Bible Question (short): Is being "slain in the spirit" biblical? |
Question (full): Is the practice of being 'slain in the spirit' a biblical practice? No, I really don't think it is. In fact, not only is the term not in the Bible, the experience is not in the Bible either. There are many examples in Scripture of human beings falling to their knees as they witness the incredible glory of God. This is what happened to the apostle John (Rev. 1). But the idea of being touched by a human being who is "anointed" by the Spirit and then being knocked cold is not a biblical phenomena.How are we to explain these experiences? It may be a psychological or emotional phenomena. Someone may so strongly expect to be knocked cold by the Spirit thought to be present in the anointed preacher that when the preacher touches him or her, down he or she goes. Sociologists have noted that this type of experience is actually common to many religions. There's also the possibility that the powers of darkness may be involved in this experience (2 Thess. 2:9). Many who believe in being 'slain in the spirit' like to cite certain passages such as Genesis 15:12-21, Numbers 24:4, 1 Samuel 19:20, and Matthew 17:6. But in every case they are reading their own meaning into the text instead of drawing the meaning out of the text. These passages in context offer no support for the idea of being 'slain in the spirit'. |