Speaking in Tongues/Languages

At the Pentecaust, people speaking many different languages were able to recieve the Gospel. Remember that cloven tongues of fire (expression for flames?) touched their foreheads, and I have yet to see that occur at the local Pentecostal church or to mystics who claim to be speaking to familiars in their own special language.

In my experience, upon having faith that it is occuring, different languages begin to sound like my own. Having asked for wise words to share, I speak normally, but am heard differently.

Paul instructs against disturbances in the church and advises that it is better for there to be a translator if this is to be edifying to more than the speaker. For Christians, even dancing at the proper time is encouraged (!), but it is Biblically unacceptable to be throwing a fit.

I generally follow the teachings of Saint John of the Cross in such matters. I believe he would say that God often gives men gifts, which may, in fact hurt both them and others. I would think of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, a guru who was able to do wonders, but whose free-sex ashram became a center for criminal activities.

The moral is that one should be careful with what one asks for. There are no real guarantees that one will not fall into self-deception.

I must admit that I've never seen why this might be desirable or useful.

In my experience beings have told me to do things and say things that I did not know why, randomish type things, that after doing them I got the sense that it had somehow proved something about me, good or bad, due to the nature of what I did or said. So speaking in tongues may be one way to help the speaker or other people. Another thing is the bringing of information from one planet to another, or from one mind to another, to create a sort of physical/verbal "witness" that judges something or someone. I believe all things God does to be practical and so therefore I don't believe that the speaking in tongues would be beneficial just to the speaker, I believe it would help others as well.

I'd like to add though that in most cases, especially with truly christ-inspired speech, I doubt that it is harmful to the speaker or anyone else.

That's my take on it.

I must admit that I've never seen why this might be desirable or useful.

In my experience beings have told me to do things and say things that I did not know why, randomish type things, that after doing them I got the sense that it had somehow proved something about me, good or bad, due to the nature of what I did or said. So speaking in tongues may be one way to help the speaker or other people. Another thing is the bringing of information from one planet to another, or from one mind to another, to create a sort of physical/verbal "witness" that judges something or someone. I believe all things God does to be practical and so therefore I don't believe that the speaking in tongues would be beneficial just to the speaker, I believe it would help others as well.

I'd like to add though that in most cases, especially with truly christ-inspired speech, I doubt that it is harmful to the speaker or anyone else.

That's my take on it.

A fuller quotation is in order...

Most Christian religions when they experience "the gift of tongues" are talking about some weird language or nonsensical babbling which spontaneously comes upon them. I must admit that I've never seen why this might be desirable or useful.

I think the operative phrase is "weird language or nonsensical babbling." But even so, Saint Paul allows for interpretation.

When I was a child we went to a Latin liturgy. I hated the idea. Then they went to English. It was a wonderful change.

Since then, I have had time to reflect. I suppose the Holy Spirit was speaking to us through the gift of tongues.

Over the past 20 years I have attended liturgies in Slavonic, Old Syriac (Aramaic -- the language Jesus spoke), Arabic, Greek, Armenian, Spanish, English and even Latin. For the past six months or so, I have been attending a liturgy in Malayalam, the language of Kerala, India.

And God's Holy Spirit has spoken to me in each of those tongues.

When I was a child we went to a Latin liturgy. I hated the idea. Then they went to English. It was a wonderful change.

Since then, I have had time to reflect. I suppose the Holy Spirit was speaking to us through the gift of tongues.

Over the past 20 years I have attended liturgies in Slavonic, Old Syriac (Aramaic -- the language Jesus spoke), Arabic, Greek, Armenian, Spanish, English and even Latin. For the past six months or so, I have been attending a liturgy in Malayalam, the language of Kerala, India.

And God's Holy Spirit has spoken to me in each of those tongues.

And more recently, I have discovered that there is an Ethiopian Church that meets nearby. I am not really sure what language they use. Historically, of course, they used Ge'ez. In any event, their liturgy is quite impressive...

[CFTraveler]

When I was a child we went to a Latin liturgy. I hated the idea. Then they went to English. It was a wonderful change.

Since then, I have had time to reflect. I suppose the Holy Spirit was speaking to us through the gift of tongues.

Over the past 20 years I have attended liturgies in Slavonic, Old Syriac (Aramaic -- the language Jesus spoke), Arabic, Greek, Armenian, Spanish, English and even Latin. For the past six months or so, I have been attending a liturgy in Malayalam, the language of Kerala, India.

And God's Holy Spirit has spoken to me in each of those tongues.

A few years ago (like 20, I'm older than I think) I attended mass given to the children of Medugorge, which happened to be visiting. Before the service, they preached in romanian (I believe) and then had their daily vision. During their speech, I could swear I could understand every word they were saying. People said that it was because romanian and spanish are both romantic languages so have common roots. But I don't understand portugese, that never did wash with me. I always thought that the Holy Spirit was translating for me, or that I had temporarily received (what I thought to be) the gift of tongues.

[ScottF]

First thank you all for this discussion. I prayed about my tongues and the answer i received was that my souls higher self is speaking. Then i asked why and the reply was that it is like a tuning fork to tune us into the God frequency of our higher self. Blessing to all!
Scott

[ButterflyWoman]

Wow, this is a really old thread! It's been silent since before I ever came here (which is probably why I've never seen it).

Just for interest, speaking in tongues (glossolalia) is also very useful for inducing a trance state, much like a mantra. The Apostle Paul was certainly a big fan of it, and he was a pretty metaphysical guy (he also had out of body experiences, amongst other interesting things).