirit must have missed the musicians because they kept playing to keep the mood right. I think a couple of those that get dropped first are probably plants to set the mood. The others just follow their example. The ones lieing on stage looked like children doing make believe. You remember being a kid and playing cops and robbers or GI Joe or star treck or whatever and you pretend dead/wounded/unconsious/convulsing... the people on stage moved as if consious of their actions even when they've been dropped. Their falls went he knocked them over in the spirit always look rather controled as well. Just googled and found his crusade schedule: See the Lunacy in Person

05-30-2003, 08:31 AM	#8
Pensee Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: florida Posts: 657	Oh yeah, and I saw a Dateline special on him one time. He wouldn't talk to them. The reporters followed him from crusade to crusade all throughout the contry. The "spirit" "just happened" to appear at 10:30 pm every night wherever he was. The crusade always starts out with the choir singing minus Benny, and Benny always comes out when they sing "How Great Thou Art".

05-30-2003, 08:38 AM	#10
Rushianbeing Regular Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: the holler, y'all Posts: 243	How come the speaking-in-tongues language of Morris Cerullo and Robert Tilton sound completely different?

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