Transcript: Speaking in Tongues: Understanding the Gift of Pentecost

Glossolalia Glossolalia Glossolalia Glossolalia Glossolalia Glossolalia Glossolalia I thought about calling this video, demythologizing Glossolalia, but that was a bit too much. It's a bit like speaking in tongues just to say it. But that is what I hope to do in this video, at the same time that I give some really practical tips on how to use glossolalia, or tongues if you like, to become a much more effective mouthpiece for God. I personally think there is a distinct difference between the gift of speaking in tongues and glossolalia, which is the more scientific name for what we usually call speaking in tongues these days. The gift of speaking in tongues is a supernatural manifestation of God. Glossolalia, without the more sensational, miraculous manifestation, is still a good thing, and God can certainly use it. The problem is that the devil can use it too. Almost all of what has happened in the world over the past 100 years, usually described as Pentecostalism or the charismatic movement, is more or less just your everyday garden variety, glossolalia, and two opposing myths have grown from this. One myth is that anyone who experiences glossolalia has God's Holy Spirit in some very special supernatural way, and the other is that anyone who experiences glossolalia has been deceived by the devil and has become possessed by an evil spirit. Both are myths, and I would like to challenge them both in this video. But first, let's look at the supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, according to the description in the second chapter of the book of Acts the 120 believers who were in the upper room praying together started speaking in known languages or tongues as they spilled out onto the streets of Jerusalem. What they were speaking were apparently languages for which they had no previous understanding. It was a miraculous event, with a specific purpose. Jews from many different countries were there in Jerusalem for the Passover celebrations and they were each able to understand in their own language what was being said. When Peter preached, it may have even been so miraculous that God actually altered what each person heard him saying so that what came out of Peter's mouth amounted to several different languages at the same time. Each person in the audience heard him speaking in their own language. This certainly would have been an incredible miracle. The gift of instantly and miraculously speaking a new language or languages which you have never known previously Now there were a couple more times in the book of Acts when people spoke something that may have been other languages but on those other occasions it is not clear whether there was anyone present who needed another language in order to understand what was being said. What may have happened is that these people were making strange sounds with their mouths, but what came out was not a specific language. This is what people are usually referring to when they mention glossolalia. Such gibberish is quite different to what happened on the day of Pentecost, but it is not evil or harmful in itself. From what we read in the book of Acts, those first Christians did not see any difference between the known languages on the day of Pentecost and what happened later without any clear indication that it was a known language or languages. They assumed that one was as good as the other. In his first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul refers to people there in Corinth who were speaking something he called the language of angels, as contrasted with speaking the various known languages of people. In other words, both phenomena are referred to in Scripture, and neither one is necessarily evil. It could be a known language, or it could be an unknown language, a heavenly language, if you like. Furthermore, if you think about it, for the person experiencing either of them, there would be very little difference. They would find themselves talking a lot of unintelligible gibberish that makes no sense to them personally. It could be a real language, or it may not be. Interestingly, this is precisely how babies and very young children learn to speak. They play with sounds, experimenting, until they are able to imitate ones that they hear coming from other people. Only gradually do they move from gibberish to recognizable words. The older we get as adults, the harder it is for us to learn new languages, at least partly because of our pride. We're too proud to be seen talking gibberish, using the wrong words, pronouncing them incorrectly, getting them out of order, and so we just choose not to try. It saves embarrassment. This battle with our pride may, in fact, be more spiritually significant than whether or not we are speaking a new language. It may also be why Paul called glossolalia the language of angels. What one is speaking when they do that is the language of emotion or the language of the Spirit. Now, listen to this... ...and now listen to this... Asalamara shandamara gara! You did not understand what I was saying in either of those two outbursts, did you? But can you tell me which one was expressing joy and which one was expressing sadness? This emotional ingredient in communication has often been proven to be more powerful than the actual words that we use when speaking to one another The most moving words in any narrative can be so butchered by a flat monotone reading with all the emphasis in the wrong places that it is almost unintelligible whereas a person can be caused to actually laugh out loud in harmony with someone else who is expressing their own joy, whether through laughter or through similar exuberant sounds. Now, I hope that others who have experienced glossolalia will not be offended either by what I have said or by what I have done here in this video in order to demonstrate how glossolalia works. I think this is more likely to be offensive to those who feel very strongly that speaking in tongues like this is proof that they have the Holy Spirit, because obviously it doesn't prove that. Virtually anyone can speak in tongues in this way. But it does require a certain amount of letting go. Letting go of your pride. Just be warned that pride is so deceptive that it doesn't take much for us to become proud of our imaginary humility as well which has definitely happened to many people with regard to glossolalia. People have become proud of the fact that they can speak in tongues. They look down on others who have not spoken in tongues and they look forward to chances to show it off. But please take note that Jim Jones and his followers spoke in tongues. David Berg, founder of the Children of God sex cult, and his followers spoke in tongues. Torben Sundergaard and his followers speak in tongues. It is also common in paganism, shamanism, and other mediumistic religious practices. So, speaking in tongues is not proof at all that one has God's Spirit, but neither is it proof that one does not have God's Spirit. And my saying this is in no way blaspheming the Holy Spirit. I'm speaking the truth, which is what God's Spirit is really all about. And that is why I say that I am trying to demythologize glossolalia here. A myth has arisen around the phenomenon of glossolalia, and it may have even started to come together before the Bible as we know it today was written. The myth has caused a lot of unnecessary confusion for people who have been pulled in opposite directions between those who exaggerate what has happened and those who unfairly condemn it. Speaking in tongues, even when the sounds have no human meaning, is a deeply emotional experience, which can be quite embarrassing, humbling. In fact, this aspect of speaking in tongues can be quite good for you spiritually. Scientific experiments using neuroimaging have shown that people speaking in tongues usually enter into a more relaxed state of mind. Other studies have shown that Christians engaging in this practice experience an increase in self It can be a feeling of great relief just to unburden yourself before God and let all those emotions come out in groanings which cannot be uttered, as one Bible verse describes it. I believe that this experience can and should enhance our communication with the rest of the world as well, especially when speaking to a crowd, as happens when Christians preach. Practicing in tongues is one way to kind of loosen up emotionally before speaking in English, so that more of the emotional content of what we have to say can come out. Sometimes the emotional content alone, and the various subtle inflections that go with it, is enough to capture people's attention and to keep them listening. Take note of changes in rhythm, pitch, volume and inflection, as well as emotion as I speak in tongues now. As-salam-ma-shin-e-khanda-marakhanda-ta-lamagha, ha-shakhanam-ha-lumadogu-wa-ghala, ha-salam-oh-ha, ha-shun-lo-khan-manaka-sig-lamadata-shin-e-maraka. What I have just done is something that you can do too. Just relax your mind, and let yourself make sounds, without thinking about the words, but concentrating more on the feeling that you want to express. Combine this with prayer, that God will help you to overcome your fears and embarrassment sufficiently to learn whatever it is that HE wants you to learn from this. Make those first words a prayer to Him, if you like, and see how it brings you closer to Him. It's as easy as that. When we can add meaningful and sometimes very important information to the emotional content of what we are saying whether to God or to someone else, our communication will take on a whole new dimension. And this, as much as anything else, explains the overall success of the Pentecostal-come-charismatic movement that has impacted virtually every church denomination in the world today. Religious pride may make us refuse to even consider being so emotional. And ironically, religious pride can also make us exaggerate our own spiritual stature just because we have learned to humble ourselves enough to undertake these little exercises in communication. But an honest examination of all the evidence should help us to get the sincere truth of what I have been discussing and to apply it in a way that will bring true glory to God and not to ourselves. I hope that this video has helped clear up some of the confusion that exists around this highly controversial topic, and that people who, like ourselves, support the teachings of Jesus will be able to put into practice some of what I've said here in order to become more effective mouthpieces for Jesus in the world today. Thank you for listening. you