SPEAKING IN TONGUES (page 2)

avengers

she claims to lose the use of her legs

And the rest have lost their mind.

uncle_onion

I explain the tongues in churches the same way I explain the tongues in voodoo....just some one getting a little too excited.

UO

D wiltshire

I feel as Xena says:

Personally I have come to the conclusion that it is psychological and induced by mass hysteria and peer pressure.

I don't even have the slightest feeling it is from God. It seems to me to be just manipulation of people who are desperate to feel something that confirms the presents of God in their lives.
I've been to churches where nobody was speaking in tongues, but afew were really trying too, it kind of made me feel sorry for them.
I feel that if it was from God it wouldn't be so phony looking, like what I have seen.

If someone lived a trillion X longer than you, and had a billion X more reasoning ability would he come to the same conclusions as you?

Skeptic

Having been The Ultimate Sucker for Christianity for 22 years, I am embarrassed to say that I used to speak in tongues.

It is an emotional thing. Going with the flow of the meeting, etc. The reason is psychological. I conclude this from what I personally know of speaking in tongues.

When I did it as a born-again, it was supposedly because of Holy Spirit. The thing is, I can still do it today, and I am an atheist.

Most Christians on this board will agree that Holy Spirit is not with me now because I am an atheist.

My eight year old son speaks in tongues and does not realize it. He and I will have entire conversations of complete babble for fun. I immediately noticed how we talked was exactly like speaking in tongues.

My son does not believe in God, although this is probably my influence. He believed in God not that long ago.

Also, when I was "saved", the church's urban legend was that sometimes speaking in tongues in not from God, but from demons. Apparently, some people spoke in a human language (Japanese, I think) that was known to another Christian in the church. What was said was so disgusting, the person refused to translate. So we were cautioned to be careful. Of course, sometimes the translation is given and it is something very nice and loving.

This human language story could be just urban legend and may have no basis in fact. Considering the unreliability of many rumors told in churches, there probably is no basis in fact. (Does anyone seriously trust the stories they hear? In North America, we were told of people in Africa being raised from the dead. How come the dead are always raised in a far away land where the story is impossible to verify? Why are people not resurrected from the dead in the town where the story is told so we can verify it? Notice that enough details are not given, making verification impossible.)

But if it is, there is nothing supernatural needed. Of all the millions or billions of times people have babbled at random, surely once or twice they would come close to hitting on a few phrases that sound like a human language.

Oh, and for those who say I was never really "saved" and so did not have Holy Spirit ever in my life, my reply is that they did not know me so how can they judge? If I was not saved, then how do they really know they are saved? Claiming that I was never saved implies that no one can truly know if they are saved. Which raises a lot of questions.

Richard, hoff goo nee sah do fee

NeonMadman

Xena:

I have always wondered about the speaking in tongues...almost tempted to go to a Pentcostal Church just to see them in action.

I've been to a few Pentecostal churches and have yet to see any "action". (Errr...you know what I mean) Perhaps they save it for special occasions?

Abaddon:

That's not speaking in tounges, that's a bit of German, some Latin, and a bit of Elvish if I'm not mistaken!

A Elbereth Gilthoniel!

Tom
"The truth was obscure, too profound and too pure; to live it you had to explode." ---Bob Dylan

anewperson

No one should "try" to verbalize or speak in tongues. True, some Pentecostal churches do that and I agree that it is both artificial and phoney.

Instead if you simply feel good (good not necessarily overly good or euphoric), feel moved to help people in poverty-stricken lands or whatever, then that is what is right.

The Bible definitely says all good things are from God. So if you begin doing good things, then His Spirit is working through your life. Tongues (or otherwise emotionalizing to God's glory) is listed in the Bible as a minor gift. Better are expressions of love such as giving food and clothing to the genuinely hungry and those who are freezing in the winter.

Be contented with that for it pleases God and our fellow humans. From studying the Bible itself, that's how I feel about this topic.

El Kabong

I once asked a "Born Again" (Phony Bastard!!) what exactly is the purpose of speaking in tongues. I always thought that speaking in tongues was a gift from God given to missionaries to preach to people in their native language. But, the born agains insist that it's the language of the angels.

Why would God want us to speak the language of the Angels at church? Particularly when the basket is passed around?

In other words, it's all pure bull.

Judge Rutherford did get one thing right. Religion IS a snare and a racket.

anewperson

In Paul's time tongues was of 2 types:

1. for feel-good verbal emotionalizing to God's glory
2. for speaking other full-fledged languages for reasoning on scriptures etc

Today the immediate speaking of another language without training does not occur, although out of love for one's fellow man some learn another language so as to help people learn about Christ etc.

And since all that is good is from God, we can say God's Spirit therefore is still doing both 1 & 2.

Many that are called charismatic and fundamentalist are even as you say but not all. There are some, at least a few, true Christians in all these groups.

Though often relatively few, those true Christians are the ones who help keep most such groups from getting any worse than they do.

I've never spoken tongues but do not automatically assume those who do so are demonized, insane etc but am respectful of their apparent need to emotionalize so long as it is positive, i.e. learning is not disrupted, and no one simultaneously hurts themselves or others for example by thrashing about on the floor as with epilepsy.

Again, the best gift is LOVE. Some are given a talent for using their hands and use those hands to feed the poor, save lives etc. The real question is, whatever our particular talents may be, are we using them to help others? - which is the essence of what the will of God Almighty (Jah, Jehovah, the Lord) is all about.

WindRider

Richard, you can still speak in tongues?! And I thought it was just sweet nothings you were whispering in my ear :D

Well, you learn something new every day about the one you love.

Windrider

Skeptic

WindRider, my darling,

Richard, you can still speak in tongues?! And I thought it was just sweet nothings you were whispering in my ear :D

Those sweet nothings were the translation of what was spoken in tongues!

Like the Bible says, as long as things are done with love....

Richard

SPEAKING IN TONGUES

Share this