HOLY LAUGHTER is a phenomenon that occurs at certain Charismatic gatherings. Some participants (from a handful, to almost the whole audience at times) find themselves laughing uncontrollably for no particular reason, sometimes even to the point of falling out of their chairs and rolling on the floor in convulsions of laughter. This can occur no matter the topic being addressed by the current speaker from the pulpit - even when the speaker is expounding on such matters as Eternal Judgment and Hell. It is taught in such settings that this is a supernatural manifestation which indicates a special in-filling of the individual by the Holy Spirit. Although this phenomenon has been reported in isolated instances for the past one hundred years or so, it first attracted widespread attention in the early 1990s as one of the typical manifestations involved with the Toronto Blessing movement. The most prominent individual connected with the Holy Laughter phenomenon is South African evangelist Rodney Howard-Browne, who styles himself "Joel's Bartender." This is a reference to the prophecy in the Bible in Joel 2 regarding the pouring out of the Holy Spirit: “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days." (Joel 2:28-29, NKJV)
Those who are overcome with Holy Laughter at Howard-Browne's meetings are viewed as being "drunk with (or in) the Holy Spirit," and some do behave as if physically intoxicated, to the point that they are unable to drive home from meetings. | 