Have you ever seen someone "speaking in tongues" and you felt ashamed you were of the same faith as them ?

Answer 1

Thankfully, Jehovah's Witnesses don't speak in tongues. But I have seen other faiths that do and it gives me the creeps just to know that they honestly think that speaking jibberish is holy spirit.

The Scriptures show that the miraculous gifts given to first-century Christians were only temporary in nature. “Love never fails. But whether there are gifts of prophesying, they will be done away with; whether there are tongues, they will cease.” (1 Cor. 13:8) Does the Bible give any indication as to when the gifts would cease? Yes, it does.

Read for yourself the reported cases when the gift of tongues accompanied the outpouring of holy spirit: Acts 2:1-4, 14; 10:44-48; 19:6. You will notice that in every case one or more of the apostles of Jesus Christ were present. According to Acts 8:18, “through the laying on of the hands of the apostles the spirit was given.” Logically, then, with the death of the apostles, the transmitting of the gifts of the spirit, including the gift of tongues, ceased. The gift of tongues had served its purpose. It had been well established that the Christian congregation had God’s favor and backing. Moreover, Christians had grown in number and had been dispersed to many lands, carrying the “good news” with them.—Compare Colossians 1:23.

Answer 2

I've heard people speaking in tongues many times. I can only say that I've actually believed it to be a manifistation of the Holy Spirit once. No sooner had the speaker stopped speaking then a man started inturpreting using exactly the same cadence and repeating words where words had been repeated by the utterer. All other manifistations I can not verify. I have never felt embarresement over it. Sometimes annoyance because it was over the top of a speaker or something which made it out of order but not embarressment.

Since I'm an ultra right wing Fundamentilist so much so that my right wing Fundie friends think I'm a bit right of them I've never belonged to a church where it was practiced. I visit churches all the time and have seen it. Its not for me to judge whether it is real or not. I could feel the moving of the spirit in the one positive example I told above though. Never did any of the other times.

Answer 3

It can be seen from Philippians 1:12-14 that certain events loosen the tongues of God's servants. Paul wrote: "Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear." I have noticed a metaphorical correlation between Christ as the "anointed" and the lipid nature of the blood brain barrier. Paul's circumstance is like an "acting out" (without his conscious direction, and this was the persuasive factor) of his words at 2 Corinthians 10:5: "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." The arguments and pretensions that were being demolished were that jail is for people who are harming others physically, maybe. People know this, but being able to put it into words is another thing.

Speaking in tongues is something that new believers can do. The tongue of a deaf mute Jesus healed "was loosened and he began to speak plainly." (Mark 7:35) Literally, the string (desmon) of his tongue was loosed, meaning a band or bond.

A common myth is that talking about things makes them happen. For this reason, honest communication goes by the wayside. This reminds me of the Pharisaical emphasis on purity and separation. The resurrection-believing Pharisees were more democratic and eclectic than their Sadducee counterparts, who didn't believe in the resurrection. Psalms 22:14-17 shows an interest in bones and Isaiah 65:5 shows an interest in separation on the basis of sacredness. The apostle James reminds us that the tongue cannot be tamed (James 3:8). Verse 14 shows a connection with the activities of the heart.

It was presumably Paul's conduct in jail that made it obvious that he was there for Christ. It reminds me of Isaiah 3:7 - "But in that day he will cry out, "I have no remedy (chabash - to bind up or restrain). I have no food or clothing in my house; do not make me the leader of the people." Instead of food and clothing, the thing that sets free the tongue of taught ones is teaching.

Answer 4

"When only a miracle leads a person to acknowledgment of God and to adoration and piety, he acts from the natural and not the spiritual man. For a miracle infuses belief by an external and not an internal way, thus from the world and not from heaven. The Lord enters man by an internal way, by the Word and by doctrine and preaching from it. As miracles close this way, no miracles are done today" (Divine Providence n. 131).

Man is not brought by external means to think and will, thus to love and believe what pertains to religion, but the man brings himself and compels himself to do so. Self-compulsion is not contrary to rationality and freedom. (Divine Providence n. 129).

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." -- Rev. 3:20 KJV

Miracles do not induce faith. "That miracles are of this nature can be clearly established from those performed in the presence of the people of Judah and Israel. Although they beheld many miracles in the land of Egypt and later at the Red Sea and others in the Wilderness and particularly on Mt. Sinai when the Law was promulgated, nevertheless, in a month's time while Moses tarried on that mountain, they made themselves a golden calf and hailed it as Jehovah who had led them out of the land of Egypt (Ex 32:4-6). Again, it is plain from the miracles done later in the land of Canaan; nevertheless the people fell away time and again from the prescribed worship. It is equally plain from the miracles which the Lord did before their eyes when He was in the world; yet they crucified Him. (Divine Providence n. 132).

Answer 5

Yes and yes. The information is out there for anyone who wants to find it..."speaking in tongues" is translated into "speaking a different language". For instance, I speak english, so to hear someone speak spanish, I'm hearing someone speak in tongue. I'm not understanding what they are saying. It doesnt mean to speak gibberish. And if I learned this, why havent those in my religion all learned it as well? It shows me their ignorance and lack of learning. It is highly embarrassing. Christians get a bad enough rep as it is without a bunch of ignorant people yelling out gibberish like retarded banshee's!

Answer 6

Speaking in tongues goes back to and before the time of Christ. It was said He spoke in tongues when He live by himself when He disappeared when He was twelve. We'll never know.

Whatever a religion a man is, is his business, that's why America is so great, freedom of religion.

Answer 7

The order of the church given by the Word says that tongues and interpretation go hand in hand - that tongues alone are just "banging gongs and clashing cymbals". I agree that when someone starts repetetive tongues without any interpretation out loud in a church service, my first instinct is to head for the nearest exit.

Answer 8

Actual speaking in tongues means speaking in other bonafide languages not this so called gibberish They are just haunted by ghosts or being nonsensical. Don't buy false teachings. For the original teachings of Jesus before king Constantine changed and deleted so many things google gospelofthenazirenes.com For sincere seekers of Jesus original teachings not the so-called Roman Governments version.

Answer 9

I am a Roman Catholic who prays in tongues. It is very freeing as sometimes it is difficult to put into words how you feel and tongues gives you a way to do so.

Answer 10

speaking for all the Catholics here (what the heck, someone has to), since we don't do the whole "speaking in tongues' thing, I would be more afraid. How do you know it's not demonic possession?