Man Injured By Holy Spirit

RELIGION IN THE NEWS

Now, Religion in the News, a report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media.This week’s item is from local.com, July 11, 2008, with a headline:“Man Sues Church Over God Injury.”The following are excerpts:A man said he was so consumed by the Spirit of God that he fell and hit his head while at a Knoxville church.Now he wants LakewindChurch to pay 2.5 million dollars for medical bills, lost income and pain and suffering.He said he’s endured from his injuries.Matt Lincoln, 57, said he decided to sue the church after its insurance company denied his claim for medical bills.Lincoln has had two surgeries since the June 2007 incident, but said he still feels pain in his back and his legs.The SevereCounty man said he was asking God to have a real experience while praying at church.He said he has fallen from the force of the spirit before, but has always been caught by someone.Lawyers for the church said other congregates saw him on the floor laughing after his fall.They said he failed to look out for his own safety.

Tom:

Dave, as you know, these kinds of manifestations in churches, and we could go back to the Toronto Airport Vineyard, and then supposedly, the spirit moved to Brownsville, Pensacola, Florida, and now we have the same thing going on in Lakeland, Florida by Todd Bentley.Now, let’s just pull back and take a look at this.Here’s a man supposedly seeking the Spirit of God and the Spirit of God manifesting himself, and if that were true, wow you would think the results would be incredible holiness and a desire and a heart to do what God wants.But what do we have here?We have him suing the church for 2.5 million for medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, because his insurance wouldn’t pay for it.Now, come on, what’s going on here!

Dave:

Well, Tom, if the insurance wouldn’t pay for it, apparently they didn’t find medical cause, because I don’t think, no matter how you injure yourself, he’s not claiming workman’s comp, no matter how you injured yourself, supposedly your insurance, I mean, if you just stepped on a banana peel or whatever, wouldn’t your insurance pay?I guess it depends on the kind of insurance.

Tom:

Yeah, but Dave, what does this tell us about these spiritual manifestations, because this is just one example, but we could give dozens and dozens of people who have wrecked their cars on the way home, who had to have people help them out of the church.Is this the way the Holy Spirit works?

Dave:

We have no indication in the Bible that this is how the Holy Spirit works.The Scripture says, The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets,there is nothing about getting out of control.Now the only one that I read of that got out of control apparently, was Saul the king, and he joined the company of the prophets and I don’t know about these prophets in the Old Testament.Some of them seemed to be real prophets, others, I’m not sure.But anyway, it says he lay there naked all day prophesying.I don’t think that’s the activity of the Holy Spirit, and certainly Saul was not a godly man.If this were really the Spirit of God, then you would fall on your face.We always read of those who in the presence of the Lord, they fall on their face.That would be the natural thing to do.But in the garden when Jesus is surrounded by enemies, soldiers and so forth and Judas, and He says, I am, I’m the one you seek, they all fell backward.That doesn’t reflect very well on this falling backward.And we see Benny Hinn or Todd Bentley or whoever they are, but they should fall on their face.Now if he had fallen on his face, he would have been able to catch himself.Well, where were the catchers?Apparently, there were supposed to be some catchers there.And Tom, I could tell you—we won’t even talk about it, but incidents that happen at Benny Hinn’s crusades, where people broke a hip bone, broke a leg or some huge guy fell on someone else and so forth.I don’t read in the Bible about catchers!So, I guess that’s part of his complaint.Where were the catchers?

Tom:

Well, I think his complaint needs to go back to his own participation in all of this. If he was truly seeking God.But we find so many times, people are seeking after prosperity or healing or whatever, not a heart for God but a heart for getting their problems resolved.

Dave:

It would be interesting to see how the court rules, Tom.

Tom:

And Dave, I think we can look ahead.If the court rules in his favor, Todd Bentley, as you’ve read some of the stories, it’snot like Benny Hinn, just waving his hand over somebody, or just kind of pushing somebody back, or knocking somebody’s wig off, whatever it might be. Todd’s into punching, okay, and elbowing and so this physical involvement to the point of, hey, I think the lawyers need to take heed for these people.

Dave:

To get the people to fall down, this is what he does?

Tom:

Well, it isn’t just that, but supposedly this is how the Spirit moves him to impart healing.Can you imagine getting elbowed in the gut, and that’s the way the Holy Spirit works through this man?No, this is so far removed from truth and the Holy Spirit it’s absurd, it’s ludicrous!

Dave:

This was a Knoxville church, so it wasn’t the Lakeland church in Florida?

Tom:

No, but a precedent could be set here, Dave, that’s my point.

Dave:

Yeah.Well, it doesn’t sound to me as though he was really seeking God.If he was seeking God he would find God, and he would not be in this condition.