It’s high time I came clean with everyone on the issue of speaking in tongues, if for nothing else than everyone being able to see where I come from and I get the belief I do.
First off, let me state that I unequivocally believe in Jesus Christ as the begotten Son of God, who died for the remission of the sins of humankind. He ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father and he promised us the guidance and indwelling of his Holy Spirit to comfort and guide us until His glorious return, at a time of which no one can predict.
So no one can confuse my identity of faith, I do not classify myself as one specific denomination. I have asked Christ to forgive my sins, do my best to live according to His Word and in harmony with other believers and at peace with non-believers, and am anxiously awaiting the afore-mentioned day of His return.
Now let’s get started.
I am a very analytical thinker. Whereas many may take a given event or occurrence for face value, it is my nature to analyze why something happened, how it happened, how it could have been done better, what if it were done worse, etc. My mind shoots a million different directions on different things.
Especially Biblical subjects. Simply because I am trying to figure out the best way that I can walk according to the Word of God and continually tweak and remodel my faith after what I find.
So when someone speaks up in a church or prayer meeting session and begins to utter tongues that no English-speaking person can comprehend, I instantly begin to analyze it in addition to receive spiritually from whatever God may be saying.
I question each and every word in tongues, and not critically, but rather from some interesting viewpoints. Who is speaking it? Why are they repeating syllables? Why does the language seem so repetitive? Could they just not find the right words to pray in English? If the tongue is interpreted, is it going to be a message of encouragement, rebuke or something we’ve already heard before?
As I look around during the prayers, nearly everyone has their head bowed or is worshipping in their own way. It is a neat expression of prayer, but I must admit there is one major question that comes to me during every single instance of tongues is something I still wrestle with and can’t figure out:
Why can’t I feel the same thing everyone else in this building is feeling right now?
Now I know what you’re all going to say, and your response would be in the neighborhood of “you’ve tried to figure God out rather than submit to Him…you’re trying to understand him intellectually rather than spiritually.”
I’ve been told that by a few people and I don’t really think that’s the case. If I tried to understand God intellectually, I would have figured out that the Bible is full of oxymorons and contradictions, that God and I really don’t connect and that He is irrelevant. But I haven’t…instead, I’m trying to channel that intelligence into getting to the meat of everything and figuring out exactly what makes people tick when it comes to the Holy Spirit and God in general. It would simply help me understand more about the Lord and would unlock some doors of comprehension of the mysteries of God in my life.
Anyhow, getting back to the Holy Spirit and the bit about speaking in tongues here, I began to question them more and more after seeing and hearing a variety of things in Bible studies, church services, etc. over the years:
- The same people speaking in tongues, repeating the same syllables and intonation, with little change in sounds and their pronunciations. (Example: my mom’s tongues for a long time used to sound like a-sheed-a-dee-dee-i, a-sheed-a-dee-dee-i and so forth with little change.)
- Interpretations that never come to pass, or the same interpretations being reiterated over a long period of time.
- Very vague interpretations of tongues. (Example: “Thou art my children,” “keep on the straight and narrow,” “I’ve given you the victory,” et al.)
- Self-interpretations without anyone else confirming them.
Now let’s all be honest here and come clean in that none of us can completely understand 1 Corinthians 14, which is the Bible’s most used guideline when it comes to speaking in tongues and allowing the Holy Spirit to move in that way. The fact that the particular passage of Scripture is so confusing has led people to push the envelope in speaking in tongues however possible.
Let me get this straight so as not to confuse anyone: I do NOT believe that anyone who believes in Christ, seeks and works for the betterment of their local church body, and is filled with His Spirit would ever intentionally attempt to use tongues to their advantage, monopolize a church service or even so much as to fake the gift for personal gain. But I do question and wonder if many miss the mark with tongues and interpretations.
I wrote a previous post a few months ago on experiences in church camps in Washington State in which I faked speaking in tongues because I wanted the gift so badly that I felt that was my only way to convince folks I had it. Imagine my surprise when I found out everyone who was a spiritual mentor to me believed I had the gift. NO ONE ever questioned it.
That’s the problem I think we have today. I think not enough people question tongues and interpretations, and I think we’re all too eager to go with whatever “sounds good.” Think about it, tongues are perceived by many to be a level of higher communication with God than normal prayer, and to those of us that don’t have that gift, many times we’re led to feel like we can’t pray in general or that we’re missing out on something special.
The Bible says that God is a spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. So with that being the case, who are we to limit the Spirit to our own subjective experiences?
Let’s focus on me for a moment here. I have come to a point in my Christian walk where I realize I have not been given a gift of speaking in tongues, but rather other gifts that are just as powerful in their own way. The Lord has blessed me with creative talent that can visually and auditorally relay the Gospel in a way words simply cannot.
I’m becoming more comfortable with that, and increasingly comfortable with the fact that I do not even speak in tongues one iota. Contrary to what others have told me, I do not find it anywhere in the Bible that says tongues are necessary for salvation or even furtherance of one’s personal walk with Christ. So then why do people place such a huge emphasis on the gift, when Paul the Apostle himself even placed it among the last in the number of spiritual gifts we should seek?
I guess that is the answer to the question that has bugged me for quite some time about not being able to feel the same move of the Holy Spirit everyone else feels.
But does this mean I am becoming a Baptist or that I renounce the concept of tongues completely? Absolutely not.
I guess what I’m trying to get at, is that tongues are not as big a deal as everyone makes them out to be. There is a reason many interpretations of tongues are never fulfilled, and there is a reason people use the same syllables over and over.
That reason, however, just might not be for me to know, and I’ll continue to stumble over it until I hit a brick wall and find there is no logical conclusion to meet my spiritual belief in the fact the Holy Spirit is real.
Still, that doesn’t mean that as a whole, we shouldn’t look for other ways for the Holy Spirit to speak through us.
I am so glad that you posted this! For years I was taught that everyone was supposed to speak in tongues and just like you I faked it because I thought people would frown upon me for not. It says in the New Testament (and the verse is escaping me at the moment) that everyone has different gifts. Some have the gift of teaching, some leading, etc. God has graciously bestowed me with the gifts of not only teaching but also compassion. I am sure that you have your own unique gifts as well. So thank you again for posting this because this is something that I have thought about for a while!
I find it fascinating that you feel it necessary to start your post off with a huge disclaimer stating that you do, in fact, love God and support the church. In essence, you have determined that your questioning tongues is somehow questioning God. Or at least you are expecting the tongue speakers to make that assumption.
As if something is wrong or sinful about questioning the practices of the church. You further allude to this problem in your being told to not think intellectually but only spiritually. Such responses should be a red flag to the act and practice. God does not curse or condemn our critical thinking brains. It is a God-given gift that we should celebrate. It is with that brain that we are able to discern between God and man’s misinterpretations.
Okay, so to my questions:
1. How does the speaking of tongues benefit God or the church?
2. How do the same vague messages (as you put it) bring anything to the faith table?
3. How does it glorify God and not glorify the individual man?
4. Do you (Chris or Sally) think you are alone in your faking of tongues?
5. What would happen if you decided that the speaking of tongues was merely a psychological ruse? Would you go to Hell? Would you stop loving and following God? Would God reject you as a son of faith?
Jack–
Good thoughts and I’ll try to answer your questions with brevity, candor and clarity without demeaning anyone’s views of the Holy Spirit. They all come from a “this is how I feel, this is my subjective experience” standpoint.
Before I get to those answers, let me touch on the point of questioning the practices of the church. I have questioned the point of tongues in numerous congregations…only one that I attended, and the one I currently attend, had the courtesy to give Biblically based answers to the question as best as they understood it. The others basically said I wasn’t on board with the vision of the church and told me I was unfit for ministry. As for using my brain, I think I was forced to check that at the door.
Now for the answers to your questions:
1. Tongues DOES have a purpose in the body, but I don’t think it’s nearly as prevalent as many take it to be. I think it is a sacred worship and private prayer language, and only in a few instances should it be used in church, and even then it needs to be prayed over by the church and especially the pastor before a decision is made regarding the word that was spoken. I base this on studies of 1 Corinthians 14.
2. Vague messages do not offer anything. They only serve to set that particular church membership back because for one, the people who are new Christians or maybe have a lesser understanding of the Word in general wonder why they’re being fed the same words over and over. Now I will say that in most instances that the messages were vague, the word spoken was legitimate but people failed to act on it. That’s a whole different can of worms though.
3. If the word is from the Lord and is confirmed, and what is spoken comes to pass, then the Lord is glorified due to the fulfillment of His word. A word that does not come to pass or an incomplete word serves to glorify the person speaking it, which is definitely not Biblical at all.
4. Definitely not. I could point out multiple instances where I knew people were faking the funk because they took my example. I am not proud of that, even though I faked it because I wanted the gift so badly (again, the product of it being pumped up as some sort of spiritual prize).
5. I would not ultimately throw the baby out with the bath water. The Bible is very clear when it says to not quench, blaspheme, or mock the Holy Spirit. I believe the Lord speaks through us today and tongues is just one of many ways He does that…there are other ways. But if I had never come to an understanding of tongues and discounted it completely, and still had a love and willingness to follow God’s word, and accepted Him as my Savior, I would be no less His child than someone who has been gifted with tongues, prophecy and the whole nine yards.
Hope that helps further my viewpoint somewhat…
I am skeptical (cynical really) of the idea, no doubt, but I am accepting of those who chose to believe it.
My biggest hang up lies squarely with the denominational issue. It only happens to AGers? How can that be? I don’t believe you practice the Holy Spirit. I believe it practices you. If tongues were legit, why would it not spontaneously happen to Baptists and Catholics, etc? My sense is that, perhaps, everyone fakes it, but convinces themselves of the truth of it because they want it as bad as you do. I am also bothered by the emphasis placed on it. That further pushes my skepticism.
I also believe God gave us a brain to think critically. I don’t believe education and spirituality are mutually exclusive, as some Christians do.
But I’m a liberal Christian.
That’s my subjective standpoint. For the record, I think all religious beliefs come from subjective perspectives. Talk about a can of worms. That “subjective” piece can get one into a lot of hot water. I might even go as far as to suggest that our understanding of God is subjective. How about that?
Good discussion.
Coming from Catholic south Louisiana, I’d never even heard of speaking in tongues (other than that it was a Talking Heads album) until I was maybe in my teens, and didn’t know anyone who did it until I was 20. At that time, I met a girl whose family was into tent revivals. She told me that they attended practice sessions, which I found amusing. Isn’t the whole idea of tongues that it’s spontaneous? Frankly, I’ve never understood it. Then again, I never understood the Latin Mass either. Why declare your love for God if you don’t understand what you’re saying? There’s something robotic about that for me.
Chris, I don’t think you should worry too much about the whole tongue issue. Apparently, millions of people will be there in Badplace right with you if that’s how it turns out.
I struggled for a long time with the whole issue of Tongues being the only proof of having received The Holy Spirit as espoused by the Pentecostal Church Of God Of Prophecy and an Anglican Evangelical, Charismatic church. Likwise with extempore prayer when a whole congregation would be praying, or so it seemed, loudly and continuously. It simply isn’t in my temperament to pray extempore while others are praying and despite praying for it on countless times I have never received the gift of tongues. Happily, in England, there are many denominations which, though spurned by Charismatics and Pentecostals, have many signs of being fully alive in the spirit and I moved to one of them rather than continue to feel almost like an outcast. The multiplicity of denominations of Christinaity and the differece in teachings that are emphasised is really a scandal – and a stumbling block to many outside the church.
Interesting post and I must say it was quite interesting how I stumbled upon it.
Regardless please allow me to share that I often struggle with the concept of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and how they are given, and how they are to be used.
The following is my testimony about how I dealt with the faking of speaking in tongues. I was attending a bible study fellowship that was being conducted by a small group that was very passionate but I believe to this day was mislead. After several weeks of basic study, the leaders attempted to get everyone to speak in tongues after explaining that is was ones own will that caused the manifestation of the gift. Under pressure I began to fake it, and felt badly afterwards.
That night I prayed on the subject asking God to somehow enlighten me over time as to the truth concerning the gifts especially the speaking in tongues.
I received an answer in a dream that very night, although I would not realize it for three days. I dreamt that I was in Mexico, and how I knew that it was Mexico I do not know since I had never been there before. I crossed a river, and then soon found myself pursued by a man, his boy and their dog. I fled to a field and hid in the tall brown grass, and in order to flush me out they lit the grass on fire. I fled once more and found a building with door in back. Upon entering I found that it was the kitchen area of a church and it was a mess. There were kids there eating whatever they could find. Somehow a thought entered my head that lead me to understand that these kids were orphans, and that the pastor of the church was in an upper room too sick to get out of bed, and perhaps was dying.
I began speaking with the children, in English, about general things, and the conversation got around their church and God. I quickly came to the conclusion that although they lived in church they had no real bible training, and they were quite superstitious, and were actually afraid of God in what I thought to be an unhealthy way.
I started to attempt to explain at length to them my perception of God. All of sudden they were speaking in Spanish and we could no longer communicate. I was very anxious to tell them about how I felt about God, and then realized that I was not even sure what to say in English.
I just felt this internal drive to say something as they all gave me a similar odd look. I struggled and struggled and could say nothing until I thought to myself “Oh God please help me to help these children”, and then I blurted out “Ah-lee-en-tose” sounding as a single word. All the children they smiled and nodded and were quite pleased with the one word I had said. I then suddenly awoke from the dream as my alarm clock rang.
I thought later that morning that the human brain is quite amazing in that it could make up a non word that actually sounded quite Spanish. But really I wanted to say a bunch of stuff, not just a word or two.
For the next three days that word stayed in my head, and I actually found myself singing it over and over in my head one the way home three days after the dream. I then decided to be brave enough to ask a friend of mine who knew Spanish if what I had uttered was actually a word. Upon my repeating the syllables to him he immediately told me that the word meant multiple things. The Spanish spelling was Alientos. First he explained that it meant “breath”, or even “wind” of a sort, and then went on to explain that one often uses it in reference to the encouragement that a person receives from his coach if playing a sport.
I immediately knew that God had answered my prayers, and in a flash it was obvious to me the gift is given in cases where it is necessary. And that God can use a single word at times to communicate all that He needs.
I have never again spoken in tongues, nor have I been anxious to, as I now believe that God may use any of the gifts at any time as He wills.
Lastly, I would say that I would never slight anyone who felt so moved as to pray in tongues while feeling moved by the Spirit, but I think that should really be more of a private thing. And Paul has already told us that in church an interpreter should be present if tongues are spoken there, so enough said as far as I am concerned.
-John