I once heard of a minister who handed out helium balloons at the beginning of a service in order that members of the congregation might indicate when they had been blessed during the service by releasing their balloon. But juvenile shows of devotion of this kind are not radical enough for some: The inner circle fellowship in the village of Twerpington, England, have also taken to releasing quantities of gas during their worship. The Rev. John Bilgewater has encouraged members of his congregation to break wind loudly during his services as a sign of humility. So-called “Times of Release” have become an established and regular part of worship. "The idea", says Rev. Bilgewater, "is to break down inhibition, British reserve and pride. Children regularly break wind without embarrassment and the Bible says we must be like children. The Bible contains lots of references to wind. It also provides a means of releasing spirits of bondage, and as these are released the unpleasant odors are replaced with fragrance”.
The inner circle fellowship at Twerpington used to be part of the Baptist Union, but the Union became concerned about the Minister’s authoritarian style of leadership and finally broke their links with the fellowship over disagreements with Bilgewater’s views on sanctified flatulence.
After the Toronto blessing, with its outbreaks of hysterical laughter, grunting, roaring, barking, quacking and other noises (collectively referred to as “Old MacDonaldisms”) it might be thought that the gamut of strange and degrading sounds in worship had been exhausted, but as events at Twerpington have shown there is always new ground, if not wind, to be broken in this respect.
The above article was published in the first copy of VNP dated April 2000. At the time of writing one of the Christian groups I had at the back my mind were the snake handling and poison drinking fellowships found in America. They base their bizarre practice on Mark 16:18. There is a very general lesson and warning here about the perversity of belief and practice that some people are driven to in the name religion. History tells us that religious ritual can be even more perverse than I can imagine or the snake handlers have invented. Some of those rituals are too unpleasant to even mention.
The inner circle fellowship at Twerpington used to be part of the Baptist Union, but the Union became concerned about the Minister’s authoritarian style of leadership and finally broke their links with the fellowship over disagreements with Bilgewater’s views on sanctified flatulence.
After the Toronto blessing, with its outbreaks of hysterical laughter, grunting, roaring, barking, quacking and other noises (collectively referred to as “Old MacDonaldisms”) it might be thought that the gamut of strange and degrading sounds in worship had been exhausted, but as events at Twerpington have shown there is always new ground, if not wind, to be broken in this respect.
The above article was published in the first copy of VNP dated April 2000. At the time of writing one of the Christian groups I had at the back my mind were the snake handling and poison drinking fellowships found in America. They base their bizarre practice on Mark 16:18. There is a very general lesson and warning here about the perversity of belief and practice that some people are driven to in the name religion. History tells us that religious ritual can be even more perverse than I can imagine or the snake handlers have invented. Some of those rituals are too unpleasant to even mention.
1 comment:
It’s always been easy for people to change what they believe to suit their lives. It happens all over the world with all 'religions'
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