Your opinion about speaking in tongues...

[allieisme]

What do you all think of this..

My husband and I both heard from a previous church we went to, that if you speak in tongues, you do not have the gift of interrpertaion (?) at the same time... But since have found out, at the new church we have been going to.. That the pastor has both gifts, and he knows who is supposed to interpret the message and if that person doesnt that he gives the message. And have heard people back that up by saying that if you are truly submissive to God in all that you do, He will give you all of the gifts not just one..

What do you think.. Do you think thats impossible to speak and interpret the same message?

 

[Freodin]

Is this "gift of interpretation" an ability to "translate" such an uttering, or something else?

 

[allieisme]

yes..sorry bout confusing you... I dont think what I was thinking in my head came out the same way

 

[Freodin]

Oh, I understood you quite well. But I am not familiar with these concepts, so I had to ask.

Another question to deepen my understanding.

Is this "gift of interpretation" constant, or is it granted by God only on certain occasions?

 

[Soul_Searcher]

Hi allieisme,

The whole speaking in tounges thing has been debated forever. Personally, I prefer one tongue, the one who said, "Love God with your whole heart, mind, soul and strength; love your neighbor as yourself. Upon these two commandments stand all the laws of the prophets."

It does sound like your preacher likes to put on a good show, but what does it have to do with Jesus and Loving God and one another? How does his speaking and/or interpreting 'tongues' impact the way you live your life and treat others and show God's love through your actions?

Tell you what; pick a verse from the Gospels, such as "do not judge" and act on that verse every day for a week. See what happens. Or contemplate the story of the Prodigal Son or the Good Samaritan (for examples) all day Sunday and then observe yourself and others during the week and see how your and their actions reflect or diverge from the parable you choose.

In other words, let Jesus speak to you alone, and incorporate what he said into your life; don't let ANYONE tell you what God wants you to do, and don't let any preacher's antics divert you from the message of Love Jesus left us with.

 

[LightBearer]

Soul_Searcher:

Excellent sentiments and well said.

 

[Chobo Char]

I had gone to church with my friend who is a charismatic pentecostal and people there were speaking in tounges; it was the first time I had ever heard it. I didn't quite know what to make of it.

 

[Lanakila]

What does this topic have to do with Apologetics though?

 

[HeatherJay]

I do not go to a charismatic church, but from what I understand from others who have attended such churches...it's not exactly speaking in tongues. Some are given the gift of speaking a 'prayer language' while others are gifted with interpreting this language. From my understanding, though, there are rules for such occurrances. One is that the people must be known to the church as having the gift, and it is only these people that may use it...not the random joe. Also, if the speaker is given a message, it's not to be delivered unless the interpretor is present...otherwise it's to be kept quiet. I have no idea if a person can be given both gifts, but I'm thinking no...otherwise how could anyone count them as credible? I really don't know much about this, but this is my understanding.

Love, Heather

 

[Arthur Dietrich]

I don't have a source b/c I heard it on TV...but this man said people speaking in tongues today are faking because "God has already said what he has to say to his people"

Or something like that. His words, not mine.

 

[allieisme]

Hi allieisme,


It does sound like your preacher likes to put on a good show, but what does it have to do with Jesus and Loving God and one another? How does his speaking and/or interpreting 'tongues' impact the way you live your life and treat others and show God's love through your actions?

Usually when He speaks and/or interprets it is about the message that we are talking about that day in service. It has/could impact my life, if I fully agree with the message that was given.(If that makes sense too)

Tell you what; pick a verse from the Gospels, such as "do not judge" and act on that verse every day for a week. See what happens. Or contemplate the story of the Prodigal Son or the Good Samaritan (for examples) all day Sunday and then observe yourself and others during the week and see how your and their actions reflect or diverge from the parable you choose.

I do need to learn more on judging others.. I tend to do that with everyone I meet, and get real defensive sometimes, and automatically could not like them, and then in time, they could be my best friend.. so judging others is definitely on my list to keep up with.

In other words, let Jesus speak to you alone, and incorporate what he said into your life; don't let ANYONE tell you what God wants you to do, and don't let any preacher's antics divert you from the message of Love Jesus left us with.

I dont think my pastor diverts anyone from the message given, then again, I could have some pretty good shades on, and that actually frightens me to think, that a pastor is doing something out of context. Thank you for your advice, it will be well taken and remembered.

 

[allieisme]

Oh, I understood you quite well. But I am not familiar with these concepts, so I had to ask.

Another question to deepen my understanding.

Is this "gift of interpretation" constant, or is it granted by God only on certain occasions?

In my opinion and this is what I think... It is granted on certain occasions, where God is always welcome.. I dont know, it seems like when someone is giving the message whether the interpretation has gone on yet, I can totally feel a presence of God in the room.

 

[allieisme]

I do not go to a charismatic church, but from what I understand from others who have attended such churches...it's not exactly speaking in tongues. Some are given the gift of speaking a 'prayer language' while others are gifted with interpreting this language.

Speaking a "prayer language" is different from what i'm talking about.. When someone is praying and it is the "prayer language" (using quotes because you did they are speaking through in Spirit. What I'm talking about is when like the room could be dead silent and there is a message from God, not necessarily while you are praying..~~Does that make sense, I could try to explain it better, try being the key word, because everything sounds good in my head, but when i start typing.. I'm like "what?"

From my understanding, though, there are rules for such occurrances. One is that the people must be known to the church as having the gift, and it is only these people that may use it...not the random joe.

This I have not heard before...

Also, if the speaker is given a message, it's not to be delivered unless the interpretor is present...otherwise it's to be kept quiet. I have no idea if a person can be given both gifts, but I'm thinking no...otherwise how could anyone count them as credible? I really don't know much about this, but this is my understanding.

Credible? That is exactly what I was getting at!
In a sense it cant be proved at all, unless you have so much faith and belief in your Church and in the word, and what comes from God.

 

[allieisme]

What does this topic have to do with Apologetics though?

Umm.. I dunno.. Feel free to move it, I wasnt sure where to put it, and it looks like I chose the wrong thread.. Sorry bout that.

 

[LightBearer]

The gift of tongues was given for a valid and very practical reason to the early Christian Congregation

Acts 1:8 but YOU will receive power when the holy spirit arrives upon YOU, and YOU will be witnesses of me both in Jerusalem and in all Ju·de´a and Sa·mar´i·a and to the most distant part of the earth.

First. It proved that God was using the new Christian congregation and no longer the Jewish congregation.

Second. It enabled these ones to speak about “the magnificent things of God” in the native tongues of the Jews and proselytes who had come to Jerusalem from faraway places for the observance of the festival.

Third. It enabled them to spread the Good News quickly across the then known civilized world. Yes, the gift of tongues proved very helpful to first-century Christians in preaching to those who spoke other languages. Of course, this is completely unnecessary today.

 

[allieisme]

So LightBearer.. do you think God uses people to speak to the church through speaking in tongues, or not since you dont think it is "completely unnecessary today".
So then~~If thats the case, and I'm not trying to argue, I promise, just trying to understand what others think...
Why would God just decide.. oops ok enough time has elapsed with speaking in tongues.. I do not need someone to speak for me in a church where I am welcomed.. Basically what Im asking is, why do you think it is completely unecessary today? I read what you wrote, but can you elaborate more on why you think that?

 

[HeatherJay]

Well, even though I'm not a member of a charismatic congregation, I do believe that God can do anything He wants. And I do believe that God does still speak to His people today. Like my signature says God is no less today than He was the day He spoke the worlds into orbit. I think God comes to each of us in a way that will best get the message across to each individual. And churches that do practice speaking in tongues and that kind of thing are no more or less passionate about God than a church that sits quietly and listens to the Word. I think God helps us find a place where we are most comfortable. And even though I don't attend such a church, I very much believe that it's a gift from God. I think that you should probably be cautious though about what your preacher is doing. I would say if you feel the presence of God, then you're probably right

Love, Heather

 

[WinAce]

For a secular, scientific perspective on "speaking in tongues", a.k.a. glossolalia, see this webpage.

If you want, do a double-blind test. Record a speaker shouting off his pseudo-mutterings with a videocamera or tape recording, then have several interpreters independently translate.

Then compare the results to see if they translated the same output, indicating a real language, or wildly contradicted each other's interpretation of the speaker's words, indicating the Rorsach ink blot effect (called pareidolia).

 

[NotTroy]

I personally agree with LightBearer on this one. I believe that it was a gift given to the early Christians to help them spread the Gospel. I do not believe that using a "prayer language" is a real gift given by the Holy Spirit because if it is, it is a very impractical gift. Why send a message in some strange language and then maybe have someone interpret it? On the other hand, the gift of prophecy is real and is much more practical. If your going to send a message, just have the messanger speak normally so that everyone can understand it.

I don't want to offend any Charismatic Christians here. My opinion is just that, an opinion and I may very well be wrong. In the long run it is not a very important topic of debate and I don't mind going to Charismatic churches, I just feel a little odd when the whole prayer language thing starts up, heh.

 

[HeatherJay]

My pastor did tell us a story once about one of his colleagues in bible college. His friend went to a charismatic church and during the service he rattled of a bunch of Greek (the language, not a figure of speech) as though it were given to him by God. It was then interpretted as God's message by the interpretor present. Of course the interpretation was wrong, and the kid came back smug in his knowledge that speaking in tongues and prayer language was all a sham. I think, and my pastor agreed and rebuked his friend, that it's a terrible thing to go into God's house and try to trick the congregation or God Himself. I think if you go into such a thing with the purpose of proving it wrong, you'll probably get the results you're looking for. Only because God does not play petty games with us and if our motive is to use such a sacred thing against the church, then why would God give us the proof we so desire? Anyway, just a little more of my opinion on the subject

Love, Heather