AD --
It sort of went like this: Some “ministry” would have you up on the platform with their hands on your head and the “Lord” would show them things (supposedly). This was one of my first experiences when I came to a service. There was a visiting pastor; Harold Williams, who I really thought told me a lot of things he couldn't have possibly known. However, looking back, most of it was rather general i.e. you were treated poorly as a child, you have a confidence problem, blah, blah... Well if you tell that to just about any kid, he or she will likely remember a situation where that could be true. Particularly since we were already “primed” that is, we wanted to believe.
If you want to see a demonstration of this sort of thing -- look at the YouTube video "Debunking the movie Holy Ghost". There is a lot written about cold reading on the web. In fairness, it is certainly possible for the Lord to reveal things to ministers to help provide guidance, but I would expect to have seen a lot more positive results and I never really did. And there were a lot of misses. To the extent that I now think that someone should have put large banner at the back of the sanctuary that said "Hey... don't immediately assume that that little voice in the back of your head is the voice of God". :-)
BTW: It wasn't only in The Walk that I saw this. I saw the infamous “Reverend Ike” do it once when I went to one of his "revival meetings" when he came through town. Katherine Kuhlman would do it as well. This is why I referred to it as a Pentecostal parlor trick. I still tend to give people the benefit of the doubt (except for Ike – a first class Charlatan IMO). I think that the ability to hear the lord is something they (obviously) desire to cultivate. That puts them in a mode where they practice it and gradually get better – thinking of the misses as “static” in the channel, I guess. Ultimately the good ones get pretty good.
I also the fear of this perceived ability was part of what helped keep people in line. i.e. you do something “bad” somehow these guys will find out – God will tell them. There were a lot of head trips being laid down in those days, and looking back on all of it, it never made anyone grow closer to God.
Jewel
It sort of went like this: Some “ministry” would have you up on the platform with their hands on your head and the “Lord” would show them things (supposedly). This was one of my first experiences when I came to a service. There was a visiting pastor; Harold Williams, who I really thought told me a lot of things he couldn't have possibly known. However, looking back, most of it was rather general i.e. you were treated poorly as a child, you have a confidence problem, blah, blah... Well if you tell that to just about any kid, he or she will likely remember a situation where that could be true. Particularly since we were already “primed” that is, we wanted to believe.
If you want to see a demonstration of this sort of thing -- look at the YouTube video "Debunking the movie Holy Ghost". There is a lot written about cold reading on the web. In fairness, it is certainly possible for the Lord to reveal things to ministers to help provide guidance, but I would expect to have seen a lot more positive results and I never really did. And there were a lot of misses. To the extent that I now think that someone should have put large banner at the back of the sanctuary that said "Hey... don't immediately assume that that little voice in the back of your head is the voice of God". :-)
BTW: It wasn't only in The Walk that I saw this. I saw the infamous “Reverend Ike” do it once when I went to one of his "revival meetings" when he came through town. Katherine Kuhlman would do it as well. This is why I referred to it as a Pentecostal parlor trick. I still tend to give people the benefit of the doubt (except for Ike – a first class Charlatan IMO). I think that the ability to hear the lord is something they (obviously) desire to cultivate. That puts them in a mode where they practice it and gradually get better – thinking of the misses as “static” in the channel, I guess. Ultimately the good ones get pretty good.
I also the fear of this perceived ability was part of what helped keep people in line. i.e. you do something “bad” somehow these guys will find out – God will tell them. There were a lot of head trips being laid down in those days, and looking back on all of it, it never made anyone grow closer to God.
Jewel