Holy Ghost People

In the current political environment, religion has become a political football that's been kicked around by zealots who claim that government is anti-religion and antagonistic to God.

Although this enlightening film was made about 40 years ago, it clearly demonstrates that the freedom to worship as one pleases is as solid as the bedrock under the skyscrapers of Manhattan.

It's up to the viewer to decide whether the members of the Holiness Church in Scrabble Creek, West Virginia, are filled with the spirit of the Holy Ghost, mad or engaging in an uninhibited (and healthy)form of emotional release.

Nevertheless, the people at the service appear to be down-to-earth and brimming over with faith. The music and dancing are exuberant. They speak in tongues, handle snakes, drink poison and give testimony.

It all may seem bizarre, but their freedom to worship the way they do demonstrates that the First Amendment of our Constitution can withstand anything -- even the pronouncements of nutty politicians who want to turn the United States into an officially Christian country.

A superb film. Let freedom ring!

YEARS ago on the internet archive, there were quite a number of videos (not film) set in the Appalachian mountains about religion, music and just general townspeople, but mostly it was about religion, and I found that INCREDIBLY fascinating, full of speaking in tongues, faith healing, baptisms, and other fun stuff (and a few boring things). They've disappeared (maybe because I gave some damning reviews to some of them), but they've always stuck out in my mind as some of the most unique vids ever on the archive. The Holy Ghost People is similar to these, maybe a wee bit more talky, grainy and non-structured then I would like, but there's still some stuff that got my attention. The interviews are interesting, and the actual speaking in tongues-hallelujah thing is really strangely bizarre. Would have liked to have known what happened to the preacher in the end.

For some time - ever since I heard of this film and found it was highly recommended - I've been wanting to see it. As it came to an end, I found myself wondering what it was trying to achieve. Basically, we get to watch a recording of parts of a "Holiness" service in West Virginia. If you've ever been to a charismatic worship service most of this will be pretty familiar. Testimonies, speaking in tongues, dancing in the aisles, people asking for healing, people being "slain in the Spirit" and lots and lots of singing. Head to your local Pentecostal Church for an evening service. You'll see most of that. What you won't see at your typical charismatic church, of course, is snake handling. That's the hook here, but there's no snake handling until the last 15 minutes or so. The person leading the service gets bitten, but seems OK, and there's no follow-up to see if he stayed OK. Aside from being able to see the snake handling, actually attending a charismatic service is far more interesting than watching one.

Basically, I found myself with a question when this was over: what was the purpose of the film? It's described as a documentary, but it offered very little information. The opening of the film mentions that the movement bases itself on the signs recorded in Mark 16:9-20, but doesn't mention that Mark 16:9-20 is considered by most to be a later add-on to Mark's Gospel, but not part of the original text. Issues around "proof-texting" could have been mentioned here, but weren't. There's no real discussion of the "holiness" movement, no background, no critical evaluation. It's just a recording of a service. The snake handling gives it an edge, but frankly the edge is rather dull. 4/10

This is a great ethnographic film that lets its subjects speak for themselves. Instead of depicting pentecostal Christians as outside "normal" Christianity, it portrays their humanity in their care for one another, their egalitarian organization, the sensory/emotional depth of their experience, and the beauty of their music, dance and testimony. My students (anthropology of religion) immediately saw connections to Durkheim (collective effervescence), Carnival (permission to break from everyday norms), the sensibilities of Burning Man (spontaneity, no spectators, self-reliance, personalization of religious/spiritual experience) Marcel Mauss (reciprocity), and Max Weber (the Protestant work ethic: "the sin of idleness"). I strongly disagree with the professed anthropologist above who characterized the subjects as "deviant." This plays into normative/dominant notions of "good" religion as emotionally controlled, non-spontaneous, and yoked to norms of middle class citizenship. Anthropologists should know that religious experience is infinitely varied and no single variation is "normal."

This film puts the viewer inside the Holiness Church where poison-drinking, snake handling and speaking in tongues are a normal part of worship. I am an anthropologist and I use this as a teaching tool for my students when we discuss religion. I challenge them to explain what functions religion serves for these people and why they are more deviant than any other religion. it is excellent.