'Slain in the spirit', 'convicted', and other expressions

[Havard]

I’m curious, I hear certain expressions uttered by non-Catholic Christians a lot that I never seem to hear spoken by Catholics. “Slain in the spirit” and “convicted” are just two examples. Is there a reason why we don’t use those expressions (or at least, to the point of rarity that I’ve never heard them used by Catholics.)

 

[Farsight001]

They’re not biblical would be my guess.

 

[DavidFilmer]

The “slain in the spirit” stuff is not part of Catholic worship services (at least it’s not supposed to be).

I think “convicted” is an awkward term. It usually means “found guilty,” not “firmly convinced.”

 

[nickybr38]

I don’t know… I suppose because the Holy Spirit has never thrown me to the floor in a seizure…

I have been convicted by the Spirit however. That was a really, really rough week.

I imagine Catholics don’t use those terms simply because it’s not part of their culture. The Protestant culture is just different.

 

[nickybr38]

The “slain in the spirit” stuff is not part of Catholic worship services (at least it’s not supposed to be).

I think “convicted” is an awkward term. It usually means “found guilty,” not “firmly convinced.”

Ah, yes, that is how I would understand convicted… as in, found guilty of certain sins and to have those sins laid upon your heart. Not the other usage.

 

[Heuchler]

They are essentially terms that come about when someone “receives the Holy Ghost” and will just faint. It seems that this, along with things like altar calls, is simply a protestant substitution for Confirmation.

 

[Havard]

Ah, yes, that is how I would understand convicted… as in, found guilty of certain sins and to have those sins laid upon your heart. Not the other usage.

Wait, so which usage is the common Protestant one?

 

[nickybr38]

Wait, so which usage is the common Protestant one?

I honestly don’t know… My experiences with the Protestant faith will be different from anyone elses as they hold a wide variety of beliefs and no one Protestant group is the same as another…

 

[SonCatcher]

I’m curious, I hear certain expressions uttered by non-Catholic Christians a lot that I never seem to hear spoken by Catholics. “Slain in the spirit” and “convicted” are just two examples. Is there a reason why we don’t use those expressions (or at least, to the point of rarity that I’ve never heard them used by Catholics.)

That’s why you should buy my Catholic-Protestant/Protestant-Catholic translation dictionary. You’ll never be confused by these words again. Only $39.95 plus tax, etc. Just click the imaginary link above.

 

[LegoGE1947]

That’s why you should buy my Catholic-Protestant/Protestant-Catholic translation dictionary. You’ll never be confused by these words again. Only $39.95 plus tax, etc. Just click the imaginary link above.

As a former Protestant Pentacostal I kind of understand these terms. I’ve been in services where hell fire and brimstone preachers will go down a line of people in an altar call and “Cast a Demon” out of someone the person will fall to the floor. (Think Oral Roberts) To be “convicted” of something means that one believes strongly that they should do or not do a certain thing. Like one may be “convicted” that they should picket outside of an abortion clinic, or that they should give up smoking, etc.

You don’t have to send me the $39.95 I give you the info for free. ( Of course I’ll take the $39.95 if you want to send it!)

 

[Newsy]

I have used the term, “convicted”, essentially the same as “laid on my heart”. Ever listen to a homily and realize that the Priest is talking about one of your frequent sins? That sudden feeling of guilt, that is “convicted”. If there is another definition, I am unaware of it. I am a former protestant (Presbyterian) and my in-laws are Pentacostal (AoG), I have never heard another definition.

Ah yes, “slain in the spirit”. I have never understood it, tried but was unsuccessful. My in-laws talk about it, seems like a strange practice, but I am not condemning it. Like another poster mentioned, it may be an attempt at confirmation. Confirmation only happens once, some churches do the “slaying” every week. I will say that “slaying” and speaking in tongues are both looked at as suspect in mainline protestant churches (non- charismatic). My in-laws believe that these are “manifestations of the Holy Spirit”, could be. When I had to explain “slaying” to my kids, I just told them Grandma and Grandpa had a very physical church. I then explained why we go to our Church. People from my in-laws church seem to be very centered on “experience”, I am not sure experience is a great basis for faith.

 

[Havard]

As a former Protestant Pentacostal I kind of understand these terms. I’ve been in services where hell fire and brimstone preachers will go down a line of people in an altar call and “Cast a Demon” out of someone the person will fall to the floor. (Think Oral Roberts) To be “convicted” of something means that one believes strongly that they should do or not do a certain thing. Like one may be “convicted” that they should picket outside of an abortion clinic, or that they should give up smoking, etc.

You don’t have to send me the $39.95 I give you the info for free. ( Of course I’ll take the $39.95 if you want to send it!)

Interesting, thanks for that explanation! Do you happen to recall if there was some Scriptural origin for this use of “convicted”.

 

[LegoGE1947]

Interesting, thanks for that explanation! Do you happen to recall if there was some Scriptural origin for this use of “convicted”.

Unfortunately I do not recall. But since becoming Catholic I have found that a lot of what I was taught to believe as a Protestant has no scriptural basis, except if you take certain verses and twist them every which way but loose!

 

[Lochias]

Some Protestant friends of mine have used the word “convicted” in more than one way when referring to their experiences. Once, one of them spoke of a strong feeling of “being convicted by God” to go talk to a certain person about something-or-other which I now forget (but was for that person’s benefit, not her own). Other times, I have heard others use the word in the way described earlier in the thread, in terms of feeling the weight of a certain sin press down on them.

 

[ltwin]

I have used the term, “convicted”, essentially the same as “laid on my heart”. Ever listen to a homily and realize that the Priest is talking about one of your frequent sins? That sudden feeling of guilt, that is “convicted”. If there is another definition, I am unaware of it. I am a former protestant (Presbyterian) and my in-laws are Pentacostal (AoG), I have never heard another definition.

Yes, this is the definition that I’m familiar with as a practicing Pentecostal. Conviction is a work of the Holy Spirit when a person realizes the sins that they have committed and the degree to which their lives fall short of the glory of God. It is the Spirit tugging on the heart, leading the person to repentance. It is not so much a feeling of guilt as it is a wake up call from God to return to right relationship with Him and with your neighbor.

Ah yes, “slain in the spirit”. I have never understood it, tried but was unsuccessful. My in-laws talk about it, seems like a strange practice, but I am not condemning it. Like another poster mentioned, it may be an attempt at confirmation. Confirmation only happens once, some churches do the “slaying” every week.

Hmm. I don’t know. I think the Pentecostal/charismatic concept of baptism in the Holy Spirit is much closer to the Catholic idea of confirmation. Like confirmation, the initial “filling” with the Spirit happens only once and it is for empowering the person for Christian life, service, and witness. It empowers for vocation.

Experiences like being slain in the Spirit are just that–experiences. They can build up or they could tear down if taken to excess or accompanied by a wrong attitude.

 

[Mickey]

I hear “slain in the spirit”…“speaking in tongues”…“baptism of the Holy Spirit” all the time from Roman Catholics who are involved in the Catholic charismatic movement. I have seen a few of their “praise and worship” and “charismatic masses” and they are very similar to the protestant pentecostalists.

 

[Bob_Crowley]

I’m curious, I hear certain expressions uttered by non-Catholic Christians a lot that I never seem to hear spoken by Catholics. “Slain in the spirit” and “convicted” are just two examples. Is there a reason why we don’t use those expressions (or at least, to the point of rarity that I’ve never heard them used by Catholics.)

They’re current buzz words in some Protestant circles, particularly charismatic or fundamentalist. They’ve come into use fairly recently even in Protestant circles, although the word “convicted” might have a longer pedigree, but not in the modern sense of the word.

Give it enough time and they’ll fade out to be replaced with something else. I remember the nonsense about the Toronto Blessing for example, and the way some of the Wesleyan Methodists I knew then were worried about it. I thought it was a seven day wonder, and I was right. When Bank Card first came out, there was a big flap about it being the number of the Beast (although I admit a cashless society will be a big move in that direction)

Some Protestants get their knickers in a knot about a number of things. I wouldn’t take too much notice if I were you.

Or to quote my old** Protestant **pastor - “When it comes to theology, Protestants couldn’t agree how far to spit”.

 

[LegoGE1947]

They’re current buzz words in some Protestant circles, particularly charismatic or fundamentalist. They’ve come into use fairly recently even in Protestant circles, although the word “convicted” might have a longer pedigree, but not in the modern sense of the word.

Give it enough time and they’ll fade out to be replaced with something else. I remember the nonsense about the Toronto Blessing for example, and the way some of the Wesleyan Methodists I knew then were worried about it. I thought it was a seven day wonder, and I was right. When Bank Card first came out, there was a big flap about it being the number of the Beast (although I admit a cashless society will be a big move in that direction)

Some Protestants get their knickers in a knot about a number of things. I wouldn’t take too much notice if I were you.

Or to quote my old** Protestant **pastor - “When it comes to theology, Protestants couldn’t agree how far to spit”.

I can think of a possible example of someone in the Bible being “slain in the Spirit” It was when the soldiers came into the Garden to capture Jesus to crucify him Jesus said “I AM!” and when he said that they all fell down on the ground overcome by the words “I AM”
(See one of the ending chapters of John’s Gospel I think chapter 19 or 20)

 

[ltwin]

They’re current buzz words in some Protestant circles, particularly charismatic or fundamentalist. They’ve come into use fairly recently even in Protestant circles . . . Give it enough time and they’ll fade out to be replaced with something else.

I don’t know how “recent” a term like slain in the Spirit actually is. I’m no expert on the term, but the phenemenon has been present in Pentecostalism since it began in the early 1900s. The phenomenon certainly was present in earlier revivals of the 1800s. Now its quite possible that the “slain” and “slaying” language came later and that other terms were used; it is also possible that this term is at least a hundred years old. That may be recent in comparison to the age of the Catholic Church, but its hardly a new fad.

Searching the Assemblies of God digital archives, I can find a reference to “slain under the power of God” in [Azusa Street’s Apostolic Faith Magazine in Volume 1 issue 1](http://ifphc.org/DigitalPublication...t)/Unregistered/1906/FPHC/1906_09.pdf#search=“slain Spirit”) dated September 1906 under the heading “The Old-Time Pentecost” on the front page.

 

[amici_christi]

I am a member of a lay apostalate of a small religious community. They hold monthly holy hours followed by a healing service. The first time I attended, before the healing service began they asked all people attending for the first time to step outside and listen to an explanation by one of the priests about how the healing service would be conducted. One of the things he explained was that some people would “rest in the spirit”, that is they would be overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit entering them and collapse. We were told not to worry, that there would be assistants to catch those who fell. We were told not to be frightened about it happening, not to fight it if we were overcome, and not to be disappointed if it did not happen to us. While it did not happen to me, about a third of the people that the priests laid hands on and prayed over experienced it. This is a very traditional community. Masses were held in latin until they were asked by our Archbishop to conduct them in english with the new mass translation. Communion is received kneeling at the altar rail. They also distribute blessed water, salt, oil, and candles.