Praying in tongues/speaking/and movements?

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I’m sorry about my last thread I started. It was “was Martin Luther evil?”. I should have worded it differently I’m sorry if it offended anyone.

Well I’m 17,and I’ve been Catholic for about a year. I got confirmation,baptized,and communion last year. My mom was born,and raised Protestant,and my dad a craddle Catholic. He came back to the church got my mom curious about it. Eventually all my family converted. Well on topic to the thread title.

I’ve been together with a girl for almost 2 years now. She goes to a non denominational church. But it practices speaking in tongue,but also baptist and other churches ideas. I was wondering why is there speaking in tongue?where in the bible?why do they do it ect…? I’ve talked to her about it,and it always sounds like rubbish to me like a joke. Sometimes there church members get up,and do weird ritual looking movements. I’ve looked up different bible verses that deals with speaking in tongue,and it doesn’t add up at all. So someone please explain in detail.
 
Ok I understand it’s Pentecostal teaching,but why would that church give it a non demomantional title? I guess to look more appealing to people?

But is talking in tongues fake? Made up jibberish?
 
CatholicNUFC said:
Ok I understand it’s Pentecostal teaching,but why would that church give it a non demomantional title? I guess to look more appealing to people?

But is talking in tongues fake? Made up jibberish?
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Huh, what do you mean by title?

Speaking in tongues is real, it is in the Bible, but should always be discerned carefully.
 
Gifts of the Holy Spirit, which can include speaking in tongues (and several other gifts as well), are clearly mentioned by Saint Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 and 1 Corinthians 14. They are briefly mentioned in the Letter to the Hebrews, as well. However, their first appearance is in Acts 2 at the Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descened upon the Apostles, giving them the ability to speak in foreign tongues.

That being said, Saint Paul also says that, of the Spirit’s gifts, it is more desireable that one have the gift of prophecy, since it is used mainly for the building up of the Church. Tongues is useful only if someone present can interpret what is being said. Most tongue-speaking Christian groups today seem to lack lack this, and therefore seek speaking in tongues only as a physical manifestation of the Spirit. This can actually be a mis-use of the gift.

That being said, there is a charismatic movement within Catholicism, as well. It is not the effect of protestant influence upon the Church, but is actually a return to the use of the Holy Spirit’s gifts which we received at our Baptism and Confirmation. BTW, the Sacrament of Confirmation and the gifts of the Holy Spirit can be read about in the bible, too. Have a look at** Acts 8:14-17, Acts 9:17-19**, and Acts 19:1-7. Note that the laying on of hands was instrumental in Saint Paul’s conversion to the faith. Here is a link which will help explain the movement. Here is a link which explains the often misunderstood and criticized “baptism in the Holy Spirit”. I have undergone this baptism (which is not a Sacrament) and can tell you that it absolutely lit my faith on fire. It is like night and day.
 
Where is all the verses talking about it? And the title like the denomination as baptist,Methodist,Ect

Ok but not everyone could have the gift. Honestly I have a hard time believing in speaking in tongues. So many churches use it today even with out a translator/interpreter. What if that persons lying?or if it’s all just for show?
 
I have two friends who pray in tongues who are very devout Catholics. I have prayed seperately with each of them, and each spoke quite differently from the other, and I did not understand the language of either, but there was no doubt of the sincerity of their prayer. Tongues is spoken of in Scripture as one of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. I may not have the gift, but I can respect those who believe they have.
 
PattiDay said:
I have two friends who pray in tongues who are very devout Catholics. I have prayed seperately with each of them, and each spoke quite differently from the other, and I did not understand the language of either, but there was no doubt of the sincerity of their prayer. Tongues is spoken of in Scripture as one of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. I may not have the gift, but I can respect those who believe they have.
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At the time could speaking in tongues meant speaking a different language. Like someone from Egypt preaching to someone from Venice. They both speak two completely different languages,but the preaching of god gets translated in there language. Not actual gibberish or words of no meaning.
 
CatholicNUFC said:
I’m sorry about my last thread I started. It was “was Martin Luther evil?”. I should have worded it differently I’m sorry if it offended anyone.

Well I’m 17,and I’ve been Catholic for about a year. I got confirmation,baptized,and communion last year. My mom was born,and raised Protestant,and my dad a craddle Catholic. He came back to the church got my mom curious about it. Eventually all my family converted. Well on topic to the thread title.

I’ve been together with a girl for almost 2 years now. She goes to a non denominational church. But it practices speaking in tongue,but also baptist and other churches ideas. I was wondering why is there speaking in tongue?where in the bible?why do they do it ect…? I’ve talked to her about it,and it always sounds like rubbish to me like a joke. Sometimes there church members get up,and do weird ritual looking movements. I’ve looked up different bible verses that deals with speaking in tongue,and it doesn’t add up at all. So someone please explain in detail.
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I’m going to let other responders answer in detail. I think it’s cool that you became a Catholic a year ago! Here’s the basics. Speaking in tongues is what happened to the Apostles at the Feast of Pentecost. Make sure you get to Mass to hear the readings on Pentecost next month! Some protestants believe INCORRECTLY that speaking in tongues is evidence of salvation or evidence of the Holy Spirit. That is not biblical.

Other protestant denominations believed that tongues was given to the Apostles but the gifts of the Holy Spirit ceased with the early Church.

The acceptable Catholic view is the biblical one. Speaking in a language that you never learned, or tongues is ONE gift of the Holy Spirit, and that the gifts of the HOly Spirit continue today and did not cease at Pentecost. Many Saints over the centuries were gifted with a heavenly language. You would have learned about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit when you were in your confirmation classes.

The point is: IT’s a gift from God, and something that is to be received, not begged for or done of our own power. I would be very skeptical of any of the teachings of spiritual gifts from a protestant perspective.
 
If nobody can understand what the person speaking in tongues is saying what is the purpose?A friend of mine who never went ot pentacostal church to my knnowledge but listen to tv broadcasts said a phrase of about 5-8 words(unintelligeble)when I asked what it meant he said he didn’t know but he could repeat it if I asked him.If the HS enters In Baptism according to pentacostaals adn he wasn’t a baptised pentacostal how could he speak in tongues?
 
CatholicNUFC said:
Where is all the verses talking about it? And the title like the denomination as baptist,Methodist,Ect

Ok but not everyone could have the gift. Honestly I have a hard time believing in speaking in tongues. So many churches use it today even with out a translator/interpreter. What if that persons lying?or if it’s all just for show?
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I Corinthians 12 and 14 are short chapters. Crack that bible open and have a quick read! We, all who have been baptized, have one or more gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is just that we keep them locked up in the hardness of our hearts. Once they are released, they are to be used for building up the Church, not just ourselves. I have never uttered a single word in a tongue, and that is perfectly fine with me. It is not my gift. The problem begins when no one is there to interpret - thus the meaning of what one says in a tongue is lost, as you have noted with your friend. God does not speak without meaning. Those words were supposed to have been interpreted so that God’s meaning would be known.

Any speaking in tongue must be at the prompting of the Holy Spirit. We must allow Him to be in control - we do not control Him.

As to the denominational names, they cam about chiefly to differentiate one group form another. This is sad, as Christians are supposed to be unified, not divided.
 
I think that this is an infection that affects Catholics and Lutherans that they want to be wannabe Pentecostal because they think that the Pentecostals have more fun.
 
hn160 said:
I think that this is an infection that affects Catholics and Lutherans that they want to be wannabe Pentecostal because they think that the Pentecostals have more fun.
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In a few cases, I am sure that you are correct. I do not have the gift of tongues, and only rarely attend charismatic events. However, the gifts are meant to be used and we will answer one day for our use or non-use of them. Once they are released, usually via q charismatic Priest laying hands on you, your faith life will change for the better. It is one of the best-kept secrets of the Catholic faith. Most of the gifts are less flamboyant, but are much more useful in building the Church and deepening your relationship with our Lord. .

The Priest in the Papal household, Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, is a charismatic, so the movement is not some fluke.
 
As usual, there are various views on tongues. As other posters have said, the first mention is the Pentecost story, and what Paul says about them being a gift of the Holy Spirit, along with interpretation.

Tongues are most commonly seen in evangelical or charismatic groups. They have the most prominence in Pentecostal groups, where these kind of manifestations are sought as proof of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

But there are also Catholics, Anglicans, and so on who do it, either in groups or alone.

Some of your questions are related to controversial points. For example, some people feel that speaking in tongues is God giving the person a kind of “heavenly language” that they can express themselves in for some reason. Others think the gift of tongues only refers to the actual gift of speaking a real, but unknown language.

The problem in my view is that this kind of speaking in strange and inhuman languages can not only be faked, but it can be a kind of hysterical or psychological phenomena which may be done in sincerity but still not be of God. And very often I think it is no different than people getting together at some sort of rock concert or rave and letting themselves go to achieve certain feelings, or doing the same thing on a personal level.
 
Bluegoat said:
As usual, there are various views on tongues. As other posters have said, the first mention is the Pentecost story, and what Paul says about them being a gift of the Holy Spirit, along with interpretation.

Tongues are most commonly seen in evangelical or charismatic groups. They have the most prominence in Pentecostal groups, where these kind of manifestations are sought as proof of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

But there are also Catholics, Anglicans, and so on who do it, either in groups or alone.

Some of your questions are related to controversial points. For example, some people feel that speaking in tongues is God giving the person a kind of “heavenly language” that they can express themselves in for some reason. Others think the gift of tongues only refers to the actual gift of speaking a real, but unknown language.

The problem in my view is that this kind of speaking in strange and inhuman languages can not only be faked, but it can be a kind of hysterical or psychological phenomena which may be done in sincerity but still not be of God. And very often I think it is no different than people getting together at some sort of rock concert or rave and letting themselves go to achieve certain feelings, or doing the same thing on a personal level.
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This is also why the less apparent gifts, such as prophecy, are to be desired more than tongues. Tongues, if either real or imagined, can appeal to the ego, which is our first enemy. The other gifts are much more targeted at others, which is where our hearts should be anyway. And, without interpretation, the gift of tongues is just wasted.
 
CatholicNUFC said:
Where is all the verses talking about it? And the title like the denomination as baptist,Methodist,Ect

Ok but not everyone could have the gift. Honestly I have a hard time believing in speaking in tongues. So many churches use it today even with out a translator/interpreter. What if that persons lying?or if it’s all just for show?
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I’ll be honest with you most of the people I’ve heard speaking in tongues are speaking something that sounds vaguely like Hebrew (shaddai is one of the favored words I hear). Some others seem to just be throwing words from multiple languages into a sentence. One person I heard was speaking something that sounded like a pretty consistent Romance language (Italian from the sound of it) then all of a sudden I heard a German word thrown into the mix, and then I became pretty suspicious. Other people just seem to be making noise that bears no characteristics of a language.

Overall i’m pretty skeptical about the Pentecostal churches where almost everyone is speaking in tongues; because I imagine a large number of them are just doing it because it’s expected. Are there some people that have the gift of tongues? Sure, but they’re probably pretty rare.
 
I am a cradle Catholic and I received the gift of tongues five years ago. There is a lot of confusion concerning this gift and, I believe, a lot of fraud associated with it when you attend a denomination which touts this gift as the end-all as evidence of your faith. In other words, if you don’t speak in tongues then something is wrong with you. It places a lot of pressure on those people to pretend in order to fit in.

But it is a true gift and very real. I speak in tongues when praying for people because it is the Holy Spirit that is actually doing the speaking and He can do a better job than I. It is a beautiful gift when kept in perspective. St. Paul tells us that it is the least of the gifts.
As far as having an interpreter, it really depends on how it is being used. Most of the time I pray in tongues silently, or even in my car. I had a priest tell me to use this gift as the real beauty of it is that Satan cannot understand it. It is an angelic language.

I find it kind of funny that Catholics think it strange as we are the Church to which this gift was first given. There are many types of “tongues” which are used for various purposes, which I won’t take the time to go into now. But it really is nothing of which to be afraid.
 
SteveVH said:
I am a cradle Catholic and I received the gift of tongues five years ago. There is a lot of confusion concerning this gift and, I believe, a lot of fraud associated with it when you attend a denomination which touts this gift as the end-all as evidence of your faith. In other words, if you don’t speak in tongues then something is wrong with you. It places a lot of pressure on those people to pretend in order to fit in.

But it is a true gift and very real. I speak in tongues when praying for people because it is the Holy Spirit that is actually doing the speaking and He can do a better job than I. It is a beautiful gift when kept in perspective. St. Paul tells us that it is the least of the gifts.
As far as having an interpreter, it really depends on how it is being used. Most of the time I pray in tongues silently, or even in my car. I had a priest tell me to use this gift as the real beauty of it is that Satan cannot understand it. It is an angelic language.

I find it kind of funny that Catholics think it strange as we are the Church to which this gift was first given. There are many types of “tongues” which are used for various purposes, which I won’t take the time to go into now. But it really is nothing of which to be afraid.
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Thank you for sharing. Can you point me to the scripture where St. Paul tells us that it is the least of the gifts. Also, can someone be in a state of mortal sin and still have the gift?
 
joclucsylv said:
Thank you for sharing. Can you point me to the scripture where St. Paul tells us that it is the least of the gifts. Also, can someone be in a state of mortal sin and still have the gift?
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I Corinthians, chapter 14
 
joclucsylv said:
Thank you for sharing. Can you point me to the scripture where St. Paul tells us that it is the least of the gifts. Also, can someone be in a state of mortal sin and still have the gift?
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Read Chapter 14 of 1 Corinthians. Paul puts it all in perspective, but this may be the most telling.

"I give thanks to God that I speak in tongues more than any of you, but in the church I would rather speak five words with my mind, so as to instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue." (1 Cor 14:19)

The gift is never taken away, as far as I know. But I also know that the enemy hates us to speak in tongues because he can’t understand it. He will whisper to you that you are not worthy of this gift, or sometimes place doubt in your mind that you even possess the gift. But from what I understand, once given, the gift is never taken away. For one in mortal sin, I don’t really know. That means that you are completely seperated from God. Its a good question. Maybe someone else can answer better than I.
 
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