During a religious discussion... my near fiance (non-denom and myself a catholic)said she can speak in tongues

Question

Speaking in Tongues -she mentioned being baptised by the Holy Spirit. I hadn't heard of that phrase before, but her family (siblings and parents) all have done it in the past. I couldn't help by have a hard time digesting that information.

I'm torn with the idea because I'm thinking "why hasn't anyone else I know, how are spiritual, ever have that happen to them?"

I don't even want to bring it up...but sometimes I wonder if her speaking in tongues is a product of deep meditation...and I almost wonder if its babbling ... I don't know what to think.

How do Catholics see this speaking in tongues ... is is something I should strive for? is something wrong with me that I don't or have not...or is something wrong with me because I'm not comfortable with the idea?

ehh...religious frustration right now. (as if work wasn't enough, I come home to work on religion) A good yahoo answer person told me the other day "Using scripture to argue against scripture, sounds a lot like the crusades"

Answer 1

well You need to read the Bible, especially the book of acts first then 1 Corinthians around chapters 13 & 14..
Carismatic Catholics have had these experiences.
There are two types of tongues:
1. When you recieve the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speak with other tongues, and that is between you and God.
2. When you recieve the gift of tongues. You bring a message to the church and it is interpreted by another so they can understand..
All this is a bible study and not easily dealt with on a forum like this.. also many are confused because they are not students of the bible..
Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
1Co 12:10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

Answer 2

*Is Catholic*

It is important to know that many of the gifts of the Holy Spirit can be mimicked by demons. Remember how Pharos’s magicians mimicked the miracles preformed by Moses and Aaron. That is why St. Paul insists that when we see a "gift" that it be tested so that we know if it comes from the Holy Spirit.

Speaking in tongues is easily tested.
1. There is always an accompanying means for interpreting the gift, either somebody who knows the language, or somebody who has a gift of interpretation. If people are just speaking and what is being said cannot be verified in its interpretation, it is not a gift of the Holy Spirit.
2. Truth does not contradict Truth. If what is being said contradicts a matter of the Catholic Faith, it is not from the Holy Spirit.
3. The Holy Spirit acts to fulfill his mission, which is to bring people into the Catholic Church. Is the gift bringing people into the Church, even if in a roundabout way? If not, it is not from the Holy Spirit.

Something that most people do not know. All Bishops have the gift of discernment of spirits. If you need something verified, talk with a Bishop who has been trained by the Church to use this gift. Or he can direct you to another individual who has this gift.

Gifts from God are gifts. They are not something that you should strive for at all. There is nothing wrong with you because you do not have "gifts". Not having "gifts" is normal. True gifts are always extraordinary, but they often come in every day packages. Pope John Paul II was rumored to have the gift of tongues...it is displayed in the shear number of languages that he spoke.

PS: You are Baptised by the Holy Spirit when you are Baptised. There is no other Baptism. The Creed states that we believe in One Baptism. Some people are confused on this matter. At Baptism you have the Holy Spirit.!

Answer 3

My friend, what your fiance and her family is experiencing is very much real. If you read in the book of Acts you will read about the Apostles and the 120 in the upper room, tarrying until they were endowed with power from on High. The Spirit lit upon them and they began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave utterance. The Baptism in the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit is for all even to those that afar off(meaning to those who weren't even born yet). I would say for yourself, find out more and seek the baptism of the Spirit, and in doing so, you will be given power as you have never dreamed of and an experience very much worthwhile to experience.

Answer 4

I was raised Catholic now I go to Life Church…which is a Four Square denomination…many people at my church speak in tongues (including myself and my husband)…it is a VERY common occurrence. However, more than likely the reason you have never heard it in the Catholic church is because God doesn’t Baptize anyone in the Holy Spirit who doesn’t ASK for it. The Catholic Church (and some other denominations) decided way back when that speaking in tongues was not for today, they believe that Baptism in the Holy Spirit was strictly for the disciples when they were evangelizing and that God doesn’t allow it now. However, if you read your Bible, NOWHERE, in there will it say that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is NOT for today. It is an amazing experience. I actually didn’t receive it for a long time because I was so skeptical. I prayed for it over and over again, but finally God said to me, “Why are you asking for this? Because you really want it to gain a closer relationship with me? Or because you want me to PROVE to you that it is real?” When I asked for the Baptism genuinely from my heart, I received it. Basically, what the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is…is a secret prayer language between yourself and God…that only He can understand. The devil cannot understand what you are saying and try to interrupt your prayer…it is just you and God.

Here is something that happened in a sister church of ours…it’s truly amazing…

A Pastor was preaching from the pulpit one Sunday morning. As he preached his message he felt compelled to stop and begin speaking in the spirit. He apologized to his congregation, but told them the Lord wanted him to do this. He began pacing across the stage, speaking in his prayer language, repeating the same thing over and over again. After about a half hour of this a woman stood up and ran to the front of the sanctuary and threw herself at his feet, sobbing. When he was able to console her she told him that her daughter was in Africa, studying a tribe in the jungle. Her daughter was in a location that you had to take a helicopter, then a boat, and then walk for three days to reach the location. While studying her daughter had become ill and it was with a fever that very few people survived. The people who had accompanied her to the jungle location called her mother and told her that her daughter would be dead in two days, that they couldn’t even get her through the walking portion for the journey before she would pass; they would ship her body back to her mother. The woman then told the Pastor that as he was speaking in his prayer language, while others might have just heard something that sounded like gibberish, she was hearing, “Don’t worry, your daughter is healed.” In the native language of the African tribe her daughter was studying…the woman’s daughter had taught her some basics words during their phone conversations. Sure enough the chaperones with her daughter called to inform the woman that her daughter had made a miraculous recovery!

Answer 5

My understanding is that most evidences of speaking in tongues are found in the old testament. My understanding is that the gift still exists today---but that it is a gift that is rare and brings understanding and peace, not confusion or chaos. My pastor explained that there is no evidence or scripture that says people can "LEARN" or achieve this state. It is also a gift that has a specific purpose so for some, it is a one time thing and then goes away. there are churches that push the idea that to achieve the most christ-like state everyone must hear voices, speak in tongues or have other emotional outbursts (even barking or wailing). Although these have some purpose of release for people in deep deep pain, they are not biblical principles. I know many Catholics who are saved---meaning they have invited the holy spirit to control and fill them and also believe in Christ Jesus. If that is the case with y ou and your girlfriend, it may be time for some quiet meditation and prayer for the two of you. God said, where ever two or more are gathered in his name, He would be present. I would begin to pray for understanding. If your gf is following Christ and bible based she will have a hard time finding scripture to back up the tenants of her church....she's been sold a bill of goods (thats not to say that somene in her family can't speak in tongues one of them might----but it is not a skill or an achievement and it would be hard to believe more than one family member had this gift unless they were called to a specific situation on a specific day...... God Bless ..... the bible says....do not be unequally yoked.....I will pray you will find a church the two of you can share....the differences in your practices and beliefs will make a small opening---a place for satan to get a toe-hold----you need to pray on this and make a decision. godly couples are under attack...put on the armour of god in prayer and meditation---and find a church you agree on.

Answer 6

Speaking in tongues is also known as glossolalia and it is a common minor seizure disorder, usually left untreated because of its religious significance. It is heritable and is usually triggered by feelings of intense joy. There is a portion of the frontal lobe called Broca's area, where the elements of speech (roughly syllables) are arranged in proper sequence before they are spoken. EEG tests prove when a person is speaking in tongues there is always a neuro-electric seizure focus in Broca's area. When this occurs, the syllables of the intended speech are disordered. (There is usually an underlying pattern, different for every individual.) Glossolalia sounds like a foreign language, but is really just scrambled English. Digital recordings of glossolalia have been carefully rearranged to reveal the exact words the speaker intended when the glossolalia came pouring out. Because modern seizure control drugs are expensive and often have profound side effects, most people choose to leave their glossolalia untreated. I won't speculate on the religious significance of speaking in tongues.

Answer 7

Hi...I was raised Catholic and never even knew what it meant to be "saved" until I was 20. I also didn't buy the whole tongues thing when I first saw it. I continued on my spiritual journey and am now Penticostal. I am witness to the glory of the holy ghost with the evidence of tongues. Someone recently told me that even if you don't believe in its necessity, you have to acknowledge that it exists, once you have personally witnessed it. Also, I heard that some Catholic nuns, YES Catholic, who were in a closed off area and not exposed to other denominations, recently received the baptism of the Holy Ghost and began speaking in tongues. I would recommend that you attend her church and witness it for yourself. Then, pray about it, and study the Word. What you discover may surprise you, and it may open a whole new world and a deeper level of committment! I will pray for both of you:)

Note** Did you know that the original bible was translated from Hebrew to Greek, then to Latin (by the Catholic church) and then to English (again by the Catholic church)? If you really want to to some serious studying, get a Hebrew-Greek bible and compare it to an english version (even King James). It will blow your mind!

Answer 8

Speaking in tongues is a spiritual gift. I've heard people supposedly doing it before...but I'm not quite sure whether its a gift of the spirit or something they've created themselves.

Either way, we should strive, according to the Bible, to have the greater gifts - such as prophecy (speaking for God) and teaching. The Bible says that speaking in tongues has little use unless someone can translate.

Answer 9

Personally, I wouldn't ask Catholics about anything having to do with Christian worship practices. Speaking in tongues is a gift from God to be used in certain instances such as a private prayer language and in a church gathering "if there is an interpretation of it" for the edification of the body. Tongues without interpretation is of no value except to the person speaking it. Unfortunately, the practice of speaking out in tongues is commonly misused by people attempting to impress others with their spirituality.

Answer 10

The ability to speak in tongues is one of the gifts of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down on the Apostles and blessed them with the Gfts they needed to spread the Good News to all nations.

One of these gifts included the ability to speak in languages they were previously unable to. I mean, how are the Apostles supposed to spread the Word in foreign lands when they cannot even speak the languages. Right?

Obviously, common sense alone shows that not everyone is given the ability to speak tongues. Therefore, it is unfair of your fiance to assume anyone who has not exhibited this ability has not (yet) been touched by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit has several Gifts to bestow. However, He does not give everyone the same amount of the same gifts. Everyone receives a different combination because everyone is given a different Divinely Inspired task to accomplish. The Gifts each person receives from the Holy Spirit are tailored to that person's specific task.

Think of all the people the Bible speaks of being touched by the Holy Spirit - still, there are only four accounts of people speaking in tongues.

Mark 16:17 – right before Jesus ascended into heaven, He prophesied “they will speak in new tongues.”

1 - Acts 2:3 – when the Holy Spirit descended upon the twelve apostles on Pentecost Sunday, they began to speak in tongues. Acts 2:6 says that men from fifteen different nations each heard the apostles speaking in their own language.

2 – Acts 10:44-46 – after Peter preached the gospel, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word, and they (including the Gentiles) began to speak in tongues.

3 – Acts 19:5-6 – after Paul baptized and confirmed about twelve Ephesians, they spoke with tongues.

4 – 1 Cor. 12-14 – Paul teaches that members of the Corinthian church had the gift of speaking in tongues.

In each instance in the book of Acts, tongue speaking is heard as if it is a foreign language. This gift of the Holy Spirit was for the purpose of spreading the gospel to all peoples of the world. Peter supports this view when he equates the Gentile tongue-speaking with the tongue-speaking at Pentecost (which was heard as foreign languages) when he says “the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning” (Acts 11:15).

Your fiancee seems to regard speaking in tongues as if it is some sort of "Holier than Thou" bragging right. I guarantee you nothing good will come from that attitude. I mean, all this assumes your fiancee is actually, really, authentically, speaking in tongues.

While she believes this to be the case, how does she "know" it, and by what authority is she making this claim?

ADDITION: I once knew someone who sounds a lot like your fiancee. I once heard her say, "I really like that guy (a co-worker of hers). It's too bad he's going to hell."
So I asked, "Why is he going to hell?"
She responded, matter-of-factly, "Because he's Jewish!"

You can substitute the word "Jewish" with anything. It still applies, according to this grossly misguided person. Take from that tidit what you will.