Speaking in Tongues: Shandalahai!
May 25, 2007
Reader Jessica Cassidy contributes the following story:
I once belonged to a church who focused on gifts and titles of the clergy…if you spoke and addressed the congregation..it was like they called u a deacon or a minister. The first time I heard someone speak in tongues, I was a little afraid because it was new. I ran from this gift that God wanted to give me because of fear of the unknown. Finally, I stopped running and accepted this gift from our gracious Father…and it is truly an awesome experience. Not everyone has the gift or receives it. It is God’s gift to give and if the Holy Spirit doesn’t direct you into that direction (not people) then it isn’t of God. When my friends heard me speak in tongues, they didn’t believe that I truly had the gift because I only uttered the same thing over and over again…they told me that I needed to pray for the completion of my tongues. What is that??? God is perfect and complete and the gift is perfect and complete as well. If I was supposed to say more than what I spoke, then I would have. My point is, churches can really get caught up in the laws of God and the spiritual gifts. It isn’t that we shouldn’t obey God’s laws, but the laws shouldn’t be our main focus. We should always be focused on our Lord and allow Him to do the changing in us and all we have to do is Love him with ALL of OUR hearts… if we truly love Him and desire to serve Him, the laws will be obeyed automatically.”
This comment from Jessica brought back some fond memories. I am experienced in speaking in tongues and have felt this awesome experience from God. Here is the story of how I began speaking in tongues:
I mentioned in an earlier article my childhood trauma when I accidentally blasphemed the Holy Ghost. I was a very self-serious young lad. Since I was raised in various hippie communes during the height of the Jesus Freak Movement, our worship services seemed to move to a new location every week. Sometimes it would be at the local rancher’s house, sometimes down at the river for a (yet another) baptism, sometimes it was in grandma’s house. We really had no pastor or leader – everyone just sort of took their turn. As a result, we were huge on emotionalism, signs and wonders, and spiritual gifts, and sorely lacking in any foundational teachings or leadership. So things sometimes got very wild.
But even with the wild nature of our worship, the services still had a predictability to them. Today when I go to my old Baptist church, I know the first song will be upbeat, and everyone will clap their hands. The second a little slower. The third slower still, with plenty of emotion, and hands will start to raise in the air. I know when the Pastor will tell us to stop and shake hands with a neighbor. I know who will pray and when. I have been through it a million times at that church.
Same thing when I was a kid. I knew everyones’ favorite songs, and when people would start dancing. I knew just when people would start yelling. I knew when people would bind the devil in their prayers. And predictably, I knew when the entire congregation would break out in an extended period of ecstatic chanting in tongues. This was always followed by silence from everyone while we waited for one member to give us a special message in the heavenly babblings. And this was always followed by somebody else interpreting it for us as a message from God! Cheering and great joy from everyone always followed this. “Praise God!!”
Whether or not this has any Biblical validity is not the point here. Everyone did it. My mom did it. But I did not.
I thought something must be wrong with me. I just could not do it. Like I said, I was a self-serious young boy. And just as when I agonized over blaspheming the Holy Ghost, I also wondered about this. After all, Mark 16:17 says speaking in new tongues is a sign of those who believe. So, the teaching went, normal water baptism was not good enough to be saved. If we were not baptized in the *Holy Ghost* and show evidence by speaking in tongues, we were not really saved! What is it about this Holy Ghost that causes youngsters so many problems???
I once asked my friend Dino what I should do. “You don’t speak in tongues?” he asked. “It’s easy! Just start talking. Shandalahai!”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah! It’s easy and fun too! Shandalahai!” I always remember that Dino’s language consisted mostly of one word, repeated over and over again. ‘Shandalahai! la la la Shandalahai! la ga ha Shandalahai!’ But Dino was always a bit of a rebel. This was the same kid who would scoldingly whisper for me to lie still after we were both Slain in the Spirit.
But I still could not do it during worship service. So one day I went up to some of the people who were running that particular worship service. I told them to pray for me so I could be baptized in the Holy Ghost and speak in new tongues.
The whole congregation converged on me. I stood in the middle of a crowd, and at least 30 hands from 30 hippie believers laid their hands on me. They prayed for God to baptize me in the Holy Ghost. And they prayed. And prayed. And prayed. Their voices rose, and they began to shout.
Water baptism was easy compared to this! I get dunked, come up and it is over. When will this end? What is going on?
They started shouting louder, and commanded Satan himself to release his grip on me!
SATAN???? How did He get involved in this??
I was beginning to cry. All this pandemonium happening and directed all at me! What was supposed to happen? I wanted the Holy Ghost, but I had no idea what was going on. I raised my arms and my head and face and body were covered with other hands.
“Just let it out, just let it out – in JESUS name!” They were waiting for me to give a sign that I had received the Holy Ghost by speaking in other tongues. I cried and cried, “Please God, let me speak in tongues! Please Holy Ghost, come into my body!” Everyone at this point was either yelling in other tongues at the top of their voices, or binding Satan or some other evil spirit.
Finally, after a really long time, I just began to let my lips move. I cried and just let my lips move. Everyone began cheering. This must be it! This must be Other Tongues!! I let it out louder, and everyone cheered, “Praise God! Thank You Jesus!” I never yelled “Shandalahai!”, instead mine sounded like somebody shivering fiercely. “Du du dud du dudududu dudu…” Not to fear. I was informed that this was the infancy stage of speaking in tongues, and very soon my language would develop. I would be screaming “Shandalahai!” with the big boys in no time, if I just keep with the faith. (Yes I know this is unbiblical, but this is the environment I came from).
I was happy – I knew I was a child of God. So each week for about a year, I worshipped God with “du dudud dud dudud dud du dudu …” I never did get out of that ‘infancy stage’. Then one day, I did what my own mother eventually also did. I just stopped talking in tongues.
I quit for no real reason, other than that it was tedious. I was still a Christian, mind you. But after a year or so, I just found God’s special gift of Other Tongues to be unnecessary and tiresome. Even at that young age, and even as a Christian, I guess I realized that the gift was 100 percent ecstatic and 0 percent miraculous.
So, does anybody else have any fond memories of speaking in tongues?
- HeIsSailing
Entry Filed under: HeIsSailing. Tags: agnostic, atheism, Bible, charismatic, christianity, faith, pentecostal, prayer, religion, skepticism, spirituality, theology, Tongues.
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1.
Agnostic | May 25, 2007 at 8:46 am
I had many Pentecostal tongue-speaking friends. They encouraged me to pray. Me and the ghost never hooked up for the tongue speaking experience. My seeking was alone, on my knees in prayer for an hour here and there over the years.
I was never present when they spoke in tongues.
Then I attended church where John Bevere was speaking. To that point I had read almost all of his books and one of Lisa’s, his wife.
During his sermon a women stood up right in her seat and started speaking in tongues. (I thought, oh great, no wonder the Bible says women should be silent in church.) And to tell you the truth that’s the look John had on his face. It was like, woman who do you think you are? A man a few seats back jumped up and I thought oh good, I’m going to hear an interpretation. Still to this day I don’t know if he was speaking in tongues to her told her to shut up. John just stared at her until she sat down.
At the end of the service John got all excited and started to share his problem with lust and masturbation. I thought, now! The service is near over!
Next thing I know, men are crying out in their seats, then going forward in agony of their sin. John continued on about lust/masturbation and continued on forcefully and passionately. More and more people are stumbling forward to the front of the church, until it seemed most of the church was up there.
Before I know it John starts speaking in tongues. Seemed Russion to me. This was the first time I had actually witnessed tongues with my own eyes and ears. So I listened and though all heads were bowed, I watched. I simply said a bit of a prayer: Lord if this is real, I need to witness it. Forgive me if this is wrong but I need to observe.
John repeated the same phrase over and over again and he walked back and forth from one end of the stage to the other just repeating and repeating and repeating the same thing over and over again. This went on for what seemed like eternity. I kept looking at the men on the stage with him, waiting for them to break into tongues. Maybe one of them might interpret John’s tongues? Nope.
People flocked to the front of the church. People were laying across the steps of the front of the church and the others were packed in to the front like sardines and the overflow of people was filling the aisles of the church.
John must of seen me because he told everyone to close their eyes. I figured I had seen enough so I needed to bow my head too.
I closed my eyes. John was strong in his foreceful rhetoric. I began to cry. Then I heard the word “no” and my sense was, this is wrong. I opened my eyes and looked around. Very few of us remained in the pews. There were about seven of us remaining in the pew I was in. Three of the people I went with were now up in the frenzy. I could only thing, geesh, I hope no one gets crushed.
Afterwards I assisted a friend of mine in a private session with John. She wanted him to pray over her. He was very reluctant. He wasn’t sure she was sincere I guess. I don’t know. Eventually he layed hands on her and prayed. He expected her to go down. The three of us remained on our feet. He left after he signed my book.
That’s my story. Fond? Well perhaps, in that I stopped worrying about speaking in tongues and it was a key time in my Christian life to start taking a closer look at Christianity.
2.
Agnostic | May 25, 2007 at 8:48 am
That should read: Still to this day I don’t know if he was speaking in tongues to her or told her to shut up.
3.
tobeme | May 25, 2007 at 12:18 pm
Thanks for sharing your story. I have always had difficulty with a group of people all speaking in tounges. Not sure that I can buy that they are not aware of what they are doing.
4.
Karen | May 25, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Good gravy! That sounds horrific to me. I never spoke in tongues, nor did I ever want to - though I did pray to receive the holy spirit at one point and I felt some kind of emotional/physical “jolt” go through my body. Which I interpreted as an answer to the prayer.
I grew up in the Presbyterian Church, then attended Calvary Chapel and a series of similar evangelical churches that did not emphasize the “gifts of the spirit.” Indeed, Chuck Smith of Calvary was/is very critical of spiritual gifts and Pentecostalism.
I watched a very interesting documentary on Kathryn Kuhlmann a few weeks ago. It implied that many of her critics (including Robert Schuller) were very angry because they were jealous of her overwhelming success - and no doubt because they were threatened that she was a woman.
That program made me wonder how much of the anti-Pentecostalist sentiment was really based on scripture and how much was based on male ego and petty jealousies.
5.
cragar | May 25, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Great post as always. I don’t recall going to any sermons and having anyone speak in tongues. And I went to a number of churches when I was young, Nazarene, Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, and others I am sure I have forgotten. That probably would have caused me to doubt things even sooner than I did.
It reminds me of a friend of mine when we went and saw a hypnotist at a comedy club. He got up on stage and did a couple of goofy things, acted like a chicken and crawled on the floor. He later told me that he wasn’t hypnotised but he didn’t want to be the only one to spoil the show. So was everyone on the stage doing the same?
6.
Dan Barnett | May 25, 2007 at 9:46 pm
As a Christian, I’ve had the experience of hearing pentecostal teens praying in tongues. It turned out to be a trained phrase they would repeat over and over. I believe God enables Christians to speak on another tongue when it is needed to do his work, but other than that I have yet to see where it truly happens outside of that. These prayer languages are most of the time trained. Very interesting post, HIS.
7.
agnosticatheist | May 25, 2007 at 9:46 pm
In he mid-late 90’s, getting “drunk in the spirit” and “holy laughter” was added to the phenomenon of “speaking in tongues.”
See this video from 1997 I posted earlier:
Getting Drunk in Church!
I hate to admit that I was present during this service, so I won’t
8.
HeIsSailing | May 26, 2007 at 8:36 am
Aa sez:
“In he mid-late 90’s, getting “drunk in the spirit” and “holy laughter” was added to the phenomenon of “speaking in tongues.”
I first heard of Holy laughter in the late 80’s, so I think its been around a bit longer than that - although I have never been to this particular kind of service. I watched about a minute of that video with Copeland and Hagin leading holy drunkedness, and had to turn it off - that stuff is really painful for me to watch. Somebody commented that it was a result of the repressed emotions in Christians. They are not allowed to party or have fun, and this is the result. Whoever made that comment was dead on target.
Although I have never witnessed Holy Laughter, I think the most bizarre service I have been to was a snake handler in Missouri as a teenager. That was truly frightening.
***********************************
Dan Barnett sez:
“It turned out to be a trained phrase they would repeat over and over. ”
That is my experience also. I admit that I spoke in tongues, and I believed it to be real, but it was just a mantic state we go into and repeating the same phrases over and over. Joe Nickel, in his book ‘Looking for a Miracle’ reports that every linguistic test done on this shows the same thing - repeated patterns of nonsense.
***********************************************
Karen sez:
“Indeed, Chuck Smith of Calvary was/is very critical of spiritual gifts and Pentecostalism.”
Yes, I have heard many of his cassettes. His young protege Skip Heitzig was also the same way, although he did admit several times that all gifts are valid and that he spoke in other tongues in his own private worship.
“I watched a very interesting documentary on Kathryn Kuhlmann a few weeks ago. It implied that many of her critics (including Robert Schuller) were very angry because they were jealous of her overwhelming success”
No kidding? I saw her several times before she died. My mom *loved* her. What was the name of that documentary? She was a very charismatic woman, even if she did have the same face as Richard Nixon.
9.
HeIsSailing | May 26, 2007 at 8:43 am
Agnostic, that was an absolutely bizarre story, and I have also witnessed and been party to many similar events. It is just hyper-emotionalism. I don’t know who John Bevere is though.
You say this:
“That’s my story. Fond? Well perhaps, in that I stopped worrying about speaking in tongues and it was a key time in my Christian life to start taking a closer look at Christianity.”
Do you mean that this event made you look closer as far was wanting to get more involved in Christian faith, or look more critically at it?
10.
Agnostic | May 26, 2007 at 10:34 am
HIS,
http://www.messengerintl.org/store.asp (Bevere’s website.)
After years of studying cults, spiritual warfare, spiritual abuse, women’s issues in the church etc. I came across Bevere’s book, Breaking Intimidation and immediately began to read all his books and watch his videos. I thought, finally here is what I’m looking for (in regards to dealing with spiritual abuse in the church). I was a Christian at the time.
After I witnessed in person a Bevere message (I wanted to say performance); I took a closer look again at his books and hers and something inside of me started to question his theology etc.. I had escaped legalism; knowing what it was and now here I was, I felt, and this is my opinion, walking right into legalism again.
Then I went to my other books and started going through them again, other Christian authors, apologists etc. I began to look at the diversity within the church and the division that existed inside church denominations and among denominations.
I went from being a lteralist, fundamentalist, evangelical conservative Christian to an agnostic atheist. I’d say I’m a Aa.
So, to answer your question. It helped me to look more critically at it.
11.
notabarbie | May 26, 2007 at 10:39 am
I found your blog hilarious and kind of sad too. I think you know what I mean. Here’s my story:
A long time ago I attended an Assembly of God church. Everybody there spoke in tongues, but I didn’t and this really tweaked my boyfriend. One Sunday evening they had a guest speaker and he begged me to go. This man was there to teach those of us who hadn’t “received the Spirit,” to speak in tongues. He did seminars all over the country - kid you not. I still remember him saying that if we would just close our eyes and pray and just start babbling, it would come. Everyone laid their hands on me and were yelling and crying a babbling, so I did too. They were all so happy for me …I felt like an idiot and a fraud and I found myself wondering if there were others that also felt that way. I know there were. I was glad when I broke up with that guy. I think so many people feel weird around those speaking in tongues, because that’s just what it is—weird; weird and contrived.
Along those same lines; my daughter talked me into watching “Jesus Camp” the other day and have to admit it made me angry. I’m not sure why.
12.
agnosticatheist | May 26, 2007 at 11:11 am
My boys and I watched the “Jesus Camp” yesterday. I, of course, had to apologize to them for ever putting them in that type of environment. My son commented that when you’re there it felt so normal but looking at it now, it’s downright weird.
He also commented that he thinks ever kid in there is feeling as if they’re pretending and everyone else is for real… not knowing that they’re all pretending
He speaks from experience.
I sent my daughter a link to the video I posted above. She watched it yesterday. She couldn’t believe that she was actually a part of that. All she could say is “wow…. how looney.”
On the other hand, as a former tongue-talker, over time you do get beyond pretending into what you view as your “personal prayer language.” There is a certain comfort that came when you spoke in tongues. Looking back, it is a learned emotion but I can speak in my “personal prayer language” today (knowing that it’s NOT speaking a “heavenly language”
and still conjure up the same comforting feeling. Wierd.
aA
13.
notabarbie | May 26, 2007 at 11:39 am
Okay, that is weird
but I completely understand it.
I had to apologize to my daughter too. She feels like she was put in a position where she couldn’t talk to me about her doubts and misgivings and that was hard to hear. She says she’s not angry with me though and that makes me feel a little better.
I love your blog by the way.
14.
Karen | May 26, 2007 at 2:12 pm
Everyone laid their hands on me and were yelling and crying a babbling, so I did too. They were all so happy for me …I felt like an idiot and a fraud and I found myself wondering if there were others that also felt that way. I know there were.
That’s pretty much exactly the same thing I’ve heard from numerous ex-Pentecostals in my ex-fundyism support group. They were “making it up as they went along” just so they wouldn’t feel like total outcasts and they wound up feeling like frauds. I think the whole thing is a crock, frankly.
On the other hand, as a former tongue-talker, over time you do get beyond pretending into what you view as your “personal prayer language.” There is a certain comfort that came when you spoke in tongues. Looking back, it is a learned emotion but I can speak in my “personal prayer language” today (knowing that it’s NOT speaking a “heavenly language”) and still conjure up the same comforting feeling. Wierd.
So, do you feel like it was a learned behavior, like playing the piano or speaking Spanish? Rather than something supernatural? Maybe as you did it enough, there was a conditioned emotional response that is still present in your brain - sort of like how we feel comforted doing some childhood ritual like having chicken soup when we’re sick?
Just speculating …
15.
Karen | May 26, 2007 at 2:17 pm
No kidding? I saw her several times before she died. My mom *loved* her. What was the name of that documentary? She was a very charismatic woman, even if she did have the same face as Richard Nixon.
I’m sorry, I mistyped there. The documentary was on Aimee Semple McPherson, not Kathryn Kuhlman. I was thinking Kuhlman because my mother and my aunt loved her, too. Here’s the program on McPherson - it was really interesting:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/sister/filmmore/index.html
My boys and I watched the “Jesus Camp” yesterday. I, of course, had to apologize to them for ever putting them in that type of environment. My son commented that when you’re there it felt so normal but looking at it now, it’s downright weird.
I’m actually afraid to watch Jesus Camp, because I think it’ll be so depressing it will really trigger some of the negative emotions I’ve overcome in leaving Christianity. I think I probably need to put in more distance from the faith before I can watch things like that.
That said, I’m very glad I never made my kids go to anything like that. They did go to church camps a couple of times, but nothing that hard core, and mostly they didn’t like it very well so I never forced them to go back if they didn’t want to.
16.
agnosticatheist | May 28, 2007 at 11:11 pm
Agnostic,
Good post. Bevere’s Bait of Satan is used by many of the controlling pastors to keep the ’sheep’ in subjection and open to spiritual abuse. In fact, many WOF/charismatic personality cults have this as a regular study for their followers.
Hard to believe intelligent people allow themselves to be so controlled.
aA
17.
Agnostic | May 29, 2007 at 9:22 am
Thank you aA. I read Bait of Satan and if I’m not mistaken, I believe I watched the video too. At first, I was so hungry for a way out of the literalist legalistic world that I missed it when I entered into Bevere’s world, which in my opinion was just more of the same. I thought Bevere’s way was freedom but as time passed the same heavy yoke of burdens was thrown on my shoulders. Again, more bondage, not freedom.
It may be possible when I look back that intelligent people allow themselves to be controlled because that’s what they need in their lives (for various reasons often not disclosed). In other words, they fear themselves, others and life without some kind of control. If there is a God, if there is an enemy of God, aka Satan, then I need help, I need control and how better to get it then to find a world that is so black and white, so controlled that somehow we convince ourselves we are now secure, now safe.
18.
samanthamj | June 29, 2007 at 5:08 pm
Just found this post after clicking on the tag after writing my own story on speaking in tongues in my blog. Your sounds horriffic. I thought *I* was pressured! LOL
~smj
19.
Christian | October 16, 2007 at 9:31 pm
Wow, there’s a lot of people out here that are really against speaking in tounges. I stumbled upon this site by accident and i dont think ill stay too long but before i leave i just want to say that I do speak in tounges. It isnt something it learned, it isnt something that..if i dont have an interpetation right away then i discredit it altogether a cry poor me, it is an act of faith.
Everyone here has done it by reading these posts. However, you have all turned away. Can I ask why? in love for a moment? I mean sometimes it is frustrating yes..to not know what your actually praying yes, its true but also at the same time when you pray for someone in english it can be frustrating haveing patience waiting to see if the prayer worked. We always want to see evidence. If we dont then oh it must not be real, or of God. I read this and i too think to myself, i dont really care to test this out. I do it out of obedience of Christ who is my father, i can plead with him all day long to show me a “sign or wonder” that speaking in tounges is real. But you know what? if he had to show me a sign or send an angel to explain the whole procedure like as to a rocket scientist, then it wouldent really be faith at all would it?.
all im saying is that obedience is better than sacrifice remember guys? there lots i can question in church theres lots i can choose not to agree with. But the picture is bigger than that. Am i going to allow other peoples personnel beliefs affect my relationship with God? no way. I would rather submit,…yes even to things i think contradictory..to please him Jesus, not myself, To come up with an explanation for everything is sooo much easier to do than to just trust in God.
And of course i do it out of respect for the church i go to. The church is not the church just to meet my needs, rather for me to assist Gods people anyway i can. Remember when timothy got circumsiced? lol he knew it was worthless to do so,,,but at the chance of ministering to the people in that place and out of respect he did so. talk about sacrifice lol. And i hope at least if one person can see this, than it was worth my time to write this God bless you all.
oh and p.s. hate mail is encouraged. It helps me grow.
20.
Christian | October 16, 2007 at 9:33 pm
Wow, there’s a lot of people out here that are really against speaking in tounges. I stumbled upon this site by accident and i dont think ill stay too long but before i leave i just want to say that I do speak in tounges. It isnt something it learned, it isnt something that..if i dont have an interpetation right away then i discredit it altogether a cry poor me, it is an act of faith. Everyone here has done it by reading these posts. However, you have all turned away. Can I ask why? in love for a moment? I mean sometimes it is frustrating yes..to not know what your actually praying yes, its true but also at the same time when you pray for someone in english it can be frustrating haveing patience waiting to see if the prayer worked. We always want to see evidence. If we dont then oh it must not be real, or of God. I read this and i too think to myself, i dont really care to test this out. I do it out of obedience of Christ who is my father, i can plead with him all day long to show me a “sign or wonder” that speaking in tounges is real. But you know what? if he had to show me a sign or send an angel to explain the whole procedure like as to a rocket scientist, then it wouldent really be faith at all would it?. all im saying is that obedience is better than sacrifice remember guys? there lots i can question in church theres lots i can choose not to agree with. But the picture is bigger than that. Am i going to allow other peoples personnel beliefs affect my relationship with God? no way. I would rather submit,…yes even to things i think contradictory..to please him Jesus, not myself, which is in fact a wholllleeee lot easier to do. To come up with an explanation for everything is sooo much easier to do than to just trust in God. And of course i do it out of respect for the church i go to. The church is not the church just to meet my needs, rather for me to assist Gods people anyway i can. Remember when timothy got circumsiced? lol he knew it was worthless to do so,,,but at the chance of ministering to the people in that place and out of respect he did so. talk about sacrifice lol. And i hope at least if one person can see this, than it was worth my time to write this God bless you all.
21.
Christian | October 16, 2007 at 9:34 pm
oooooo ouch sorry for the double post guys…
22.
HeIsSailing | October 17, 2007 at 1:25 am
Christian sez:
in love for a moment? oh dear.
Christian, if you really want an answer to this question of *why?*, then stick around. Engage in some dialog and read a few articles.
Or you can continue to completely misunderstand and mischaracterize a very real and growing segment of the Christian population - the Christian apostate.
23.
Uniman | October 25, 2007 at 10:26 am
I have read most of the listed opinions and I took heart at “Christian’s” writing. I have been saved for 30 years now and I’m still learning and discovering wonderful spirtual things. To be honest, most of my saved life I thought speaking in tongues was phoney. I started searching recently on the subject and was blessed on one of the sites I checked out on the subject. Try it out yourself only with an open mind. http://www.layhands.com/HowToBeSpiritBaptized.htm
I realized that every one who attends church isn’t saved and just becuase we have different denominations doesn’t mean that one is better than the other (though some would disagree). What I’m getting at is there will be those skeptics and phonies and then there are those who are sincere and only want to be pleasing to God. We forget that Jesus is the Judge not us.
After 30 years of believing, I know now in faith that things like speaking in tongues is a spirtual part of life.
When you search for truth in scriptures for yourselves and not condem the truth because of what a group or certain people do or how they act, then only will you (through faith) know what is real. Stop gossiping and pointing fingers and being judge and ask God to show you the truth. But if you do then you better be prepared for a spiritual changing.
In ending, speaking in tongues is praying in your spirit to God. Its uplifing and praising God and for God only, not yourself. Scriptures says to pray in private, behind closed doors, whether praying in the flesh or in the spirit (tongues). We are always looking for some kind of feeling or something when we worship. Its not about us. Have understanding and test all spirits. God Bless you all!
24.
LeoPardus | October 25, 2007 at 11:24 am
Uniman:
Bwa-hah-hah-hah-hah-ho-ho-hee-hee!!! OMAR!
Enjoy your happy, little delusion.
25.
Uniman | October 26, 2007 at 9:39 am
Hi LeoPardus, I’m not sure of what you have written. I can only guess it was meant for meanest. But that’s ok, I expected that from some. Thank you for taking time to read my statement. The door is open, just let the truth in and it will set your free.
26.
Bro. Schultz | November 8, 2007 at 12:52 am
Hello! I am a Pentecostal preacher! I also abhor all of the phony tongues and so-called messages that are supposedly manifestations of God. Unfortunately, these comprise about 95% plus of tongues I have witnessed. One of my hobbies is to visit strange churches; I plan on writing a book, seriously. I do not feel that the early church was anything like the majority of Pentecostalism today. As a boy, I tried to speak in tongues many times, to no avail. HOWEVER, I do believe in tongues, because I spoke in tongues without trying while in prayer on more than one occasion. I am not able to speak in tongues in the microphone at will, so I am sure this diminishes my perceived spirituality. At least I will never appear in a starring role at any camp meetings in Mississippi. In short, I am probably out of touch with the majority of Pentecostalism, but I AM Pentecostal, I do believe the Bible is true, and I enjoy living for God because I have a personal relationship with Him.
27.
HeIsSailing | November 8, 2007 at 6:07 am
Brother Schultz
Brother Schultz, welcome! How do you tell the difference between the phony language and the real deal? Seriously, I am curious to know.
I do have a hunch that the early church was more like modern pentacostalism than any other modern denomination. But that is all it is - a hunch. What do you thinik the early church was like, if not pentacostalism?
28.
LeoPardus | November 8, 2007 at 11:51 am
I do have a hunch that the early church was more like modern pentacostalism than any other modern denomination.
If you want to see the nearest, currently existing approximation of what the early church looked like, try the following:
-the most conservative forms of Judaism
-Eastern or Oriental Orthodox churches
-older style, or very high church Roman Catholic services
-St. Thomas or St Mark Christian churches (if you can find them)
There is actually quite a wealth of material on the form and practices of the early church (i.e. 1st - 3rd century). But 99.99999% of Protestants and Catholics are totally unaware of it.
29.
Slain in the Spirit…&hellip | December 12, 2007 at 8:16 am
[...] Pentecostal/Neo-Pentecostal movements. HeIsSailing reminisced on several posts, including one on glossolalia, and another on self-exposed charlatan, Marjoe Gortner; Roopster also posted a humorous clip by an [...]
30.
JesusIsMyDelight | July 3, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Greetings. I speak in tongues. I have since I was 17. I’m in my 50’s now. No one prompted me or helped me to it. I’d been converted and went to a divine healer’s meeting with some friends. I was sitting far up in the bleachers praying for those going to get healed. My hands started tingling and I thought they’d fallen asleep, so I shook them a bit and continued praying. The feeling intensified and began to travel up my arm. It was becoming harder to ignore, and I wondered what was going on. My friends had moved down closer to the front so no one was around me. I then felt something like a huge pulling, I always explain it, as if there were a huge vacuum cleaner above me and the suction was tried to pull my arms up. I resisted!!! I held on to the arms of my chair, and could not figure out what was happening. It became too strong so I just let go. The pulling brought me to my feet, my arms went straight up over head and I immediately began speaking in something other than English. I had no idea what was going on, I was speaking much more than a phrase or one or two words. This went on and on and I was enraptured by the feeling of it all. It was wonderful. Ushers came to me and assumed I was standing up to get a healing, and they asked me what I needed. I could barely look at them and could not speak in English at all. They proceeded to usher me down to the front constantly asking me what I needed. Finally when we got to the person doing the healing, they told him “We can’t understand her, she isn’t speaking English. We don’t know what she needs.” He walked over to me, smiled kindly and said to them, Goodness, she’s being baptized in the Holy Spirit. Please sit her down and let her enjoy it. Stop dragging her all over this auditorium.
I have mostly spoken in tongues for my own edification. I call it my prayer language. I have found it to be very much like Romans 8:26. “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” When I pray in tongues, I am renewed. I love it. I am so thankful for it. I have many “languages”, I don’t know what I say, but I feel what I say. I sing in tongues too. I love this. It lifts me and feeds me.
Recently others have heard my music and while they don’t speak in tongues and some are not even sure how they feel about God, they have gotten something wonderful from the music. Some say it gives them faith, some say it is speaking their heart, what they cannot seem to express themselves. I didn’t always know what this gift was for. I used to be in a community of people who spoke in tongues and it was like many of the places the other posters wrote about. I couldn’t get into a lot of things. There were very few of us who would come together to pray and sing on our own. It has been many years keeping this within myself, and now I see it as a gift for healing. When the Spirit comes upon me, I choose to believe it is because someone needs to hear the music, and that it will help them in some way.
Everyone doesn’t need to speak in tongues. Just like prophecy or teaching or preaching. There are many who teach, yet some people seem to have a “gift” of teaching, or a “gift” of preaching. I don’t know why this had to become so controversial and dividing. But, then again, that is the road organized religion seems to take. Different sides, different kingdoms. In reality, we are all one. We are of the same Body.
Bless.