Problems Regarding the Toronto Blessing
In 1994, a small church was started near the Pearson International Airport in
Toronto, Canada. This small church would spark a revolution attracting over 300,000 people making a pilgrimage to visit the church every year. The revolution began on January 20, 1994, when the congregation became overcome by "spiritual laughter". This practice and others such as speaking in tongues, sounding like animals, shaking uncontrollably, and swooning occur regularly at the Toronto Vineyard Church. This phenomenon was called, the Toronto blessing (Gilley, 2000). However, the actions and philosophies associated with the Toronto blessing do not follow the teachings of Jesus and or the Bible, the fundamentals of the Christian faith. The manifestations that make the Toronto blessing attractive, accentuate personal emotions rather than focusing on God. The leaders of the church manipulate their congregations into their visions. The manifestations have characteristics associated with demon possession and altered states of conscience such as hypnosis. The Toronto Blessing for these reasons is considered spiritual quackery.
The manifestations related to the Toronto blessing are said to be caused by the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Gilley, 2000). Rodney Howard-Brown, known as the father of spiritual laughter, describes himself as a "holy ghost bartender who dispenses the new wine of joy that leads people to be drunk in the spirit" (Gilley, 2000). The teachings of Christianity do not enable individuals to play the role of God. This man has ordained himself to be the dispenser of spiritual joy using the power of the Holy Spirit. The pastor justifies his actions by citing the se ...