Is this teaching biblical?
Howard-Browne presents this as evidence of the Holy Spirit's power — but what spirit causes people to laugh at the reality of eternal damnation? The biblical response to the doctrine of hell is fear, trembling, repentance, and urgency for the lost. Jesus wept over Jerusalem. The prophets mourned. Paul had 'great sorrow and continual grief' for the unsaved. Laughter at hell is not a work of the Holy Spirit — it is a mockery of divine judgment.
What did Rodney Howard-Browne say?
"One night I was preaching on hell, and it just hit the whole place. The more I told people what hell was like, the more they laughed."
Speaker: Rodney Howard-Browne
Source: Ministry testimony, documented by Apologetics Index and CRI
What does Scripture actually teach?
Luke 16:23-24
"And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.'"
— NKJV
Jesus describes hell as a place of conscious torment where a man begs for a single drop of water. This is the doctrine Howard-Browne was preaching when his audience laughed harder. What spirit would cause people to laugh at this reality? Not the Holy Spirit, who convicts the world of judgment (John 16:8).
Romans 9:2-3
"That I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh."
— NKJV
Paul's response to the reality that people face judgment was 'great sorrow and continual grief' — not laughter. He was willing to be cursed himself if it could save others. Howard-Browne's congregation laughed while hearing about people burning in hell. The contrast between the apostolic response and Howard-Browne's meetings could not be more stark.
Hebrews 10:31
"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
— NKJV
The author of Hebrews says contemplating God's judgment should produce fear — not laughter. If the Holy Spirit truly filled Howard-Browne's meetings, the response to a sermon about hell would be repentance, tears, and urgent prayer for the lost. Instead, people laughed. This alone disqualifies these manifestations as being from the Holy Spirit.
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