BunnyGirl:
I did read the entire passage. And, as my usual custom, read the surrounding passages as well to determine the context of the verse. Romans 8 is a tricky chapter, because it covers a wide variety of touchy subjects like absolution from the law, predestination and original sin. But the chapter is also very poetic, talking of creation’s birth pangs and groanings. And in these groanings, it’s brought from the whole church down to the individual. I don’t see anywhere in the chapter mention of any of the charims, gifts of the spirit as talked about in Corinthians. These “groanings” are poetic in nature,not to be taken literally. Read the passage in context please.
quote:I’ve been in services where public use of tongues was used with interpretation and the message given was in perfect conjunction with the tenor of the service, what the church as a body had been experiencing Have you ever intpreted a tongue? I have. And, in my experience (which was echoed by others I talked to who had the “gift”) it is akin to hearing your conscience talk to you. That is why you have some who interpret along the lines of the message (they were into it and paying attention) and others who are way off, because they were not in tune and went their own way. The interpretation is subjective. Two people will not interpret the tongue the same. If it’s an actual language and they were given this gift by God, shouldn’t they give the same interpretation?
quote:***Is it possible that it was a gift that was not taught about therefore people were unaware of it? snipMost people didn’t read, therefore, unless it was taught from the pulpit, people didn’t know about it. *** This was a HUGE problem I had with the curent charasmatic movement. How can you say a gift is taught and learned?! A gift, by defintion, can be neither of these. A gift is bestowed on a person, and in the case of the accounts in Acts, without asking or expecting. And in Corinthians 13:8, it clearly states that the gifts would end. And by the second century, Augustine had already said the gifts served their purpose and where gone: “In the earliest times, ‘the Holy Ghost fell upon them that believed: and they spake with tongues,’ which they had not learned, ‘as the Spirit gave them utterance.’ These were signs adapted to the time. For there behooved to be that betokening of the Holy Spirit in all tongues, to shew that the Gospel of God was to run through all tongues over the whole earth. That thing was done for a betokening, and it passed away.” Why would the early church want to repress something seen as a miracle and a gift of God? I don’t buy into that particular conspiracy theory.
andygirl:
Yes, there are quite a few religions that speak tongues. I’ve seen references to budhist monks, moslems, eskimoes, shintoists and Mormons speaking in tongues.
There have been sporadic outbreaks of tongues (the reinstatement of the charims) in church history. The Montanists in the 2nd century and the Shakers in the 1700’s are two examples. Someone with a better knowledge of church history may be able to say more. However, the groups that claim this gift were all short lived and not accepted by the chruch. The current form, mostly in Pentecostal/Charismatic movement, is the longest lived, most accepted group. However, they did get their start in the US around 1900. They are now spread out all over the world.
As for what it “feels” like? I can only give you my experience. When I “received” the gift, I had all kinds of people praying around me, was told to clear my mind. I was instructed to begin to pray, but not to use words. You are then told to pray aloud, but not with your own tongue, but the one God gives you. It is VERY emotional, and I was shaking as others prayed around me in tongues. Then it just started. After that, it could be done either in my personal prayer life or while praying around others. In personal prayer, it’s like your conscience talking to you, but in syllables you can’t understand, and can be calming and tranquill. When used in prayer service, it became much more emotional. I’ve noticed that when people first start speaking in tongues, it’s almost always repetition of syllables that others are speaking.
The nearest feeling I could descirbe it as is going to see a concert right after you girlfriend broke your heart, hearing a ballard that “speaks” to you as everyone sways and sings, and you get lightheaded singing the song with your hands up in the air, lighter in one hand, releasing emotion you would have a hard time to do otherwise.
I do have a significant number of years of observation, however. In addition, both articulate glossolalia and “speaking” at will generally come to a person who devotes time regularly in private prayer, over time, in addition to immersing one’s self in worship times in church service.