Speaking In Tongues

[John89]

i see alot of this done with the protestant churches and wonder whats going on… when jesus said something about speaking in tongues didnt he mean that when the apostles spoke in tongues they would be able to communicate with people who spoke other languages…but at the churches they all mumble things and yell and scream… could someone please shed some light on the subject for me and tell me if what they do at the protestant churches is real or not… thank you

 

[MariaG]

i see alot of this done with the protestant churches and wonder whats going on… when jesus said something about speaking in tongues didnt he mean that when the apostles spoke in tongues they would be able to communicate with people who spoke other languages…but at the churches they all mumble things and yell and scream… could someone please shed some light on the subject for me and tell me if what they do at the protestant churches is real or not… thank you

That truly depends on the Church, although you will get the answer here that says there is no such thing as the “tongue’s of angels” which is what those churches would say is happening.

My belief?

Some are real, some are not. I have personally been in churches where both happened in the same service which is part of the danger of it.

God Bless,
Maria

Edit note:

There really is not a large number of Protestant Churches that do this. And in those that do not, you will get a number of pastors who say that there is no such thing as tongue’s of angels. Speaking in tongues is not a issue in which Protestants, (or Catholics) are united on by any means.

 

[dcdurel]

If you read the footnote in the New American Bible in Corinthians where they spoke in tongues, it explains what St. Paul is talking about when he refers to the Old Testament when the Assyrians came speaking in foreign tongues.

St. Paul says essentially that God gave the gifts of speaking in tongues to the Corinthians because they were losing their faith. Just as God sent the Assyrians, who spoke in strange tongues, to chastize the Jews in the Old Testament, who were losing their faith, God sent speaking in tongues as miraculous signs, so the Corinthians would believe and not lose their faith. In other words, tongues is not a sign of God’s approval of the local Church, but it was a gift to those who were losing the faith. Thus the Corinthians were losing their faith, and God sent tongues to try to draw them back to the Gospel His Church had been teaching. So tongues is not even part of the Gospel, but only miraculous signs to try to draw people back to the Gospel the apostles handed down.

 

[ryanoneil]

I start with I Cor 12:10-11. It says “. . .to another varieties of tongues, to another interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit produces all of these. . . Tongues are definately real in the sense they exist, I’m just not sure of individual cases. I’ve been to a few Pentacostal services and wasn’t sure what to think. So, I stuck my nose in the Bible. I can only point out some scripture and hope my interpretation is the same as the Catholic Church.

Paul was upset that speaking in tongues was more highly prized than works of charity by the Corinthians. When you read chapter 13 this is the context he’s writing in. In v1-3 he says the gifts are nothing compared to love, and later in v8 he says the same thing. The gifts will end and be nothing while love never fails.

In chapter 14 he is scolding them for using tongues inappropriately during their religious gatherings. They were more interested in speaking in tongues and failed to appreciate the gifts of prophesy and interpretation. In verses 10-11 he speaks of foreign languages. In verses 20-25 he is telling them not to pride themselves on tongues being a sign of Gods favor, a means of direct communication. He is challenging them to a more mature appraisal. Paul draws from the Old Testament in verse 21 a less flattering explanation of what speaking in tongues may signify “By people speaking in strange tongues and by lips of foreigners I will speak to this people, and even so they will not listen to me.” Isaiah threatened the people that if they failed to listen to their prophets, the Lord would speak to them (in punishment) through the lips of Assyrian conquerors Isaiah 28 11-12.

Paul concludes from Isaiah that “tongues are a sign not for those who believe” verse 22, ie not a mark of God’s pleasure for those who listen to him, but a mark of his dispeasure with those in the community who are faithless, who have not heeded the message that he sent through the prophets. Hence his stress on interpretation.

Paul specifically reminds them of the rules of order, specific directives, for the service in verses 26-33. Verse 26 says the criteria in the use of any gift must contribute to “building up.” Verses 27-28 specifically say “If anyone speaks in a tongue, let it be two or at most three, and each in turn and one should interpret. But if there is no interpreter, the person should keep silent in the church and speak to himself and to God.”