Inconsistent Xenoglossy - undermining of the New Testament?

[Pieman333272]

I recently read a work by a man named Ian Stevenson. It was on Xenoglossy (speaking in tongues), and he mentioned something in it that I found odd. He mentioned that some non-Christians, particularly in India, spoke in tongues. Now, I am curious, if these are indeed cases of Xenoglossy, then does that undermine the New Testament cases of Speaking in Tongues? Like, the Apostles doing it after the Resurrection?

 

[The_Sentry]

If God grants an ability to his followers, nothing in the universe can undermine it. Even if such abilities exist, they are distinct from God’s good gifts. And, don’t forget the existence of false signs, such as in Pharaoh’s court against Moses.

 

[bkayw]

When the Apostles and their disciples spoke in tongues, peoples of various nationalities (who spoke different languages) all understood that one language.

That is not what “speaking in tongues” means today. Not only can’t other people understand the meaning of the language being spoken, neither can the person who is speaking in tongues.

 

[PaulDupre]

I have been to Evangelical “revivals” where people crawled around on the floor grunting like pigs and crowed like roosters and talked gibberish that no one understood or interpreted. The pastor called it “praying in the spirit” but to me it looked like mass hysteria, and did not come close to the New Testament accounts of speaking in tongues,

I have actually had legitimate experiences of speaking in tongues. There is no gibberish involved. It is really speaking in a (foreign) language that someone understands so as to communicate a gospel truth that the hearer needs to hear, but the speaker is not equipped to articulate. I did not know what I was saying, but the hearer certainly understood. I still do not know exactly what I said, but I know that I testified of Jesus Christ as savior and God. That is the only legitimate use of tongues.

 

[kweschnz]

it looked like mass hysteria, and did not come close to the New Testament accounts of speaking in tongues,

I have actually had legitimate experiences of speaking in tongues. There is no gibberish involved. It is really speaking in a (foreign) language that someone understands so as to communicate a gospel truth that the hearer needs to hear, but the speaker is not equipped to articulate. I did not know what I was saying, but the hearer certainly understood. I still do not know exactly what I said, but I know that I testified of Jesus Christ as savior and God. That is the only legitimate use of tongues.

 

[Pieman333272]

I have been to Evangelical “revivals” where people crawled around on the floor grunting like pigs and crowed like roosters and talked gibberish that no one understood or interpreted. The pastor called it “praying in the spirit” but to me it looked like mass hysteria, and did not come close to the New Testament accounts of speaking in tongues,

I have actually had legitimate experiences of speaking in tongues. There is no gibberish involved. It is really speaking in a (foreign) language that someone understands so as to communicate a gospel truth that the hearer needs to hear, but the speaker is not equipped to articulate. I did not know what I was saying, but the hearer certainly understood. I still do not know exactly what I said, but I know that I testified of Jesus Christ as savior and God. That is the only legitimate use of tongues.

Interesting happening! And that’s just odd, what happened in the Evangelical Church.

 

[SteveVH]

I have been to Evangelical “revivals” where people crawled around on the floor grunting like pigs and crowed like roosters and talked gibberish that no one understood or interpreted. The pastor called it “praying in the spirit” but to me it looked like mass hysteria, and did not come close to the New Testament accounts of speaking in tongues,

I have actually had legitimate experiences of speaking in tongues. There is no gibberish involved. It is really speaking in a (foreign) language that someone understands so as to communicate a gospel truth that the hearer needs to hear, but the speaker is not equipped to articulate. I did not know what I was saying, but the hearer certainly understood. I still do not know exactly what I said, but I know that I testified of Jesus Christ as savior and God. That is the only legitimate use of tongues.

Well, I just disagree. That is not the only legitimate use of tongues. There are different tongues and different purposes for those tongues. One would be as you describe above.
There are tongues which no one can understand because it is an angelic language used to praise God and cannot be understood by the enemy. It is the Holy Spirit praying through us because “we do not know how to pray as we ought”. There are also prophetic tongues which should not be used unless there is an interpreter present. Still, it is not a human language that is spoken in that instance. What happened at Pentecost was just the opposite of what happened at Babel and was entirely different than other legitimate forms of tongues.