Holy Roller
Encyclopedia : H : HO : HOL : Holy Roller
For other uses, see Holy Roller (disambiguation)}}}.
Holy Roller is a term in
American English used to describe
Pentecostal Christian churchgoers. The term is commonly used derisively, as if to describe people literally rolling on the floor or
speaking in tongues in a uncontrolled manner. For this usage, the
Oxford English Dictionary cites an 1893 memoir by Charles G. Leland, in which he says "When the Holy Spirit seized them..the Holy Rollers..rolled over and over on the floor."
[["roller, n1", definition 17b.] The Oxford English Dictionary. (Account required for online access).] It is generally considered pejorative, but some have reclaimed it as a badge of honor,
e.g. William Branham's statement "And what the world calls today holy-roller, that's the way I worship Jesus Christ."
[["Why I Am a Holy-Roller"], a sermon by William Marrion Branham, August 1953]
References
See also
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