CONTROVERSIAL PRACTICE OF STEALING POWERS FROM THE DEAD
If you see someone lying on a grave, they may be engaged in a controversial form of Christian worship. It is called “grave sucking,” “grave soaking,” or “mantle grabbing.” The practice is angering Christians, confusing others, and probably making Atheists smirk.
Grave sucking involves laying across a grave of a holy figure. That could mean a preacher, evangelist, or saint. By laying across the grave you “suck” up the power of the Holy Spirit that the person had. You know, like the stealing the power of the dead from the Highlander movie/television franchise:
The theological explanation is that God gives away the power of the Holy Spirit to unique individuals to help carry on His work. When that person dies, the power remains in the corpse, which wastes the ability to carry out the power of God. No explanation on what happens to the cremated. People who participate in grave sucking believe that once they suck up the mantle they can pass it on, even through YouTube videos to help cure individuals of maladies. If you are thinking this might be in the Bible you would be incorrect. There is nothing that directly links to this theory.
So where does it come from?
The two main culprits are Bill Johnson and the Charismatic Movement. Bill Johnson is the founder of the Bethel Church, which is known for their unique interpretation of the Bible. They do not believe in Original Sin and have specifically referenced grave sucking: “I believe it’s possible for us to recover realms of anointing, realms of insight, realms of God that have been untended for decades simply by choosing to reclaim them and perpetuate them for future generations.” The Charismatic Movement is a modern Pentecostal grouping of beliefs in the supernatural power of God. For example, they believe in speaking in tongues as a return to an ancient Angelic language.
The closest the Bible gets to grave sucking is a story about a man being resurrected after touching the bones of Elisha. But this connection seems spurious at best. Most Christians condemn this practice as idolatry or plain hogwash. They argue that it radically redefines the definition of “anointment” from a specific ritual done to rulers, high priests, and leprous people to some superpower given by God.
Bill Johnson has recently tried to distance himself from the practice, while at the same time not wholly denying it as a legitimate.
There are many questions to be answered. Is there a finite amount of Holy Spirit? Can I soak up all the power in one sitting or do I need bathroom breaks? If you are independently trying to get the Holy Spirit, doesn’t that violate God’s plan, “only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him.” What kind of powers do you get?
But the most pressing would be how did you come up with this theory? Not a single person who has done grave sucking has been able to prove that they have gained supernatural powers.
Read more at World Religion News: "The Emerging Crazy Christian Trend Of Grave Sucking" https://www.worldreligionnews.com/?p=50945
What do you believe? How might grave sucking be a good or bad look for practicing Christians?
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