The controversial Pentecostal strain of “Holy Laughter� or “Spiritual Drunkenness� involves becoming so possessed with the power of the Holy Spirit that one yelps in uncontrollable fits of spastic laughter and guffaws, acts animatedly intoxicated, falls all over fellow congregationers, and moos (literally). Sometimes the effects are so great that it is considered dangerous for the person to drive home from church afterwards. The extroverted practice is disavowed by most in the church, for reasons that aren’t too hard to figure out. The late Texan pastor Kenneth Hagin and others are seen in this must-see video clip at a 1997 conference, contagiously spreading the word of “obnoxious God ha-ha’s.� This six-minute video is very baffling; a fascinating study in the effect of crowd social signifiers, “mob mentality� (and the fake smile/laugh) on top of everything else. Many, many more highly enjoyable video clips of such stuff can be found on this anti-Holy Laughter site.

(thanks to Ken for the tip)

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