What exactly is happening to someone speaking in tongues?

Answer 1

Glossolalia is fabricated, meaningless speech.

According to Dr. William T. Samarin, professor of anthropology and linguistics at the University of Toronto,

glossolalia consists of strings of meaningless syllables made up of sounds taken from those familiar to the speaker and put together more or less haphazardly .... Glossolalia is language-like because the speaker unconsciously wants it to be language-like. Yet in spite of superficial similarities, glossolalia fundamentally is not language (Nickell, 108).

When spoken by schizophrenics, glossolalia are recognized as gibberish. In charismatic Christian communities glossolalia is sacred and referred to as "speaking in tongues" or having "the gift of tongues." In Acts of the Apostles, tongues of fire are described as alighting on the Apostles, filling them with the Holy Spirit. Allegedly, this allowed the Apostles to speak in their own language but be understood by foreigners from several nations.

Glossolalics behave in various ways, depending on the social expectations of their community. Some go into convulsions or lose consciousness; others are less dramatic. Some seem to go into a trance; some claim to have amnesia of their speaking in tongues. All believe they are possessed by the Holy Spirit and the gibberish they utter is meaningful. However, only one with faith and the gift of interpretation is capable of figuring out the meaning of the meaningless utterances. Of course, this belief gives the interpreter unchecked leeway in "translating" the meaningless utterances. Nicholas Spanos notes: "Typically, the interpretation supports the central tenets of the religious community" (Spanos, 147).

Uttering gibberish that is interpreted as profound mystical insight by holy men is an ancient practice. In Greece, even the priest of Apollo, god of light, engaged in prophetic babbling. The ancient Israelites did it. So did the Jansenists, the Quakers, the Methodists, and the Shakers.

There is evidence that while speaking in tongues people experience a sharp decrease in frontal lobe function, the area of the brain that enables reason and self-control. There is also increased activity in the parietal region of the brain, which takes sensory information and tries to create a sense of self relating to the world. Psychiatrist Andrew Newberg, Director of the Center for Spirituality and the Mind at the University of Pennsylvania, studied five African-American Pentecostal women who frequently speak in tongues. As a control activity, Newberg had the women sing gospel tunes while moving their arms and swaying.*

Newberg gave the Pentecostals an intravenous injection of a radioactive tracer that allowed him to measure blood flow and "see" which brain areas were most active during the behaviors. Newberg and his associates published their findings in the November 2006 issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging. During glossolalia, the part of the brain than normally makes a person feel in control was essentially shut down. The findings make sense, says Newberg, because speaking in tongues involves giving up control and feeling a "very intense experience of how the self relates to God."*

Newberg noted that the glossolalia responses were the opposite of those of people in a meditative state. When people meditate their frontal lobe activity increases, while their parietal activity decreases. In meditation, one loses the sense of self while controlling one's focus and concentration.

The Pentecostal movement seems to have originated in the 19th century,* although the Biblical basis for the practice is traced to the Acts of the Apostles. The practice of Pentecostals differs, however, from what is described in Acts. Pentecostals utter gibberish and claim that they are speaking in a language understood by God but not by other Pentecostals, but in Acts we are told that those present not only spoke "with other tongues" but "every man heard them speak in his own language."

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. [Acts II; 1-11]

This story is supposed to support the notion that such an event really did occur and it was prophesied by Joel that this kind of thing would happen in the last days. There is nothing in Joel, however, that prophesied that, when the last days didn't come as predicted, plan B would be to wait 1900 years and have a revival and claim that when you speak gibberish it is a sign that God loves you.

Answer 2

I doubt any individual right here shall be in a position to pin factor what precisely occurred to you, it is going to were the holy spirit connecting via you in some way that only some enjoy. It will have a been divine connection or a miracle. It will have been the endorphins kicking in or your brain used to be fried as a result of all of the strain inflicting a second of misunderstanding. It would of been whatever and it's as much as you climate it used to be a divine second or a neurological, human second. It all relies climate you are a believer that any person available in the market is watching out for you otherwise you think it used to be natural accident and being over burdened.

Answer 3

In the bible, the 'gift of tongues' meant that anyone could understand your speech, no matter what language they spoke. For example, someone who had the 'gift of tongues' could be speaking to a crowd in Greek, and people who DID NOT UNDERSTAND Greek would hear and understand the speaker as if he were speaking in their own language... just like the 'babblefish' in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

Somewhere along the line, Christians got the idea that if they babbled incoherently, they were 'speaking in tongues'... and being touched by the Holy Spirit. It is actually just hysteria-induced gibberish... and self-delusion.

Of course, just like the 'babblefish', this is pure nonsense. It was nonsense in biblical times... it is nonsense now... it will still be nonsense tomorrow.

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Answer 4

You have a large group of people working each other up into a frenzy of emotion, until it reaches such a pitch that regular language can no longer express the feeling, and they break out in fits of hysterical babbling.

Answer 5

it is easy to see from those who answered w/ sarcasim & unbelief, that they are NOT filled w/ God's Spirit...
or even believe that it is real.
which means they are not born again according to acts 2:38.
very sad.

speaking in tongues is a language... earthly or heavenly that you speak when God fills you w/ His Spirit.

Jesus spoke of being filled w/ the Spirit in John 3.

in jn.3:5, Jesus said, "Except a man be born of water AND of the SPIRIT, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."

in vs. 8, Jesus said "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: SO IS EVERY ONE THAT IS BORN OF THE SPIRIT."

Jesus spoke of it again in jn. 7:38-39 ...
"He that believeth on me, AS THE SCRIPTURE HATH SAID, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him SHOULD receive:
for the Holy Ghost was not yet given;
because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)"

as you can see from vs. 39, the infillng is NOT automatic at baptism, as some think.
it is a separate experience.

Jesus said if you believe "as the scriture hath said", THEN "rivers of living water" ... the Holy Ghost .... shall flow out of you like living (speaking) water.
how are you to believe "as the scriptures hath said"??

peter tells us in acts 2:38...
"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

Jesus said, "I AM the resurrection & the life." (jn.11:25).
Jesus said He was the resurrection b/c w/o His Spirit, your body CANNOT rapture to heaven.

paul warned, "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." (rom.8:9)

w/o the infilling of God's Spirit your body won't change from mortal to immortal, then rapture.....

"IF the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you."

stephen had this to say about those who had unbelief about receiving the Holy Ghost & speaking in tongues...

"Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost:
as your fathers did, so do ye." (acts 7:51)

paul was glad he was filled w/ God's Spirit & spoke in tongues regularly ....

"I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all" (1 cor. 14:18)

paul also instructed ....

"forbid not to speak with tongues." (1 cor. 14:39)

paul had this to say about those not filled w/ God's Spirit & that they don't understand .... & they won't understand ....

"But the natural man (those who do NOT have the Holy Ghost) receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God:
for they are foolishness unto him:
neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

in 2 tim. 3:1-7, Paul said these are people who have ...

"a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: (they deny the Spirit)
from such turn away."

these are people who are...
"Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

this is Bible.... not made up... not twisted..... & definitely not left out!!
in fact, this is all through the Bible.

ARE YOU GOING TO ARGUE W/ THE WORD OF GOD???????

Answer 6

Ya Ba Dab Ah Goola Jabba Goola Shula Jabba. How was that?

Answer 7

Allow me to demonstrate.

Gog sobs tob liyt en flos gotoo. Bork bin sob trit en boob. Der soopin lop top blob doog. Bet wert gret bin sar dinnie.

Answer 8

Retardism

Answer 9

Now days they use the term "charismatic". I had a sister-in-law and a mother-in-law that were charismatic.

Answer 10

eveyone speaks in tongues i mean i bet you speak the english TOUNGUE