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According to Wikipedia:

Bethel Church is an American non-denominational hyper-charismatic megachurch in Redding, California with over 11,000 members. The church was established in 1952 and is currently led by Bill Johnson. Bethel has its own music labels and Bethel Music and Jesus Culture ministries, which have gained large popularity within contemporary worship music. The church runs the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry with over 2,000 students annually. Senior church leaders have been supporters of conservative politics.

At Bethel Church, they have a very peculiar ritual known as "Fire Tunnel" or "Tunnel of Fire" (you may come across either wording). In a nutshell, people who are deemed more mature in the faith form two lines (a human tunnel) that novices are made to go through so that those forming the tunnel may lay hands on them and transfer into them the same "anointing" that they supposedly carry. It's very common to see people display strange physical manifestations during these events, which may include appearing drunk, laughing hysterically, being "slain in the spirit", jerking or shaking, etc.

Here are a few videos illustrating the ritual: video 1, video 2, video 3, video 4, video 5. (You may find many more by using your favorite search engine.)

Question: What is the origin of the practice? When was the first time that a "Fire Tunnel" was ever practiced in the history of the Church? Did Bethel Church originally come up with the idea of the ritual or did they borrow it / take inspiration from a prior source?

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  • Sounds like something we used to do after football practice... I wonder which tradition came first!
    – Peter Turner
    Commented May 4, 2021 at 15:16

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