Tongues: The Biblical Case Against Today’s Gibberish
Any
Christian believer with
integrity would have to admit
that their Bible allows for a
diversity of interpretation on
many doctrines, topics and
verses. Any honest inquiry seeks
to discern what the Bible
teaches and proclaim THAT
message; anything short of this
makes you a charlatan! A good
minister ALWAYS seeks to
proclaim the BIBLICAL message;
and not something personal or
contrary to what the text
actually says.
In
my opinion, the Bible is not
that difficult of a book to
understand. The Scriptures
themselves reveal the simplicity
of understanding the scriptures,
2 Timothy 3:15, “And that from
a child thou hast known the holy
scriptures, which are able to
make thee wise unto
salvation.” The real question
that needs to be asked is
“Does one WANT to follow the
Scriptures?” This is a rather
deep question being posed here!
If Christians suddenly decided
to start following their
Scriptures, I suppose that 30%
of their denominations would
need to fall by the wayside!
What was the scriptural mandate concerning the usage of tongues within the church? There were a few basic rules: (see I Corinthians 15:27-37)
1)
No more than 3 speakers
per service
2)
There must be an
interpreter
3)
If no interpreter is
present…no one is allowed to
speak in tongues
4)
Women
were NOT allowed to speak in the
church * (I see two possible
interpretations of this…1)
Women not allowed to speak in tongues
in the church
2) Women not allowed to
speak at all (total silence)
while they are at church.
Personally, I think the first
option of women being denied
the opportunity to speak in
tongues was the intention of
the scriptures.)
Christians
can debate amongst themselves on
many aspects surrounding the
subject of tongues, but these
four rules are very clear. The
question of point #4 isn’t an
obstacle at all: both
interpretations deny women the
permission to speak in tongues
while inside of a church!
Those that visit or
attend a Charismatic or
Pentecostal church would have to
confess that their churches
often fail to conform to the
Biblical mandate (women quite
frequently indulge in the
practice of tongues speaking)!
Speaking
in Tongues Today Isn’t
Biblical!
The
scriptures taught, “tongues
shall cease” (I Corinthians
13:8). Christian sources
indicate that this was written
sometime around A.D. 56.
There must have been some
distinction intended between the
initiation of tongues ceasing
and the end of time, wouldn’t
you think? I Corinthians 13:10
states: “But when that which
is perfect is come, then that
which is in part shall be done
away.”
The consensus is that
which is perfect refers to the
completion of the writing of the
scriptures (closing of the
Christian Canon). Then that
which was in part (tongues) was
to be done away with!
Today’s
Christian’s have no Biblical
grounds whatsoever to speak in
tongues! Biblical tongues ceased
to exist with the writing of the
apostle John’s book of
Revelation. Severe warnings
(Rev. 22:18-19) with penalties
were given to those that would
add or take away from this book!
Yet many Christians will
tell you that God still speaks
to them today!
Is
the Gibberish They Repeat Words
Spoken By a Ghost?
Frequent
visitors to Ex-minister know
that I am respectful to
Christians. I do not wish to be
unkind here, but with the
god of the Bible being a
fictitious being, one must
consider the source from where
these Christian tongues
speakers’ vocal expressions
originate?
Don’t try to get me to
believe that a ghost (Holy
Ghost) is speaking to these
folks! Like I said, the god of
the Bible doesn’t exist!
Those
voices that “they hear” are
clearly coming from within
themselves. If one “hears
voices” and or repeats
whatever that voice tells them
to say in a psychiatrist’s
office; they would diagnose this
person as hallucinating or to be
schizophrenic. Evidently,
hallucinations and schizophrenia
are considered to be within
societies acceptable behavioral
norms while one frequents
churches and is only considered
problematic when the same
behavior resurfaces outside of
the cathedrals. What, do they
transform the moment they walk
out of the church’s doors? If
one is schizophrenic in the pew,
then they are still
schizophrenic in the real world
on other days!
Far
too many people with
“imaginary friends” hold
strategic positions of trust and
importance in society.
Hallucinations and schizophrenia
can so easily be forgiven
(undiagnosed/overlooked) if it
happens within a cathedral on
Sundays.
One never knows when the
believer might suddenly hear the
voice from their imaginary
friend or how that delivered
message might affect the lives
of those affiliated with the
psychotic.
Think
that I am being melodramatic
here? What if that voice tells a
distressed mother to do
something detrimental to a
child? Consider that a Muslim
suicidal bomber and our last
unsuccessful US Vice
Presidential candidate both
hear the voice of “God”
speaking to them! How bad is the
problem? Consider that
American’s cast some 57.7
million votes for a candidate
with a solid Charismatic
background in November 2008.
This
crowd is much different than the
Methodists, Presbyterians,
Baptists, and Catholics. Many of
them bring their crazed ideas
into the public arena with
gusto! Anyone heard of Pat
Robertson? You never know what
“God” might tell his
“chosen one” to do. Since we
cannot put a muzzle on
“God,” how should one deal
with this element of society
that hears voices and speaks
back/communicating with that
voice?
First
let me say as an American, I
strongly cherish and concur with
our Bill of Rights. Religious
folks are just as entitled to
these as I am as a secular
humanist; but church and state
need to be kept separate! I am a
fan of pluralism and know that
we as a society would be better
off if we found ways to work
together (religious and
secular).
Facing
the facts, the religious folks
have done a better job of
pushing their worldview than we
have as humanists! I am not a
fan of the new atheists or what
the Christian’s like to call
“The War on Christianity”.
In my opinion, the “blast
them, ridicule/sarcasm,
or combative
approach" is anger based
and isn’t all that effective
to produce change, it just stirs
the pot!
Think
with me. When you were in
school, did you learn as much
from those teachers that you
thought didn’t give a damn
about you? This is why I just
don’t think that needless
confrontation works! If one
thinks that you hate them,
whatever you say or do will
probably not find a receptive
audience!
What
I sense would work better
involves the re-examining of the
egalitarian concept of society .
This is an entitlement often
rendered to folks that haven’t
earned it! I had addressed this
once before, but I need to
further develop the thought in a
future post as time permits.
Brian
Worley
Ex-Minister.org
April 3, 2009
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