Speaking in tongues

Stewart75

There's something which has crossed my mind too often, after doing some research, meeting people myself- I have become more convinced that Speaking in Tongues was mis interpretered wrongly by the pentecostals. I would be interested to hear JW's view of speaking in tongues and why Jehovah Witness classify them as one of the christodom.

Which of their any of their customs/traditions which bible doesnt support, I am just trying to make myself aware, with help if possible.

Clarification would be much appreciated

AlmostAtheist

We're mostly ex-JW's here, but the JW view is that speaking in tongues was literally the miraculous gift of being able to speak another language, for the purpose of preaching the good news. It was first mentioned as being given to those in the upper room during Pentecost, who then used the gift to preach to those of different languages visiting Jerusalem.

According to JW teachings, such miraculous gifts were meant to cease and did cease in the first century. They don't believe anyone has miraculous powers through the holy spirit anymore.

Welcome to the board!

Dave

Stewart75

Hi Dave,

Thanks for welcoming me on the board, and for speaking on behalf of JW.. I would have liked to see some scripture support also from either translations, so one other thing, I wouldnt mind hearing from your point of view also.. That is if you care to type.

Cheers

Stewart

moshe

Welcome to the board!

My second wife was a Pentecostal. It always struck me as strange that someone would get up in her church and speak in tongues for 1 minute, then another church member would get up to interpret and spend a long 5 minutes telling us what the other person had said. It never made any sense to me.

peace,

Moshe

Narkissos

Welcome Stewart75.

JW view is that speaking in tongues was literally the miraculous gift of being able to speak another language, for the purpose of preaching the good news.

This is the idealistic presentation of glossolaly in Acts 2; otoh it is hardly the kind of glossolaly attested in 1 Corinthians: the latter required interpretation (12:10 etc.; 14:5,13); cf. 14:2: "those who speak in a tongue do not speak to other people but to God; for nobody understands them, since they are speaking mysteries in the Spirit." 4: "Those who speak in a tongue build up themselves, but those who prophesy build up the church." 6: "if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you in some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?" 9: "if in a tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is being said? For you will be speaking into the air." 19: "I would rather speak five words with my mind, in order to instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue." 22f: "Tongues, then, are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers. If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your mind?"

It is pretty clear to me that the kind of "speaking in tongues" referred to in 1 Corinthians had nothing to do with evangelism; Acts 2 modifies the practice into an intelligible speech in a different language, making the legend of Pentecost a sort of anti-Babel. But actually the Pentecostal practice is probably close to the early Christian glossolaly.

jstalin

Just sounds like a bad batch of mushrooms, to me.

gumby

To this day I've NEVER heard of anyone who has interpreted ANYTHING from another tongue. It's ALL blabber that is no language at all. Find ONE person who can interpret someone speaking in another language they do not ALREADY know and I'll eat a dog turd.

Btw.....welcome to the board

Gumby

corproal

You are correct in your interpretation of tongues.Many of these televagelists are what are commonly known as faith healers.I say they're crooks.

enough said.

Craig

144001

Gumby,
Will that be doberman or shih tzu?

kristyann

I was actually just thinking the other day of starting a post on this! I don't really know how I feel about tongues... I don't think that there is something inherently wrong with it, but I don't think that it should be the MAIN focus of Christians. It says right in the Bible that not everyone is blessed with that particular gift, so I know that some Pentecostals think that you HAVE to be speaking in tongues, and if you're not, then you don't really have the Holy Spirit. This is obviously not true, if the Bible itself says that not everyone is given this particular gift. I also know that the Bible says that one should not do it without providing an interpreter, which I know some people do. (I wish I had my Bible with me right now to provide the exact references, but I don't.) The reason for the interpreter is to avoid chaos, confusing outsiders, etc. However, I don't know if everyone that goes around speaking in tongues is really doing it or if any of them are faking it, where all of it comes from, etc.

I am also curious, like the person who started this post, about why JWs seem particularly put off by speaking in tongues. When I was still talking to my boyfriend's JW mom, I mentioned that he had started attending a church. She said "Is he still going to that Wesleyan one?" and I said "No, he goes to another one. I think that they do some weird things at this new church he's going to." And she said in this very urgent, frightened voice "You mean like speaking in tongues!?!?" That's not even what I meant, and I am not sure why she would just assume that I meant speaking in tongues. I had never even discussed the topic of tongues with her. I just said that the church did some strange things, and she assumed I was talking about speaking in tongues, and she sounded so frightened. What is up with that? Why did she just bring that up all of a sudden, and why did she sound so freaked out? Are tongues particularly portrayed as evil by Jehovah's Witnesses? Is this a topic that JWs bring up often?

Speaking in tongues

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