Speaking in tongues; what is going on?

[an anarchist]

The family I was born into was of the Pentecostal / Charismatic denomination. If you don’t know what this is, it is a Protestant denomination that believes in speaking in tongues.
What is speaking in tongues? That’s the question of this thread. I’ll tell you what it looks like. Someone is praying, then they start blathering all of these strange noises with fervor. They say they are speaking the language of angels and they are possessed by the Holy Spirit. They are possessed by something alright, but what? The one doing the tongue speaking isn’t trying to trick everyone, they really believe that all of their weird noises is angel speak. No disrespect if you are Pentecostal.
In the Bible, tongue speaking was different. The apostles at Pentecost were preaching, and the diverse crowd each heard the apostles in their own crystal clear native language. It wasn’t a bunch of gibberish.
What, psychologically, is going on in a congregation that believes they are all possessed with the Holy Spirit and tongue speaking?
This girl I was into one time invited me out to her church. She didn’t tell me it was a Pentecostal church! So like, the pastor was up there doing his thing, then, like a music conductor, he cued the congregation and absolutely everyone started screeching angel speak. Caught me off guard and freaked me out for a second. turned to the girl and she’s blathering away too.
What happened there? Like, each member of the church, and maybe the pastor too, all genuinely believe they are tongue speaking. How was the pastor able to cue that? Is it mass hysteria? Group think? Is it hypnosis?
My family has laid hands on me in prayer and tongue spoke demons out of me before lmfao

 

[Psalm23]

This is a video on speaking in tongues. There was a study done on it with brain imaging.

 

[Viker]

It's group think. My group chants in mystery languages as well. Some we know what is being said and recognize the origin of the language. Sometimes, I dunno what we're saying. I know what we're feeling and doing.

 

[an anarchist]

This is a video on speaking in tongues. There was a study done on it with brain imaging.

Very interesting video, thanks.

 

[Psalm23]

It's group think. My group chants in mystery languages as well. Some we know what is being said and recognize the origin of the language. Sometimes, I dunno what we're saying. I know what we're feeling and doing.

Do they have to learn the language before chanting it or can it just flow out?

 

[Viker]

Do they have to learn the language before chanting it or can it just flow out?

Learn the basics of it. It mostly flows out. Sometimes we have preplanned chants in Enochian and sometimes regional variations of Creole.

 

[lostwanderingsoul]

In this case "tongue" simply means "language", English is a tongue. Spanish and French and German are tongues. Anyone who gets up in church and starts babbling in strange noises is not speaking in tongues. Someone who can translate words into other languages can speak in tongues.

 

[InChrist]

I personally think valid speaking in tongues, according to the scriptures, is what you said...

In the Bible, tongue speaking was different. The apostles at Pentecost were preaching, and the diverse crowd each heard the apostles in their own crystal clear native language. It wasn’t a bunch of gibberish.

I am not sure whether the speaking in tongues phenomena in Pentecostal/ Charismatic churches is group think, hypnosis, demonic or possibly all of those depending on the particular people or situation.

As a new Christian years ago I had a friend who went to a Foursquare church. I visited there a few times and felt very uncomfortable when just about everyone would start speaking gibberish out loud all at the same time. One thing I noticed was that those who do “speak in tongues” can be very pushy about getting others to do so, even insinuating that unless you do you must not really have the Holy Spirit.

 

[Psalm23]

I used to practice speaking in tongues for a number of years until I stopped the practice. There have been occasions where I have caught myself speaking in tongues in my sleep though as I was waking up. I don't know what I was saying or if I was saying anything except for one thing I said in French. I don't know French very well and when my grandfather while my grandfather was still living, he had told me what I had said.

I stopped speaking in tongues because I just didn't feel right about it. I didn't know what I was saying and if it was good or bad. I questioned if it was truly coming from God.

 

[GardenLady]

One thing I noticed was that those who do “speak in tongues” can be very pushy about getting others to do so, even insinuating that unless you do you must not really have the Holy Spirit.

I have observed that also. A college friend joined a Oneness ("Jesus Only") Pentecostal church and they taught that one is not saved unless one receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit evidenced by speaking in tongues. So faith and water baptism didn't mean anything unless one spoke in tongues. One of many aspects of their teaching that I found disturbing.

 

[InChrist]

I have observed that also. A college friend joined a Oneness ("Jesus Only") Pentecostal church and they taught that one is not saved unless one receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit evidenced by speaking in tongues. So faith and water baptism didn't mean anything unless one spoke in tongues. One of many aspects of their teaching that I found disturbing.

Thank you for sharing your experience. The more experienced I became in my walk with Christ, reading the scriptures and understanding His grace, the more I understood how contrary to the Bible such an idea was.

 

[InChrist]

I used to practice speaking in tongues for a number of years until I stopped the practice. There have been occasions where I have caught myself speaking in tongues in my sleep though as I was waking up. I don't know what I was saying or if I was saying anything except for one thing I said in French. I don't know French very well and when my grandfather while my grandfather was still living, he had told me what I had said.

I stopped speaking in tongues because I just didn't feel right about it. I didn't know what I was saying and if it was good or bad. I questioned if it was truly coming from God.

When I was first exposed to people in churches speaking in tongues or talking about it, I also felt there was something not quite right about the practice. Nevertheless, as a new believer years ago I didn’t know for sure or hadn’t really studied it in the Bible. So at one point I earnestly prayed and just poured out my thoughts about it because there was a lot of pressure from certain friends. I told God that if speaking in tongues was truly His will then I wanted to be within His will on the matter. I asked for the gift if speaking in tongues...only if He willed it. As I prayed this, I felt such a peace and the presence of Jesus which seemed to fill the whole room. I’ll never forget that evening. He never did give me or allow me to speak in tongues.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

The family I was born into was of the Pentecostal / Charismatic denomination. If you don’t know what this is, it is a Protestant denomination that believes in speaking in tongues.
What is speaking in tongues? That’s the question of this thread. I’ll tell you what it looks like. Someone is praying, then they start blathering all of these strange noises with fervor. They say they are speaking the language of angels and they are possessed by the Holy Spirit. They are possessed by something alright, but what? The one doing the tongue speaking isn’t trying to trick everyone, they really believe that all of their weird noises is angel speak. No disrespect if you are Pentecostal.
In the Bible, tongue speaking was different. The apostles at Pentecost were preaching, and the diverse crowd each heard the apostles in their own crystal clear native language. It wasn’t a bunch of gibberish.
What, psychologically, is going on in a congregation that believes they are all possessed with the Holy Spirit and tongue speaking?
This girl I was into one time invited me out to her church. She didn’t tell me it was a Pentecostal church! So like, the pastor was up there doing his thing, then, like a music conductor, he cued the congregation and absolutely everyone started screeching angel speak. Caught me off guard and freaked me out for a second. turned to the girl and she’s blathering away too.
What happened there? Like, each member of the church, and maybe the pastor too, all genuinely believe they are tongue speaking. How was the pastor able to cue that? Is it mass hysteria? Group think? Is it hypnosis?
My family has laid hands on me in prayer and tongue spoke demons out of me before lmfao

I've been to such churches and witnessed it. It is interesting and unusual to me. Not my cup of tea frankly and not something I consider a need for in worship personally. I have no idea what they were saying or if they were saying anything at all. It seems that they were fervent in their belief, but my personal opinion is that it is from the person and not the spirit.

 

[Brian2]

One thing I noticed was that those who do “speak in tongues” can be very pushy about getting others to do so, even insinuating that unless you do you must not really have the Holy Spirit.

Yes in that respect it has been divisive, but it seems anything can become divisive in the hands of man. Some say that those who do not speak in tongues are not Christian. Some say that those who are not baptised with full immersion are not Christian. Some say that water baptism is required to be a Christian. Each of these is justified with the scriptures. We seem to be able to justify what we want to even if the scriptural justification is not very good and may even contradict other parts of the scriptures.

 

[Psalm23]

When I was first exposed to people in churches speaking in tongues or talking about it, I also felt there was something not quite right about the practice. Nevertheless, as a new believer years ago I didn’t know for sure or hadn’t really studied it in the Bible. So at one point I earnestly prayed and just poured out my thoughts about it because there was a lot of pressure from certain friends. I told God that if speaking in tongues was truly His will then I wanted to be within His will on the matter. I asked for the gift if speaking in tongues...only if He willed it. As I prayed this, I felt such a peace and the presence of Jesus which seemed to fill the whole room. I’ll never forget that evening. He never did give me or allow me to speak in tongues.

I was told speaking in tongues was supposed to edify you ; however, I often didn't feel much with that. What I read in Scripture also conflicted with how I was told to speak in tongues. My impression was of Pentecost was when the disciples spoke in tongues, the Holy Spirit initiated it. I don't get the impression that they in anyway whatsoever were trying to speak in tongues themselves.

I feel like now I am healthier and happier than when I was in the practice of speaking in tongues. This could be coincidental still.

 

[Valjean]

Linguistic analysis indicates these utterances are not a language. I also find it interesting that these 'languages' utilize the phonetics familiar to the speakers, ie: they don't include foreign sounds or sound sequences, they're just meaningless sequences of familiar sounds.

It's a neurological phenomenon, and can be learned and produced on demand even by the non-religious.
Speaking in tongues - Wikipedia

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

The family I was born into was of the Pentecostal / Charismatic denomination. If you don’t know what this is, it is a Protestant denomination that believes in speaking in tongues.
What is speaking in tongues? That’s the question of this thread. I’ll tell you what it looks like. Someone is praying, then they start blathering all of these strange noises with fervor. They say they are speaking the language of angels and they are possessed by the Holy Spirit. They are possessed by something alright, but what? The one doing the tongue speaking isn’t trying to trick everyone, they really believe that all of their weird noises is angel speak. No disrespect if you are Pentecostal.
In the Bible, tongue speaking was different. The apostles at Pentecost were preaching, and the diverse crowd each heard the apostles in their own crystal clear native language. It wasn’t a bunch of gibberish.
What, psychologically, is going on in a congregation that believes they are all possessed with the Holy Spirit and tongue speaking?
This girl I was into one time invited me out to her church. She didn’t tell me it was a Pentecostal church! So like, the pastor was up there doing his thing, then, like a music conductor, he cued the congregation and absolutely everyone started screeching angel speak. Caught me off guard and freaked me out for a second. turned to the girl and she’s blathering away too.
What happened there? Like, each member of the church, and maybe the pastor too, all genuinely believe they are tongue speaking. How was the pastor able to cue that? Is it mass hysteria? Group think? Is it hypnosis?
My family has laid hands on me in prayer and tongue spoke demons out of me before lmfao

I think that these days, it seems to be predominantly done in the US. I have never seen it done in European churches, nor heard of it.

In my honest opinion: to me such a thing is one of the biggest giveaways of the absolute absurdity and stupidity of the whole thing.

And also, whenever someone mentions "speaking in tongues", I always immediately am reminded of this fantastic piece of art:

(the tongues business starts at 1:40 and the "song" itself around 0:40 )

 

[Kfox]

The family I was born into was of the Pentecostal / Charismatic denomination. If you don’t know what this is, it is a Protestant denomination that believes in speaking in tongues.
What is speaking in tongues? That’s the question of this thread. I’ll tell you what it looks like. Someone is praying, then they start blathering all of these strange noises with fervor. They say they are speaking the language of angels and they are possessed by the Holy Spirit. They are possessed by something alright, but what? The one doing the tongue speaking isn’t trying to trick everyone, they really believe that all of their weird noises is angel speak. No disrespect if you are Pentecostal.
In the Bible, tongue speaking was different. The apostles at Pentecost were preaching, and the diverse crowd each heard the apostles in their own crystal clear native language. It wasn’t a bunch of gibberish.
What, psychologically, is going on in a congregation that believes they are all possessed with the Holy Spirit and tongue speaking?
This girl I was into one time invited me out to her church. She didn’t tell me it was a Pentecostal church! So like, the pastor was up there doing his thing, then, like a music conductor, he cued the congregation and absolutely everyone started screeching angel speak. Caught me off guard and freaked me out for a second. turned to the girl and she’s blathering away too.
What happened there? Like, each member of the church, and maybe the pastor too, all genuinely believe they are tongue speaking. How was the pastor able to cue that? Is it mass hysteria? Group think? Is it hypnosis?
My family has laid hands on me in prayer and tongue spoke demons out of me before lmfao

I remember when I was Christian, I went to a church (COGIC) that spoke in tongues, I was told by the Baptist that they believed when the slaves were forced into Christianity, many of them practiced Voodoo and they mixed their voodoo practice with the Christian practice and would go into a trance, roll around the floor blathering and they called it speaking in tongues.

One day this Baptist friend of mine showed me a TV documentary about Voodoo and they described how during their ceremony, one of the spirits will come down, take over their bodies. When this happened, the voodoo practitioners went into a trance, began to roll on the floor, speaking gibberish, often slobering at the mouth, and to me what they were doing looked exactly like what was going on in my church that we called speaking in tongues. I was shocked to see what was going on in my church was something that also happen in Voodoo.

 

[InChrist]

I was told speaking in tongues was supposed to edify you ; however, I often didn't feel much with that. What I read in Scripture also conflicted with how I was told to speak in tongues. My impression was of Pentecost was when the disciples spoke in tongues, the Holy Spirit initiated it. I don't get the impression that they in anyway whatsoever were trying to speak in tongues themselves.

I feel like now I am healthier and happier than when I was in the practice of speaking in tongues. This could be coincidental still.

I agree completely. I am glad you are healthier and happier now. I am grateful for God’s faithfulness in helping us through the struggles that we go through in our Christian walk, sadly often caused by other Christians trying to impose false ideas that conflict with the scriptures. Just a good reminder for me to test anyone’s teachings or ideas against the scriptures and to seek God for wisdom and guidance.

 

[InChrist]

I remember when I was Christian, I went to a church (COGIC) that spoke in tongues, I was told by the Baptist that they believed when the slaves were forced into Christianity, many of them practiced Voodoo and they mixed their voodoo practice with the Christian practice and would go into a trance, roll around the floor blathering and they called it speaking in tongues.

One day this Baptist friend of mine showed me a TV documentary about Voodoo and they described how during their ceremony, one of the spirits will come down, take over their bodies. When this happened, the voodoo practitioners went into a trance, began to roll on the floor, speaking gibberish, often slobering at the mouth, and to me what they were doing looked exactly like what was going on in my church that we called speaking in tongues. I was shocked to see what was going on in my church was something that also happen in Voodoo.

That is interesting. Years ago when I did some research on the subject I discovered that the speaking in tongues phenomena was also a common practice in various pagan and/or occult religions.