But i also believe that it is greatly misunderstood and that the experience that is commonly called such, is BS, and a phenomenon that is the result of people working themselves into a frenzy while in an environment of mild mass hysteria, until finally manifesting a release by speaking gibberish and validating the same experience by passing the whole affair off to being a divine manifestation.
I have family that are Pentecostal. I dated a girl in high school whom was a member of the Church of God organization. I have witnessed the experience noted above first hand.
So, how do I discredit it while still proclaiming to believe in the "Gift of Tongues"?
As I said, it is greatly misunderstood, and the experience noted above IS NOT THE GIFT OF TONGUES!
I came to believe in the Gift of Tongues (yes, taking place in our modern era) not in any Charasmatic Churches (a.k.a. Pentecostal, Church of God, Freewill Baptist, etc. etc.), but rather in the quite reserved "Indpendant Fundamental Baptist" movement in the 1980s.
While attending the First Baptist Church of Hammond Indiana (then called the World's Largest Church...30,000 attending each week), and also Hyles-Anderson Bible College which was sponsored by the Church, there were two notable events that helped me understand what 'THE GIFT OF TONGUES" truly is, and what it "IS NOT."
One of the school's proffesors, Bill McSpadden was in West Chicago one Saturday afternoon, visiting families who ride his bus route on Sundays and visiting new families trying to evangelize the message of Christ.
He did not speak Spanish, and so he took one of his Hispanic bus kids with him to make the rounds each week, to have an interpreter.
He was visiting a new family he had not met before, and started "witnessing" to them, giving them the message of salvation commonly called "The Roman's Road." As he was going through the message speaking to the family, he noticed first that the family started shaking thier heads as he spoke as if understanding him. Then he noticed that the bus kid he took with him, stopped speaking, stopped translating. He continued in giving the message without breaking stride, and the family continued acknowledging him. After he finished and the family prayed with him, the bus kid started translating again, and he turned to him and asked the bus kid, "Why did you stop translating when I was witnessing to the family?" The kid answered, "Because you started speaking Fluent Spanish." McSpadden stated, "No I did not!" The Kid said, "Yes, you did!" and turned to the family, who confirmed they heard McSpadden speaking fluent Spanish.
Another instance like this occurred at First Baptist Church, following a sermon at which point the alter call was given, and a Chinese Merchant Marine visiting the church walked forward during the alter call. Several people tried to communicate with him, and someone sent for a Chinese interpreter as none were present. One female worker started speaking to the man and he acknowledge her and after praying "the Sinner's prayer", an interpreter arrived. The man claimed the Worker started speaking fluent Chinese.
The worker denied such, as she only spoke English.
In both these cases, the worker and McSpadden each spoke in English,and heard themselves speaking in English...but the people they were speaking to, "HEARD IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE."
The gift of Tongues is in essence a REVERSE EFFECT of what transpired at the TOWER OF BABEL. IT is a bridge to the language barrier, and is as much a miracle on the part of the "Hearer" as it is the "Speaker."
If you read the new Testament regarding what occurred at Pentecost with the Gift of Tongues...it never says the speaker SPOKE a different language, it says that when they spoke, ‘EVERY MAN HEARD IN HIS OWN LANGUAGE!” SO let’s say the speaker is English. And lets say, in audience to the speaker is an Itlalian, a Spaniard who speaks Spanish and Kenyan, a Mongol who speaks Mongolian and Russian, a Russian who speaks both Russian and French and a native of Kenya who speaks Kenyan and Swahili.
Upon speaking the same sentence…the speaker would hear himself speaking English, while simultaneously those in audience would respectively hear in their own tounges the words just spoken, in Italian, Spanish, Mongolian, Russian and Kenyan. There may be excitement among those speaking more than one language upon finding others heard a different language than they did, but even they would have heard in their native tongues the Italian hearing Italian, the Spaniard hearing Spanish, the Mongol hearing Mongolian, the the Russian hearing Russian, and the Kenyan hearing Kenyan. Upon corresponding with one another after, there would be excitement as each would proclaim to have heard the speaker speaking their own native language, and by comparison would realize the same words spoken in one language, were heard in many tongues (languages). But all in attendance would have recognized the words spoken by the speaker as they were spoken and immediately understood their meaning!
So, the Gift of Tongues is:
1) Not Gibberish…
2) Not CONFUSION
3) A miracle taking place on the part of all HEARING, and not the SPEAKER only.
4) Indeed a divine manifestation, a bridge to the language barrier, and a reverse effect of what
transpired at the Tower of Babel when scripture notes the Language was first confounded from one
language into many.
5) Still happening in Modern times, but far, far more rare an event than the “Gibberish” false phenomenon
Claimed to be the actual “Gift of Tongues.”
So I must both agree and disagree with the assertion that the Gift of Tongues is BS!....
As what is commonly passed off as such, is certainly BS, and a false Phenomenon spreading confusion and drawing away attention from the fact that the "REAL DEAL" does in fact exist, is not BS, and while Rare, still occurs in modern times.
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