36 thoughts on “Need a Laugh?”

  4. I can see it now, Nan. Thank you. As I shared with you on FB, I had seen that before when I was researching the power of persuasion and mass hysteria. If anyone is interested in how this happens, it is explained, in detail, by psychologists and behavioral neurscientists in the video “A Question of Miracles” — primarily in Parts 3 & 4.

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    • Wow — just watched the whole thing (I am very interested in social psychology). I’d really like to see a video on how this plays out in the typical evangelical church.

      I can’t express how appalled I am that the most vulnerable people in society are not only being given false hope that their suffering will miraculously end but that they are exploited into giving all they have (and more!) because they are manipulated into believing God wants them to! As I watched the video I was trying to figure out if Benny Hinn really believed that he was anointed by God. I couldn’t tell. But one thing I am pretty sure of is he’s a psychopath, that he has a personality disorder in which he feels no guilt or empathy and has no problem lying or manipulating others. If his crusades were not enough evidence his body language gives it a way. He’s a very skilled liar.

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  6. Dr. Michael Persinger (who is interviewed in the video) states that when you bring people into a group, where they feel diminutive because of the size of the place (notice this is in a large venue), people will experience a special kind of psychological arousal.

    He further states in the documentary that when music is presented, that rises and falls every four to five seconds, it produces a kind of wave of experience that elevates that special kind of arousal and also releases opiates which scientists know (experimentally) increases the hypnotizing effect, thus increasing suggestibility. Since this was in a service, there was, no doubt, carefully selected music beforehand.

    Persinger: “You have these groups in the kind of ecstatic states, a kind of expectancy state, then you have the individual come out, the speaker who will coordinate all these experiences among the mass of people. This person must be a kind of orchestra leader to maintain his great orchestration of cognitive experiences. As the speaker begins to give the message, the people are full of emotion — full of imagery.

    These images take on tremendous personal value because of the elevation of the opiates. Because of the groups state of ecstasy, and within the gathered crowds, you see the features of these opiate releases. You get like a mild drunken state. These experiences are associated with mild electrical changes deep within the brain.”

    Btw, here are some other bizarre mass hysteria events including an epidemic of laughter and the best one of all was the Penis Panic.

    http://listverse.com/2009/03/16/top-10-bizarre-cases-of-mass-hysteria/

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  10. When I called myself a Christian, what always puzzled me about this sort of phenomena (especially laughing) was why would a Holy God act in this sort of manner. It made no sense to me and seemed at odds with all that I thought that ‘God’ stood for. It seemed to have no Biblical mandate either.

    A couple of years ago I went to a meeting run by students from the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry they had people rolling around laughing after they prayed fro them. Though nothing happened to me.

    This reminds me of the infamous Toronto blessing which caused much controversy in Church circles.

    I suppose what I am trying to say is that this sort of phenomena is very much at the margins in Christianity. With many Christians seeing it as demonic.

    So if it is not divine or demonic then I assume it is psychological.

    I went to quite a few Pentecostal/Charismatic type events back in the day and never really had any sort of experience like this. The most I could vouch for was feeling my body shake on some occasions. But even then I was never convinced that it was anything divine, rather I always suspected it was a psychological response on my part. I should add I was desperate for some sort of ‘experience’. I know many other good Christian folk who felt likewise, you sort of thought if I have not had this experience am I a real Christian at all. How we longed for some supernatural manifestation.

    It seemed to me from observation that it was the more emotional sort of people who tended to have these experiences. Being a reserved and undemonstrative person I tended to be left on the sidelines. But once again this all points to psychology.

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    • “How we longed for some supernatural manifestation.”

      I think you’ve pretty well summed it up, Peter. When you’re in the midst of these wild and crazy happenings, that sense of “belonging” seems to take hold and you too want to laugh or cry or dance or scream.

      Regrettably (and ashamedly), I speak from experience.

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      • I suppose part of what I am saying is that even though it is quite crazy, it is more understandable as a psychological outcome of one has been part of it.

        I was interested to note that Benny Hinn’s team sort of pre tests the folk for their susceptibility to these outcomes before having them come up on stage. Hence one gets these outcomes:

        I found it telling that Benny Hinn got sick recently he had normal medical treatment not prayer. To think use to look up to him.

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