Sorry for the pix, but that's the way I felt when I read your post for the first time. I had to read it three times because I usually would drift off and find a pencil on my desk to play with...

I hope you aren't disappointed but there is no such thing as exorcism. Ever heard this one? How many witches died during the Salem witch trials? Answer? None. there is no such thing as a witch.

So how many successful exorcisms have there been? Answer? None. There is no such thing as the devil, devils, demons, god, etc, etc.

Thanks for the advice and for the welcome! I got a kick out of the cartoon- taking it as a young kid having fun and being silly.  Yeah, I'm thankful these days that I can now agree that there is no God or Devil, therefore all exorcisms are a sham. It's just the psychology behind the incident has left me extremely confused as to whether it was a prank, a medical issue or if it was put on by the camp staff to scare us into believing and if so, what other extreme measures do they take to "save" a soul.

Who knows, the kid could've been trippin on lsd or psilocybin and we were the ones who gave him a bad trip. Whatever the reason, a lot of lives were impacted that evening in a negative way whether the witnesses realize it or not.

http://whatstheharm.net/exorcisms.html

http://badthinking.wordpress.com/2012/08/12/cost-of-ignorance-another-death-by-exorcism/

Welcome!
My guess is seizure.

I know this is a erroneous statement, but it seems that people who are in to religion sure do sin an awful lot; especially when it comes to sex. I've know several people who came from strict, religious backgrounds and when they got free of their parents the fuck fest began.

One girl did it deliberately to screw her parents idea of their "little angel" but the others I believe were mentally messed up. Their fucking every thing that moved was more of an issue of dealing with emotional stress and abuse.

I looked for that link about the power of group suggestion and could not find it.

However, (I know that people whom have been around here for a long time are probably sick of hearing me bring it up) there was a book that helped me with a whole lot of this at first.

It is called, Why God Won't go Away by Andrew Neuberg.

The first half is the only half that I actually reccomend reading. I'll tell you why in a moment.

The first half covers research that was done with Buddhist monks, Christians and Muslims. It deals with the effect of the brain patterns during supposedly "religious experiences" and demonstrates what occurs in the brain when an individual believes that he is "contacting" a deity.

Here is the thing, irregardless of the religion, the person has the same exact parts of the brain that are stimulated when meditating, praying  or what not. Same thing with lunatic fringe religious fanatics that range from cave dwelling holy men to people bowing in church.

The part of the brain that is stimulated during these practices gives one a feeling of "oneness" and blocks the parts of the brain that gives one a feeling of individuality.

Now, where the second half of the book fails, in my opinion only, is that it touches upon the "positive'' aspects of religion and makes the naked assertion that people are better off with it.

It is almost like the scientists that wrote that book are apologizing for explaining away the phenomenon of religion. : "Sorry everyone, your religious experiences are a by-product of the brain, but keep having them."

However, there is a study on the group dynamics of glossolia (speaking in tongues) and the neuroscientific explanations of the practice.

Contrary to what people believe, the practice of speaking in tongues is not limited to just the Pentecostal faith. Here is a good starting point to find more references about the practice :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossolalia

Granted, wiki is not really reliable worth a shit, but it is a good starting point for finding references. I don't believe 90% of the crap I read on there, but I get a general idea and then use the cited references at the bottom of the page.

Of course, their is always the new god of mankind to consult after wiki, and that is the electronic god of google.

No guess, it's a fact.

Yeah, I never believed in taking advantage of people either. I simply liked having many partners. A part of me knew there were instances where I could have said the three magic words (I love you) just to get someone in bed, and that's a line that I never believed in crossing. There were a couple of girls that it was obvious from the get go that they were looking for a lifelong companion and I had to make it very clear on the front end, that was NOT what I was looking for. I knew that engaging in any sexual activity where one that thinks there is real love and the other sees it as just a one night stand was just not the way that I wanted to do things. One freeing aspect of my sex exploration, was the realization that my standards for how I treated other women were because of my own integrity and had nothing to do with a god. I think that once I realized that sex was not a big deal, and that my moral standards were mine own and not from god, that also hampered my guilt.

My church was filled with people like that growing up and I could not STAND those people either.

It was not just sex that behavior got excused with. I knew of thieves that felt they never had to pay back what they had stolen, etc. Like you said, as long as they were saved, everything was fine with them. Same con artists, different tunes.

Would you please explain me what do these mean? I know speaking in tongues, I knew a group of pentecostals who were really good at it. Too bad I didn't record anything, it sounded very cultish/scary.

But what is laughing in the spirit, drunk in the spirit and... slain in the spirit, WTF? 

I know we can induce ourselves some very trippy experiences, the people I know (drugless hippies) just use sanskrit mantras and dynamic meditations to get in da zone. It seems a universal human need, to chant, dance and act crazy. What you describes doesn't sound like something they got from Bible. Who makes this stuff up? They devolved into tribalism and now I suppose they create their own mythology and rituals. Too bad the pope left them unsupervised. 

in the bible is when one is speaking in one language and the listeners are of several languages, and the listeners each hear the speaker in their own. The speaking in tongues today is of no coherent language and there-fore not the same as in the NT. How this works would be put in the "miracle" category. How miracles come about---we don't know--so we don't try to explain them or hold to their actuality. But, today,s is mere babble.

Yes, I know what is speaking in tongues. But slain in the spirit, I didn't know that. It looks dangerous, I'd keep away from such practices. The brain is a computer that can break itself. I almost managed it a few times. The last attempt brought me a couple of years propensity to headache, in addition to the common headache.

However, I don't consider any of this impossible, that's a modern bias. We have a very distorted view of the universe. We think the cold, solid and visible matter is representative, but it's more like an anomaly in the universe, bubbles in the jelly. The universe is almost completely made of hot, invisible dispersed plasma held together by electric/magnetic fields, rather than gravity, which is comparatively weak. What we see on the cold, dead planets says nothing about the "life" of cosmic fields and streams of charged plasma and dark matter. If there is any life possible in this form, it might be able to configure its matter, to control the fields to densify the matter and make it visible and solid when needed. It will probably use different means of propulsion and moving around than we use. The size might differ quite a lot and it it will likely be surrounded by glowing fields that "struggle" against the pull of gravity. Antigravity might be possibly based on extending some kind of EM fields to increase "volume" and therefore "buoyancy" of an object in a gravity field. So it will appear glowing in our planet's gravity, much less so in the outer space, creating the illusion of an empty and lifeless solar system. This is I think a possibility we have to count with if we want to view the universe more according to its actual composition.

However, a camera on phone is a camera on phone. It's designed to record people on the ground, not football field-sized and moving objects up to 10 km above ground, while held in a shaky hand by an excited observer, at night. What I've seen during the day, the objects were silvery shiny and solid, but on the night videos the best known ones seem to be made mostly of glowing fields that change shape. The camera technology is improving, but it's not improving specifically for that purpose, which is I think the problem. 

Equates to a change in person or personality. Slain equals dead (of course) but not physically. The same in essence to--- a new heavens and a new earth, which is a new values system and personal makeup (soul-the inner self). The same as dead in sin--a condition of no longer being a sinner--as-- the old has died and replaced by a/the new. In order to become Christian one must change from what one is to the new, which the person is a new personage. after of which the old is slain---dead.  So far as we know no one has accomplished it. S0--- they use biblical terminology but make no changes other then the brain being caused to use more dopamines and cause a self induced ecstasy. Considering that true Christianity isn't in play they have no idea what they refer to. They just use bible quotes because they're there.

Cool, I'll check out the podcast when I gain access to an ipod...

The glowing you mentioned nicely fits my description of the mother ship I encountered on that clear winter night. The craft was enveloped in an unearthly foggy haze. For a description, imagine two football field sized, horizontal, indistinct parallel dark lines with the lower line being roughly 100 yards above the ground with the top line about 35 yards above the bottom. Try and picture two rows of glowing orbs with slight "tails" pointing to the suspected rear of the craft, 1-2 yards in circumference with a 3-4 yard distance between them. Each row traversed horizontally the length of the craft- one row right below the top line and the remaining row directly above the bottom line. Judging by the direction of travel the back of the ship was a hot black/orange glowing ember and I don't recall any orbs being in the vicinity of the colorful and super hot looking mass. Sandwiched between the orb rows was a display 100 times more incredible than any fireworks show on this planet, shifting color patterns and a 3d effect that ninten-doh would kill for- that was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I will repeat that my description is much more intense than other eye witness descriptions- the girl in the car with me doesn't talk about it but it did cause her to lose faith, she was a member of my church at the time. Trying to compare our descriptions has been like pulling teeth for me. My cop-christin brother-in-law witnessed it and claims it was a mere meteor shower- but I would expect such a reply stemming from his need to appear sane to keep his job.

As far as "slain in the spirit" goes, I'll try and accurately detail in my own words my personal experiences and those around me..For starters it is viewed as a gift and a reward from God. My understanding is that the presence of the spirit in the human body becomes so strong that the spirit essentially takes over, flesh transforms into a state of powerlessness due to the"bible fact" that our flesh is so much weaker than the spirit- basically the powerless flesh collapses under the powerful weight of the spirit the moment it enters the body. It elevates a participant to a higher status popularity wise and is never openly, verbally looked down upon or questioned for its authenticity even when red flags abound. This leads to  genuine frustration for "the unslain" members who feel that  god is holding back because they consider themselves holy and therefore worthy of the inducement of slainment. I have seen people play the victim and sulk like a martyr for feeling left out. Priming the flock was a major component rather than simply trusting god to do his work, what I mean is we were all sat down and told that we would have doubts and try to resist the spirit because of our wickedly ingrained nature and that we were best off just going with the flow since ultimately god knows best (sounds oxymoronic to me). The year I was slain, I had already received the "gift" of tongues and it was a shot in the arm to my ego, parents, pastors and fellow members all were so proud of me and congratulated me. What rained on my parade was I was filled with doubt, wanting so bad for it to be real but I had a feeling in my gut I had faked it not meaning to. I never told a soul and just went with it living in denial. The week of my enslainment, I had it all planned out to attend the alter on the 4th and 5th night and once and for all really get right with god, with all my hormones I was excited for the opportunity to chase tail and get a piece- god forbid I go up the first 3 nights and not be able to chase tang around! I went up and started praying in tongues the 4th night, upon the opening of me eyeballs, it was revealed that 30% percent of the camp was slainin n layin on the floor-dropping at a rate of 1 camper per 2-6 minutes. I was pumped that the spirit was being so generous that night and I wanted my piece of the pie. Took a meager 15 minutes of intense, foul breathed hands on praying, they were actually pushing back on my shoulders while a guy behind me had his hands pressed against my back to catch me, I kept resisting until they accused me of resisting the spirit- I felt they knew what they were talking about so I went with it, I wasn't faking falling backwards, more like accepting the gift no matter what the wrapping paper looked like. They drug(ged) me to the spot where other campers were laying . I didn't come to and open my eyes for roughly 30 minutes to an hour(time was distorted). As I was "slain", after rationalizing and convincing myself it was real an extreme sense of relief and euphoria crept in. The longer I laid there, the feelings of grandiose and joy kept exponentially intensifying until it reached the point where my pineal gland felt like it cracked and I felt like I was on ecstacy judging by how the books claim it makes its users feel. I started laughing(probably maniacally) and really had a good time. I never went back to that strange place of enslainmentitis because within a few years madness took over our church. Every single sunday night the same 20 members would "get slain again" after the service and I had to sit and watch for an hour or two, the slain crew would rise up, head to their car and drive home waiting for the next time. The majority of that group beat feet and prefers the secular lifestyle these days. At the time I believed it was possible to receive the gift but also knew without a doubt most of these people were faking. Now there is a nearby church that has evolved the  "the slain game". They do it midservice and have a "prayer cloth patrol" that walks around placing white sheets over the womens crotch, legs and breasts. Unfortunately madness is contagious and they planted the seeds, so glad I found this site(link from landover baptist online church I frequent). The info here is a great tool at wiping the churches madness off my feet.

If I were to hypothesize on the strange phenomena of "being slain" it would be this....In a nutshell it's hypnotizing the weak minded, lost, confused and susceptible members. It is so effective because there are no outside checks and balances in place so the power of suggestion can take the course of months and years. This allows the hypnotist to construct a tailor made approach differing for each member just to get in the receivers head and push emotional buttons. This becomes a simple task when it is taken into consideration that christians prefer emotion and being led over rational, logical thinking. They actually become part of a minority(the unslain) where they may feel the gifted slain secretly look down upon them(they do) and unknowingly succumb to the peer pressure.

As far as being in 2013 and in a digital age, I really don't think it will make a difference. Non faked, real ufo and bigfoot footage will be quickly discounted as faked or photoshopped, The chicago ohare airport footage was pretty convincing w/ higher up multiple eyewitness accounts. It is up to the viewer to decide for himself since media bias and political agendas have their own goals in mind and those goals most likely don't line up with our goals and need to know. Admitting footage is real would change everything and morality may plummet with crime sprees on the rise. Until the government has a better understanding of the ufo phenomenas intentions they will remain tight lipped, the govt. may even fear that our newfound knowledge may affect how people feel about space exploration(financially speaking) and/or cast aside religion or make new ones to tie in ufos which they obviously don't want.

The head of the worlds biggest ufo sighting organisation very recently said that the amount and quality of evidence is going down year by year, despite the technology advances which should accomplish the opposite.

I can't explain many details, that would take way too much space, but I personally subscribe to the idea, that they have nothing to talk about, nothing to ask, nothing to want from us or our government. I can't be dogmatic about it, but the idea says they work tirelessly to buy us time, because we pollute our environment in a very specific and deadly way (breaking neutrons releases more radiation than we can measure) and we'd be already all dead if they didn't partially clean that up. The part they can't clean up causes an unprecedented rise in autism, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease and general immune system weakness. They buy us time for certain processes that go in our culture, for transition from blind expansion of inequality into a more equal, global peaceful society. A better technology would do the job, but either we'd misuse that technology instantly for war and economic war (hyper-capitalism) or we already have such technologies of our own on similar basis but the market mechanism doesn't allow to introduce them. If the value of dollar and all world currencies are based on oil, then to introduce a free energy technology (such as cold fusion) would devalue them entirely. 

It's real babbling. The question is---what's it for??? There's nothing in Christianity that I know of requiring babbling. All the foot stomping, drum beating, guitar strumming, organ grinding, gadget clacking, rolling around, fiddle screeching, bell clanging, Dancey prancey, Hymmy humming, horn hooting and general gymnastics hasn't solved a thing. Running your motor for Jesus will be next. There's nothing in Christianity that any of this has any good to it. But-it can be seen clearly that babbling is real---unfortunately.

I suppose that's exactly what one should expect.

For me, when NASA, Nature, James Randi, the BBC, The Guardian and Al Jazeera all say they are convinced and provide good evidence, I'll probably believe.

In the meantime, I'm not sure what to say to people like Luminon who do believe. Maybe certain parts of the world have strange atmospheric conditions. Maybe the mind plays tricks.

Also, wouldn't it be a great and very profitable scoop for any reputable news organisation anywhere, to capture impressive evidence and sell it to the worldwide news agencies?

Having to be in the right mood to blabber incessantly vs. yammering at will appear to rest on differing scopes of the spectrum. Potentially increased dopamine levels and increased synapse firing fit the bill for those that need the mood to be right. For me, I can blasphemy jesus in one breath and the next spew forth my "gifted" tongue language without stutter. I had a handful of close christian friends express frustration in not being able to babble like a baby and asked me for tips-the majority stared back blankly at me upon my offering of advice...

From my understanding, one of the two biblical variations on tongues is where an actual language was being spoken to bystanders whom otherwise would be unable to interpret the speakers message. This I chalk up to hearsay and just one more of the myriad of biblical fairy tales. I was taught that in this day of elevated communications jesus no longer needed to revert to the antiquated methods. Please mr. jesus freak preacher man- don't insult my intelligence any further...

This thought just popped into my head. How hard would it really be for a crazy jesus freak or two, in the abrahamic era of time to learn 2 or more languages to further their religous agenda. Having "plants" or unwitting bystanders in the audience who acted shocked they could understand would convince the surrounding weak minded into believing. The rest is history. To them maybe this was their version of technology, becoming bilingual. After all, knowledge is power...

Fire on ya