Is speaking in tongues just an old saying that means being multilingual?

Question

If it were just gibberish, what good would that be for humanity? Wouldn't that be showing off and vainity?

Answer 1

To be multilingual means that you took the years to learn the language. In Acts, when they spoke, everyone heard the praises in their own language. At the time of Pentecost, there were dozens of languages being spoken. They spoke once, but everyone heard in their own language.

Answer 2

Actually, the gift of "speaking in tongues" was often valued because it was incomprehensible. The idea was that there was more information out there than we could absorb. If you read Paul's letters, he emphasizes the importance of the gift of "interpretation of tongues", so you know not everyone appreciated it for itself.

The "angelic" tongues usually sounded very beautiful, full of open vowels and soft consonants. Who wouldn't want to listen to that, even if you didn't know what was said? It has been suggested that the continuation of Latin in the Christian Mass was due to the barbarian fascination with its angelic purity and lack of harsh gutteral consonants.

These days, we don't like to waste time on setup or irrelevant details. We know the process. Give us the punchline, the bottom line, the gist. Who understands this? Is there useful data here or are we just listening to a carrier wave? It would be great if people could spontaneously speak in useful languages, but what would the content be? What else needs to be communicated? Sometimes the medium is the message.

Are glossalists just performing for attention? Maybe so. We don't want an exercise in nonsense to get out of hand. But maybe, before we jump in, we should listen just for a moment, in case there's something we've missed, some message that doesn't come in on the expected channels. Glossalalia may be a way of teaching us the art of listening.

Answer 3

speaking in tongues is a whole seperate thing than being 'multilingual'...

it is speaking a language you do not know... it is only to be used as a prayer language or when God sends an interpreter when in a group setting. it is only gibberish when used in a group setting when no interpreter is present.. for satan can mimic any of the gifts and use them for his purposes, and that is why God says to have an interpreter when in a group. I have been to services where people are 'showing off' by spewing unknown words out loud to 'prove' they have the gift when to me, it is just garbage pushed on them by satan... but I have also been where the gift is true and it is of God... I believe you need a discerning heart to know the difference... but I've been humbled by God enough to know that thru Him all things are possible even when you least expect them!

Answer 4

this is a maximum hotly debated undertaking on each and every occasion it comes up, and that i've got heard very practically each and every possible argument for and against it. in the beginning this is not any longer a clean phenomenon traditionally speaking. additionally this is not any longer unique to Christianity; many different spiritualistic, esoteric communities exhibit the phenomenon specific extremely some varieties of African based spiritism which continues to be appreciably practiced at present in places like Haiti. additionally it became into between the hallmarks of the charismatic flow in the late 60-70's while human beings from diverse denominations who otherwise would not worship collectively chanced on cohesion around this phenomenon. besides this is unquestionably regular that the prepare is extremely addictive and likewise establishes some form of religious score among people who seem favorably upon it. The United Pentecostal church homes working example have self assurance which you will't be saved except one speaks in tongues—with the objective to many this is a “salvation requirement.” in actuality there continues to be plenty dispute if the tongues that the apostles spoke have been easily regular languages of the time, for the needs of speaking the message, or no count if it became right into a non-language gibberish as is maximum regularly heard in Pentecostal circles at present. i be responsive to of a minimum of a number of cases the place recordings have been made and later analyzed and a minimum of in one case in specific the place the language uttered became into certainly a sort of Latin and the words themselves a sort of demonic casting of spells. this is often extra basic among the decrease socioeconomic training even however no longer completely so. some say that this is a ‘heavenly language’ which looks to show this is by some potential very such as a sort of mantra with comparable outcomes upon practitioners. i'm very skeptical when you consider that various the severe profile religious celebrities scandals have in contact human beings who communicate in tongues: Bakker, Swaggart, Bynum, White, on and on……

Answer 5

In the Biblical sense, the gift of tongues was that a person would speak in their own native language but yet be understood by all listeners in their particular native languages. The gift of interpretation was that a person would hear in their own native language that which was spoken in any language.

In short, the gift of tongues and interpretation was a revocation of the Curse of Babel for God's greater glory.

Tongues never was, and still is not, the gibberish and glossolalia often heard in charismatic churches.

Answer 6

I personally think that people in trance (like the voodooun priest/esses) do utter certain unintelligible things. I do no think that it is "being filled with the Holy Spirit", rather, it's a hypnotic state. Pentacostals are something else entirely.

I also think the story of the Tower of Babel and the mixing of the tongues of man was a metaphor explaining all the differing laguages of the earth.

Answer 7

Yeah! and why do so few glossolalics find they can write in tongues, I guess it would bviously be gibberish and could be checked too easily.
(I may have made up the word "glossolalic" or maybe I was writing in tongues)

Answer 8

My brother who is a very conservative millionaire.who doesn't believe something unless he sees it.said he was at a church once where they spoke in tongue's and he said he begin speaking in a language he didn't understand and a women their could translate what he said .my brother is not the type to have been lead into doing that,. he was just sitting there.he said and he just started talking.

Answer 9

I think most people see "speaking in toungues" as a person speaking in a language that they do not actually know.

if its just gibberish thats stupid.

but if someone speaks things that actually make sense, in a language they've never even heard... well that seems rather signifigant don't you think?

Answer 10

speaking in tongues is a heavenly language that you speak to God personally or for the betterment of the church that is when the spirit speaks through the people and they need an intersessor to interpret to the church I Cor.12:10(speaks and interprets)Romans 8:26(spirit makes intersession)