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I recall hearing glossalalia referred to as "ecstatic speech" and indeed much of pentecostal practice is designed to stir up religious ecstasy. They just don't like to use that adjective because to some it has sexual overtones. A more dignified term is "peak experiences" or "transcendence (of the mundane human condition)" which can also include non-pentecostal and even not strictly Christian religious experiences such as a sense of profound non-duality / oneness with existence, the more mystical side of Christianity that results in hard to describe profound-seeming experiences that can be transformative and direction-changing.
All of this is part and parcel of people seeking real change and transformation and transcendence of various kinds. The staid predictability of many Christian churches is insufficient for them. That is why pentecostals can get somewhere by claiming that "god moves miraculously in today's world" just as he did "back in the day".
My own fundamentalist group was very wary of this kind of thing because of the potential for "deception". We flattered ourselves to imagine that we were immune to being deceived or merely mistaken about anything because we had "the written Word of God" and claimed it was simple to understand at face value. Our official teaching was that "signs and wonders" were validation of teaching in an era before "the canon of scripture was closed", after which, miracles were no longer needed and religious faith was the expectation.
What can be gained from a Speaking in Tongues event?
What can be gained Praying in Tongues privately? Which is all I know.
Healing, actual healing...of myself. ( pretty shocking and humbling, no one around.)
Poise, confidance and peace before having to speak in front of people.
Answers to puzzling issues in my life...should I buy this house or not?
How should I approach or handle a situation.
So, clarity of mind.
Again, very humbling and full of Grace.
If you're asking about the "twenty years ago" part I have no idea. The modern pentecostal movement traces back to the Azusa Street revival of 1906-1915. The charismatic movement is more a 1970s thing where people practiced similar things inside of non-pentecostal denominations. Such denominations (sometimes barely) tolerated this kind of thing because it brought in a different demographic of new converts. It also sometimes went hand-in-hand with other trends; for example Catholic charismatics tended to be associated with the informal mass involving guitars and folk-music which was intensely relatable to young people of the day.
Yes, I was asking about the "twenty years ago" part. I know the other information. I have been speaking in tongues for almost 40 years.
Yes, I was asking about the "twenty years ago" part. I know the other information. I have been speaking in tongues for almost 40 years.
So, if you have been speaking in tongues for that long, you may be able to tell us or comment on, or answer some of the issues I raised in the OP? Can you ? Can you bring it on whenever you need to? Are the sounds a language known to man? Why is English not brought out ? Maybe some philosophy perhaps? That would be more "useful" to the others in the group.
Some people may recognize this as a partial raising of the kundalini, in a religious setting perhaps? Particularly when the effects stay with the person maybe? I used to work with a woman who said she spontaneously started to be able to speak a foreign language so maybe this is what she was referring to? Not sure whether it was true or not but thats what she claimed.
As a complete outsider of this, (since my childhood church did not have this phenomena) my understanding of it is that, it is the Holy Spirit filling the person and causing them to express themselves in sounds without any limitation.
Someone looking at this phenomena for the first time might think it is just a babble of sound, but is there any meaning in it for others?
What is the point of it?
What can be gained from a Speaking in Tongues event?
What can the person doing the Speaking expect from the other members of the church?
Is it a special even which is talked about in the church for weeks afterwards? Does it make a kind-of celebrity?
Not trying to offend anyone but IMO, that’s a total fraudulent act, that happens only in front of the camera and audience. Why don’t these preachers and pastors get into that trans and connect with the unseen entity when they are all alone in the homes? Why it has to happen in front of people only?
For fun and laughter, I sometimes watch the one, done by T.D Jakes. His acting and drama is hilarious.
... that happens only in front of the camera and audience. Why don’t these preachers and pastors get into that trance and connect with the unseen entity when they are all alone in the homes? Why it has to happen in front of people only?
Why do you think it never happens in private? I knew of people in my Christian days who practiced speaking in tongues privately. I wasn't pentecostal myself but knew people who were and who found the practice centering and meaningful. You also talk as if only preachers do it. They teach and encourage the laity to do it.
Oh my, yet again a topic comes up that I'm reluctant to participate in because I may just come across as an arrogant know-it-all. However, this IS one of those subjects that I have studied long and hard so I may as well join in.
Years ago, I had husband and wife friends who spoke 'tongues' fluently. They were taught to do so by a charismatic pastor. These friends were the real McCoy ...they could keep up with and hold their own with all the other 'real McCoy fakers' in church. They eventually wised up and the only time they might - and only then MIGHT - display this ability to others was to show just how fake the whole thing was and is IF asked.
As has already been mentioned, 'Bible tongues' are actual languages ...not babble. I speak just one 'tongue' ...English. I have a friend from Denmark who can speak in at least two 'tongues' ...Danish and English. Another friend, the 'tongues' of English and Spanish. Someone else I know speaks some Klingon, yep, apparently from some Klingon Star Trek Dictionary. Now THAT may go down well as a legit 'tongue' in a Pentecostal church.
Anyway, biblical tongues = known languages. Anything else that cannot be PROVEN to be a language we need to err on the side of caution and call it 'babble'. If others prefer to be fooled or don't care one way or the other, then, of course, that's their prerogative.
Why do you think it never happens in private? I knew of people in my Christian days who practiced speaking in tongues privately. I wasn't pentecostal myself but knew people who were and who found the practice centering and meaningful. You also talk as if only preachers do it. They teach and encourage the laity to do it.
There are psychological reasons why people do all sorts of things that make them feel good. They don't require help from the Holy Spirit.
As a complete outsider of this, (since my childhood church did not have this phenomena) my understanding of it is that, it is the Holy Spirit filling the person and causing them to express themselves in sounds without any limitation.
Someone looking at this phenomena for the first time might think it is just a babble of sound, but is there any meaning in it for others?
It is of no benefit to anyone else.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ocpaul20
What is the point of it?
There is no point.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ocpaul20
What can be gained from a Speaking in Tongues event?
Self-aggrandizing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ocpaul20
What can the person doing the Speaking expect from the other members of the church?
Perhaps envy, i.e., that person is filled with the Holy Spirit and I'm not.
Remedy ...I can be taught.
Next moment: Hey, I can also speak in tongues!
Thanks for the lessons pastor!
Quote:
Originally Posted by ocpaul20
Is it a special even which is talked about in the church for weeks afterwards?
There are psychological reasons why people do all sorts of things that make them feel good. They don't require help from the Holy Spirit.
Sure. I'm not arguing that they are under the influence of a cosmic spook. Just describing what actually is practiced and by whom.
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