CHRISTIANS: Do folks make noises (amen, claps, shouts) during your church's services? (See details for reason)

Question

I have asked about the extent emotion or rational thinking are the basis of PERSONAL FAITH. Most people in the past have minimized emotion and attributed their faith more to rationally choosing it.

However, I recall people in many church services calling out, raising their arms, swaying, repeating song choruses, speaking in tongues, crying, dancing, and some even "slain in the spirit" (i.e., fainting).

These are not normally associated with rational thinking. They're really highly emotional.

As a matter of fact, the more cerebral congregations tend to lose members, while the pentecostal and evangelical ones gain.

So if you would like to explain what happens in your services and whether there is a play toward emotions or if there is an appeal to rational thinking.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Interesting question. I've attended many different churches and I've seen all of the "emotional" behaviors you mentioned. I've also attended more "cerebral" churches including a few that took it to the level of extreme formality.

Personally, I'm more comfortable with a more "rational" approach. At the church I attend now, I've seen some dancing (subdued) and calling out of "amen" and even some raised hands during the singing...and I see quite a bit of crying (not uncontrollable sobbing but people getting a bit choked up or even crying silently after a particularly emotional story)...but not everyone does it and I've never seen any speaking in tongues or "slain in the spirit".

I think the issue is one of style...my mom really liked the emotional extremes while my dad preferred the rational approach...I tend to take after my dad.

At my church, the sermons tend to be a combination of rational and emotional...leaning more toward rational. Perhaps more accurately, the sermons our pastor shares are very "practical"...he focuses on giving us information we can use and apply in our daily lives. However, he never forgets that what we do is all about people and he isn't afraid to share his emotions to help us understand the importance of the practical advice he's giving us.

Answer 2

You ever been to a ball game? How emotional are they? I have, and many people get very emotional. Some do and some don't. I've seen many events that draw out emotion, concerts for instance. Nothing wrong with that. Emotion doesn't make a difference with regard to the level that we worship God. But it can play a role in certain instances. We are emotional beings. You are too. David danced mightily before the Lord. Sometimes an Amen is said as a confirmation to ourselves. Clapping hands during music is accepted even in the secular world. Rational is not defined by sitting there like a bump on a log. When people interact, we run the emotional gambit. Laughing, crying, etc. God is a being who wants our relationship. We're designed for it ourselves. Although I may not agree with all of the things people do and then attribute it to God, who am I to judge? And you certainly are not a judge. To each their own. Their relationship with God is personal. I highly doubt you are unemotional, ie rational, yourself.

Answer 3

I'm an Episcopalian. We have spoken responses, but no one calls out or any of the other things you mentioned. I like it because I think in quietness we can find ourselves and a lot more. I feel like there is an appeal to rational thinking because our priest (and all the priests I've seen) usually talk about the meaning and history around one or more of the Biblical readings we have during the service. Also, when we have a Bible study, we do study what is actually said, but we also look at the historical context and significance of any customs of the time.

Answer 4

The people who behave "emotionally" contrary to the Word of God. The Apostle Paul said all things must be done in an orderly way, concerning church services. The "emotional" people are going against what the Apostle Paul said. If during the Praise & Worship session, if there is clapping, dancing, and the obvious singing going on, raising of hands, then that is acceptable, but the other things ("slain in the spirit" (which is not biblical), dancing during the sermon..), are not acceptable. However, I do believe in Speaking in Tongues, but that is only to be done in public according to Paul's instruction in 1st Corinthians chapter 14.

These people are known as charismatic people. My church is more settle in our worshiping of the Lord. We sing, clap sometimes, raise our hands sometimes, laugh during the service in accordance to a joke, and give the occasional "Amen", but we do not speak in Tongues publicly.

Answer 5

The ones that have been documented have also been disproved, from what I have read. Evangelists have been caught using wireless earpieces, and being fed information from greeters. Say I walk in to the revival, hoping to get healed of my kidney disease. A smiling handsome man greets me and welcomes me. As he leads me to my seat, he asks in a chit-chatty way, what brings me to the revival and I say I have lupus, an auto-immune arthritic disease. I don't see the microphone clipped to his lapel, but Brother Joe-Bob hears everything I say. Then, during the healing service, Bro. J-B claims that "gawd" is telling him that there is a man in the audience with lupus and God wants him healed. Etc. An Easter Orthodox church here in Texas was caught recently too, when the authorities started investigating the "miracle" of a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was crying real tears. They took samples of the tears, tested them, and found that they were cooking oil. They set up cameras and caught a monk applying the cooking oil with a medicine dropper. These are just 2 I've heard about and I don't go out of my way to look this stuff up. I'm sure there are lots more that never make it to the newspapers or internet.

Answer 6

Mostly more subdued than that stuff you see on TV, but it's interactive. Our pastor isn't a 'drone' that just spouts info.

We do a lot of laughing, and some "amen"s come out every now and then.

What you call rational though, may be more hypnotic, if you aren't led to any kind of response. For instance, when I first heard that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whosoever would believe on him should not perish but have everlasting life (john 3:16) I was driven to say
"What??? tell me that again??" because it violated everything that religion and the world had ever said.

When Jesus was quoted taht I I could be born again, I was led to tears that he was willing to give me a new life.

A real relationship with God is somethign that SHOULD move you. If it doesn't , you may not have heard it clearly.

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By the way, I challenge you to hold on to your "rational" thinking, and really evaluate the Scriptures. Rationally. Because I'd bet if you do, it would change your life.

Answer 7

Why not both. You can have an intellectual grasp of the Scripture and also allow yourself to worship with all your senses. Whe you are saved (regenerated) you become a new creature spiritually but God created the whole man. So if you are truely permeated with the Spirit it will effect you emotionally as well.

Answer 8

In my church people clap and sing along with the worship songs but dancing, shouting, crying, speaking in tongues, etc are not normal occurences.
I never done anything more than clap and sing.

Answer 9

"Praise ye the Lord, Praise God in his sanctuary, praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts; praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet,: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. Psalm 150.

Straight from the scriptures and enough said. That covers all you mentioned and MORE!

Answer 10

Yes to all the things you listed except speaking in tongues and fainting.