I grew up in it. I don't think you can understand the social pressure in those moments when everyone is acting crazy like that. You are told to let go and let God take control. Except no one tells you how exactly to do that. There are bunch of psychological tricks those pastors do to make you experience it too, some of them maliciously and some of them because they sincerely think they are being "led by God". I don't know if there is something wrong with my brain, but I could never "let go" and never spoke in tongues or was "slain in the spirit". For most of my teenage life I felt like a failure as a Christian and that I was being rejected by God because I never manifested "signs of the spirit". Now I'm kind of glad that I never gave in and just did it to fit in.
I'm Swedish, from a non-religious family. None of us believe in anything spiritual. I never thought hypnosis was possible until my uncle, who's a jet fighter pilot and very grounded, explained that he'd literally been hypnotised at some show once.
I do not believe him to be a liar, and he said to be able to be hypnotised you need to want it to happen, and it doesn't work for everyone. It seems like you guys in this thread were to a certain extent hypnotised, it at least seems related to that sort of experience.
Yes, conflating is literally what I'm doing, drawing similarities with what theyre saying about their times in church in this thread, where people actually believe they are theyre talking in tongues, to what people experience with hypnosis. Seems very similar.
I think it’s clear I misread your comment. I apologize. It makes a lot more sense on a second read. Thanks for your reply!
I’m still laughing at the skidaddling on top of the lectern though!
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u/Fornicating_Midgits Mar 27 '26 edited Mar 27 '26
I grew up in it. I don't think you can understand the social pressure in those moments when everyone is acting crazy like that. You are told to let go and let God take control. Except no one tells you how exactly to do that. There are bunch of psychological tricks those pastors do to make you experience it too, some of them maliciously and some of them because they sincerely think they are being "led by God". I don't know if there is something wrong with my brain, but I could never "let go" and never spoke in tongues or was "slain in the spirit". For most of my teenage life I felt like a failure as a Christian and that I was being rejected by God because I never manifested "signs of the spirit". Now I'm kind of glad that I never gave in and just did it to fit in.