What is your opinion of speaking in tongues today vs. the days of the apostles?

Question

I recently experienced a woman speak in an unknown tongue at church, and I have some serious doubts about the authenticity of the event. The pastor claimed to interpret, and the church elders are backing him up. But when questioned separately, different stories arise. I'm not necessarily saying the woman was faking the event, but my question is...how do we really know it was of God? 1st COR. Chap. 14, v.27-28 seems to make it very clear to me when talking about an unknown tongue, but the church elders say I'm misinterpreting the scripture and all that was in place.

Part 2 of this question is this. If you continue and read 1st COR. Chap. 14 v. 34-35 it clearly states how women should be in the church. Am I the only one that finds it a little ironic that on a chapter mainly dealing with the speaking of unknown tongues also has this tidbit about women in the church? Bottom line is my church is defending a woman that spoke in an unknown tongue when scripture does not support it.

Answer 1

Speaking in tongues in the Bible refers to speaking in a language that EVERYONE can understand, regardless of native tongue.  

I have yet to see anyone do that in a church.  And it certainly wouldn't need an interpreter.  Glossolalia, on the other hand, fits the bill nicely.  And it's quite easy to see how it happens, when the desperation to believe and to be overcome is there.

Answer 2

Speaking in tongues is a great example of Christians being full of $h!t

Answer 3

Defining speaking in tongues is a special ability given through the holy spirit to some disciples in the early christian congregation that enabled them to preach or otherwise glorify God in a language other than their own. Only the first century christians spoke in tongues Acts 2:4,8 and the ones that spoke in tongue only did it when there was an interpreter present to translate so today people do not speak in tongues

Answer 4

I doubt it, it is a misuse of the gift.  There must be a clear purpose, who could not speak the main language?  It was peer pressure and pride, showing off that "she had the spirit", God will not be mocked.

Real use of the gift is as a missionary can quickly pick up the language.  That is what the apostles did. spoke and the people in their own language understood.  Those event were written in scripture because they WERE unique and dramatic.

Answer 5

The way I see it, the Bible seems to indicate that, when the Pentecost came upon the apostles, God gave them the ability to speak in different languages. Since there were at least 12 apostles, what most likely happened was that different apostles were preaching in other languages, not 1 universal language. That's absurd.

Today's "speaking in tongues" consists of a group of idiots babbling. There is absolutely no "divine inspiration" taking place in their minds.

Answer 6

Speaking in tongues as it is today is not the same as the phenomenon mentioned in the Bible.  However, it can be an expression of religious experience when words fail one, rather like dancing and singing.  Analysis of the utterances made by people whom others have claimed to be speaking in tongues shows a different distribution of common and rare sounds and syllables compared to any natural, constructed or angelic language.  Such languages show a relatively small number of common sounds and syllables and a larger number of rare ones, whereas "speaking in tongues" shows a more even distribution.  However, such even distributions do occur in compressed text, so it is possible for such an utterance to carry meaningful information.

Speaking in tongues as described in Scripture is more like a gift for using language.  There are language savants who can pick up foreign languages very quickly, and i would say it was feasible for this to occur as a result of divine intervention.  I think this occurs too, for example in people translating the Bible into new languages or in inspired evangelism or sermons.  It's claimed, for example, that when the first translation of the Old Testament into Greek was made, seventy isolated translators came up with the same translation, word for word, and some people believe that the KJV was particularly divinely inspired in its actual translation.  That is the sort of process referred to in the New Testament.

Part 2:  Yes, it is ironic but then men have glossolalia as well.

Answer 7

read Corinthians 12:10

to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

So there are different types of tongues, and some have the ability to interpret it, while others can only speak it.

Answer 8

I have been a Christian for nearly 20 years. I also have 2 degrees in religion. I don't profess to know everything, in fact I know very little.

However. I have seen the speaking in tongues in several churches, and have never seen or heard anything that I though to be factual. Most Pentecostal/Charismatic churches that promote this speaking in tongues usually are uneducated people and rarely is there a pastor involved who went to an "acceptable" seminary. All I have ever seen is false.

Why??? I do not know why they do it. I can guess.