What "The Gift of Tongues" actually is...

[Catholica]

I listened to this podcast the other day, and it was quite excellent, definitely worth a listen:

http://www.audiosancto.org/sermon/20140817-Charismatic-Graces-The-Gift-of-Tongues.html

Some highlights:

* Speaking in tongues is the ability to speak languages which one has not learned.
* Interpretation of tongues is the ability to understand languages which one has not learned.
* Speaking in tongues is a gift given to an individual that is useful to others.
* Speaking in tongues is not the gibberish which some people attribute to the gift, otherwise known as "Glossolalia".  Not only is there is no spiritual purpose for glossolalia, and when linguists analyze glossolalia they can tell from its complete lack of structure that it is not a language at all, and in addition there are no examples in the Bible of people speaking gibberish.
* Speaking in tongues is as rare a gift in the church today as is the gift of raising the dead.
* Being able to speak many languages by natural means is not the gift of speaking in tongues.
* A gift from God such as these is not something that is easily falsifiable.  "Glossolalia" is falsifiable.  Speaking in tongues is not, just as raising the dead is not.

[chosenone]

Its certainly not rare at all. I have heard many people praying in tongues and these are mature believers who I know very well who would never make anything up. I have also heard quite a few genuine words from God given through tongues and interpreted as well. IF you go to the right churches where the HS is actually allowed to work and speak, you will hear this a lot. There is no Biblical basis to say that its a rare gift, in fact Pauls says quite the opposite. 

'Gibbersh' is a word often used by people who dont usually believe that this gift is for today. Many languages will sound like 'gibberish' if we dont understand them.  However God does understand it and thats the point.

[Catholica]

Its certainly not rare at all. I have heard many people praying in tongues and these are mature believers who I know very well who would never make anything up. I have also heard quite a few genuine words from God given through tongues and interpreted as well. IF you go to the right churches where the HS is actually allowed to work and speak, you will hear this a lot. There is no Biblical basis to say that its a rare gift, in fact Pauls says quite the opposite. 

'Gibbersh' is a word often used by people who dont usually believe that this gift is for today. Many languages will sound like 'gibberish' if we dont understand them.  However God does understand it and thats the point.

You have heard glossolalia which is a false practice, and the people who speak it may be honestly believing they are speaking in tongues but they are just producing gibberish in their desire to speak in tongues.  Glossolalia is false and consists of no structure common to all languages but is just a stream of meaningless syllables that sound like language to those speaking them.

Gibberish is the accurate term to refer to glossolalia because what the people are doing is speaking gibberish, with no structure whatsoever, and it is a completely false attribution to the actual gift of tongues from the Holy Spirit, which was exhibited first at Pentecost and then by several other holy men and women throughout history.

No one understands the gibberish that some falsely attribute to the gift of speaking in tongues because it is not a language.  There are many mentally unstable people out there, and many deceivers especially in that kind of church who enjoy the attention they get from "interpreting tongues".  But that is not the interpretation of tongues either, that is just making stuff up.  Interpretation of tongues is being able to understand real human languages which they have never learned.

[k-pappy]

Hi Catholica,

I do not think we have a Biblical stance to say if "tongues" is rare or common.  I think that is based more on our own personal perception.

Otherwise, I agree with the highlights you listed.  I will try to listen to the podcast when I get home. 

Thanks for sharing!

[DaveW]

Tongues is NOT SUPPOSED to be rare.  Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:5a: Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues...

The only "giberish" I have come across comes from those demonized with a spirit of false tongues.

[Catholica]

Tongues is NOT SUPPOSED to be rare.  Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:5a: Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues...

The only "giberish" I have come across comes from those demonized with a spirit of false tongues.

Tongues was needed in the early church because of the Church's small size.  There were many languages to preach the gospel in and there was a greater need for tongues because of the combination of the two.  Nowadays the Church is everywhere in every country speaking every language naturally. 

Tongues still exist, but they exist as people speaking languages which they don't know, not gobbledy-gook. 

[DaveW]

Tongues was needed in the early church because of the Church's small size.  There were many languages to preach the gospel in and there was a greater need for tongues because of the combination of the two.  Nowadays the Church is everywhere in every country speaking every language naturally. 

Tongues still exist, but they exist as people speaking languages which they don't know, not gobbledy-gook.

Wow.  I am surprized.  You sound just like the protestant cessationists I grew up around.

Maybe you had better take that up with some of your own Catholic Charismatic theologians.  If memory serves, the last few popes, going back to Pope Paul VI,  have been favorable to the Charismatic Catholics.

[chosenone]

Its certainly not rare at all. I have heard many people praying in tongues and these are mature believers who I know very well who would never make anything up. I have also heard quite a few genuine words from God given through tongues and interpreted as well. IF you go to the right churches where the HS is actually allowed to work and speak, you will hear this a lot. There is no Biblical basis to say that its a rare gift, in fact Pauls says quite the opposite. 

'Gibbersh' is a word often used by people who dont usually believe that this gift is for today. Many languages will sound like 'gibberish' if we dont understand them.  However God does understand it and thats the point.

You have heard glossolalia which is a false practice, and the people who speak it may be honestly believing they are speaking in tongues but they are just producing gibberish in their desire to speak in tongues.  Glossolalia is false and consists of no structure common to all languages but is just a stream of meaningless syllables that sound like language to those speaking them.

Gibberish is the accurate term to refer to glossolalia because what the people are doing is speaking gibberish, with no structure whatsoever, and it is a completely false attribution to the actual gift of tongues from the Holy Spirit, which was exhibited first at Pentecost and then by several other holy men and women throughout history.

No one understands the gibberish that some falsely attribute to the gift of speaking in tongues because it is not a language.  There are many mentally unstable people out there, and many deceivers especially in that kind of church who enjoy the attention they get from "interpreting tongues".  But that is not the interpretation of tongues either, that is just making stuff up.  Interpretation of tongues is being able to understand real human languages which they have never learned.

Wow you need to be VERY careful when you tell anyone that what they do or what they have heard isnt of God.      I have heard countless people speaking in the God given prayer language that definitely HAS got a structure and definitely WAS of God. I have the gift of discerning of spirits and I can tell you they were genuine. The words from God I heard were from Him, and no where does the Bible say that this gift is rare or will be rare ever, on the contrary. As Dave reminded us  , Paul said 'I wish that you all spoke in tongues as much as I do.'
Unbelievable that you can judge what I have seen a heard more than I can myself, when you werent even there. Both my husband and I have been praying in tongues for most of our adult lives, about 30 years. Both of our languages have a clear structure as much as any known language. We are speaking languages that we dont know, thats the point. It by passes our minds and is our spirits praying directly to God who is spirit.   

[chosenone]

Tongues is NOT SUPPOSED to be rare.  Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:5a: Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues...

The only "giberish" I have come across comes from those demonized with a spirit of false tongues.

Yes and that is actually pretty rare in my experience.

[Jaime]

Chosenone, in my opinion praying in tongues is another thing all together. The Bible clearly tells us that the Holy Spirit can discern even our heartfelt groanings. Words of any language do not have to be uttered. Personally I don't lump speaking in tongues with praying in tongues, but that's just me.

[chosenone]

Chosenone, in my opinion praying in tongues is another thing all together. The Bible clearly tells us that the Holy Spirit can discern even our heartfelt groanings. Words of any language do not have to be uttered. Personally I don't lump speaking in tongues with praying in tongues, but that's just me.

Well speaking to God IS praying isnt it?

[DaveW]

Chosenone, in my opinion praying in tongues is another thing all together. The Bible clearly tells us that the Holy Spirit can discern even our heartfelt groanings. Words of any language do not have to be uttered. Personally I don't lump speaking in tongues with praying in tongues, but that's just me.

Paul lumps them all together in 1 Cor 12 and 14.  Yes there are distinctions between giving a prophetic message in toungues, using a prayer language, and "singing in the Spirit."

Clearly the latter 2 are not understood by anyone as they are "mysteries to God." (14.2) So Paul decides to pray and sing both with the understanding and in the Spirit. (14.15)  That is EXACTLY what many cessationists label "gibberish."

[Wycliffes_Shillelagh]

* Speaking in tongues is the ability to speak languages which one has not learned.
* Interpretation of tongues is the ability to understand languages which one has not learned.
* Speaking in tongues is a gift given to an individual that is useful to others.
* Speaking in tongues is not the gibberish which some people attribute to the gift, otherwise known as "Glossolalia".  Not only is there is no spiritual purpose for glossolalia, and when linguists analyze glossolalia they can tell from its complete lack of structure that it is not a language at all, and in addition there are no examples in the Bible of people speaking gibberish.
* A gift from God such as these is not something that is easily falsifiable.  "Glossolalia" is falsifiable.  Speaking in tongues is not, just as raising the dead is not.

I agree with these, but I'm not so sure about...

* Speaking in tongues is as rare a gift in the church today as is the gift of raising the dead.
* Being able to speak many languages by natural means is not the gift of speaking in tongues.

There was a man in the church I grew up in from one of the pacific islands.  We received messages in his native tongue semi-frequently, which he, of course, interpreted, since he spoke that language.

I know a missionary who received a permanent gift of a tongue.  He still speaks the native american language he was gifted to this day.

In visiting various churches, I've heard messages given in several languages that I could recognize as... German... Spanish...  We used to get frequent messages in Spanish, without interpretation.  When half+ the church speaks Spanish, that's not a problem.

I don't think it's as uncommon as you think.

Jarrod

[Jaime]

Chosenone, in my opinion praying in tongues is another thing all together. The Bible clearly tells us that the Holy Spirit can discern even our heartfelt groanings. Words of any language do not have to be uttered. Personally I don't lump speaking in tongues with praying in tongues, but that's just me.

Well speaking to God IS praying isnt it?

Sure, but I'm comparing it to someone standing up in a gathering and speaking in tongues or a language giving a prophetic word or something as opposed to desparate utterings in a prayer to God, which I have done once in despair when my daughter almost died a few years ago. It wasn't something I would characterize as language or a tongue but simply desperate groanings.  My point is it would not have to sound like or be similar to any one else's prayer language. It would not even really be a language or a tongue. It is a spilling out of one's soul to God.

All other times I pray to God either in words I want to convey to him as praise and honor and glory or supplication verbally or in thought. If it helps someone to communicate privately to God in a string of indiscernible audible syllables, that's great, but I just don't characterize that as the gift of tongues.

[chosenone]

Chosenone, in my opinion praying in tongues is another thing all together. The Bible clearly tells us that the Holy Spirit can discern even our heartfelt groanings. Words of any language do not have to be uttered. Personally I don't lump speaking in tongues with praying in tongues, but that's just me.

Well speaking to God IS praying isnt it?

Sure, but I'm comparing it to someone standing up in a gathering and speaking in tongues or a language giving a prophetic word or something as opposed to desparate utterings in a prayer to God, which I have done once in despair when my daughter almost died a few years ago. It wasn't something I would characterize as language or a tongue but simply desperate groanings.  My point is it would not have to sound like or be similar to any one else's prayer language. It would not even really be a language or a tongue. It is a spilling out of one's soul to God.

All other times I pray to God either in words I want to convey to him as praise and honor and glory or supplication verbally or in thought. If it helps someone to communicate privately to God in a string of indiscernible audible syllables, that's great, but I just don't characterize that as the gift of tongues.

Tongues is a language given by God. When we use this language we dont know what we are praying but it is a definite language that God understands. We can also sing in this language as described by Paul.
The gift of giving a message/prophecy in tongues is different and is for the benefit of the church as a whole and not just an individual speaking/praying to God. If this happens there needs to be an interpreter. 

[Catholica]

Tongues was needed in the early church because of the Church's small size.  There were many languages to preach the gospel in and there was a greater need for tongues because of the combination of the two.  Nowadays the Church is everywhere in every country speaking every language naturally. 

Tongues still exist, but they exist as people speaking languages which they don't know, not gobbledy-gook.

Wow.  I am surprized.  You sound just like the protestant cessationists I grew up around.

Maybe you had better take that up with some of your own Catholic Charismatic theologians.  If memory serves, the last few popes, going back to Pope Paul VI,  have been favorable to the Charismatic Catholics.

A cessationist would say that the gifts have ceased, correct?  I am not saying that.  And in fact, there is evidence throughout the history of the church that they have not.  I'm saying that, when the gift itself (not babbling) is understood for what it actually is, it's use is fairly uncommon, if not rare.

One cannot be cessationist about the babbling so-called gift.  It can't cease if it never started and doesn't exist.

How often have you heard a person who, say, never learned Spanish, speaking Spanish to someone who cannot speak English?  Just for example.  Substitute any language for Spanish you like.  That's what the gift of tongues is.

[Catholica]

* Speaking in tongues is the ability to speak languages which one has not learned.
* Interpretation of tongues is the ability to understand languages which one has not learned.
* Speaking in tongues is a gift given to an individual that is useful to others.
* Speaking in tongues is not the gibberish which some people attribute to the gift, otherwise known as "Glossolalia".  Not only is there is no spiritual purpose for glossolalia, and when linguists analyze glossolalia they can tell from its complete lack of structure that it is not a language at all, and in addition there are no examples in the Bible of people speaking gibberish.
* A gift from God such as these is not something that is easily falsifiable.  "Glossolalia" is falsifiable.  Speaking in tongues is not, just as raising the dead is not.

I agree with these, but I'm not so sure about...

* Speaking in tongues is as rare a gift in the church today as is the gift of raising the dead.
* Being able to speak many languages by natural means is not the gift of speaking in tongues.

There was a man in the church I grew up in from one of the pacific islands.  We received messages in his native tongue semi-frequently, which he, of course, interpreted, since he spoke that language.

I know a missionary who received a permanent gift of a tongue.  He still speaks the native american language he was gifted to this day.

In visiting various churches, I've heard messages given in several languages that I could recognize as... German... Spanish...  We used to get frequent messages in Spanish, without interpretation.  When half+ the church speaks Spanish, that's not a problem.

I don't think it's as uncommon as you think.

Jarrod

Perhaps.  I have heard of examples as well.  I have also heard "many" examples of people coming back from the dead.  We call them "near death" experiences, but in fact, they are actually dead and come back to life.  Also miraculous healings happen.  Unless you find someone who has the gift and uses it, you don't hear about them or see them every day.  But they do happen.

"Glossolalia" are not the gift of tongues.  Some congregations actually believe that if you can't speak in tongues, you aren't saved.  Or that everyone must be able to babble.  That is heresy and not the gift of tongues.

[Catholica]

Its certainly not rare at all. I have heard many people praying in tongues and these are mature believers who I know very well who would never make anything up. I have also heard quite a few genuine words from God given through tongues and interpreted as well. IF you go to the right churches where the HS is actually allowed to work and speak, you will hear this a lot. There is no Biblical basis to say that its a rare gift, in fact Pauls says quite the opposite. 

'Gibbersh' is a word often used by people who dont usually believe that this gift is for today. Many languages will sound like 'gibberish' if we dont understand them.  However God does understand it and thats the point.

You have heard glossolalia which is a false practice, and the people who speak it may be honestly believing they are speaking in tongues but they are just producing gibberish in their desire to speak in tongues.  Glossolalia is false and consists of no structure common to all languages but is just a stream of meaningless syllables that sound like language to those speaking them.

Gibberish is the accurate term to refer to glossolalia because what the people are doing is speaking gibberish, with no structure whatsoever, and it is a completely false attribution to the actual gift of tongues from the Holy Spirit, which was exhibited first at Pentecost and then by several other holy men and women throughout history.

No one understands the gibberish that some falsely attribute to the gift of speaking in tongues because it is not a language.  There are many mentally unstable people out there, and many deceivers especially in that kind of church who enjoy the attention they get from "interpreting tongues".  But that is not the interpretation of tongues either, that is just making stuff up.  Interpretation of tongues is being able to understand real human languages which they have never learned.

Wow you need to be VERY careful when you tell anyone that what they do or what they have heard isnt of God.     

Not when it comes to babbling, I don't, because I have the Church which is guided by the Holy Spirit.  There is no duplicity in the Holy Spirit.

I have heard countless people speaking in the God given prayer language that definitely HAS got a structure and definitely WAS of God. I have the gift of discerning of spirits and I can tell you they were genuine.

No you haven't, and if you think they have, then you don't have the gift of discerning spirits either.

Unbelievable that you can judge what I have seen a heard more than I can myself, when you werent even there. Both my husband and I have been praying in tongues for most of our adult lives, about 30 years. Both of our languages have a clear structure as much as any known language. We are speaking languages that we dont know, thats the point. It by passes our minds and is our spirits praying directly to God who is spirit.

What is unbelieveable is that you believe that you are unquestionable because of your "experience", or that your "experiences" are themselves infallible.

"I've never seen that" and "I've seen that a lot" is often your argument as to why you believe yourself to be right. 

[chosenone]

Tongues was needed in the early church because of the Church's small size.  There were many languages to preach the gospel in and there was a greater need for tongues because of the combination of the two.  Nowadays the Church is everywhere in every country speaking every language naturally. 

Tongues still exist, but they exist as people speaking languages which they don't know, not gobbledy-gook.

Wow.  I am surprized.  You sound just like the protestant cessationists I grew up around.

Maybe you had better take that up with some of your own Catholic Charismatic theologians.  If memory serves, the last few popes, going back to Pope Paul VI,  have been favorable to the Charismatic Catholics.

A cessationist would say that the gifts have ceased, correct?  I am not saying that.  And in fact, there is evidence throughout the history of the church that they have not.  I'm saying that, when the gift itself (not babbling) is understood for what it actually is, it's use is fairly uncommon, if not rare.

One cannot be cessationist about the babbling so-called gift.  It can't cease if it never started and doesn't exist.

How often have you heard a person who, say, never learned Spanish, speaking Spanish to someone who cannot speak English?  Just for example.  Substitute any language for Spanish you like.  That's what the gift of tongues is.

IT may be rare in the RC church but its not rare in other churches.

[chosenone]

Its certainly not rare at all. I have heard many people praying in tongues and these are mature believers who I know very well who would never make anything up. I have also heard quite a few genuine words from God given through tongues and interpreted as well. IF you go to the right churches where the HS is actually allowed to work and speak, you will hear this a lot. There is no Biblical basis to say that its a rare gift, in fact Pauls says quite the opposite. 

'Gibbersh' is a word often used by people who dont usually believe that this gift is for today. Many languages will sound like 'gibberish' if we dont understand them.  However God does understand it and thats the point.

You have heard glossolalia which is a false practice, and the people who speak it may be honestly believing they are speaking in tongues but they are just producing gibberish in their desire to speak in tongues.  Glossolalia is false and consists of no structure common to all languages but is just a stream of meaningless syllables that sound like language to those speaking them.

Gibberish is the accurate term to refer to glossolalia because what the people are doing is speaking gibberish, with no structure whatsoever, and it is a completely false attribution to the actual gift of tongues from the Holy Spirit, which was exhibited first at Pentecost and then by several other holy men and women throughout history.

No one understands the gibberish that some falsely attribute to the gift of speaking in tongues because it is not a language.  There are many mentally unstable people out there, and many deceivers especially in that kind of church who enjoy the attention they get from "interpreting tongues".  But that is not the interpretation of tongues either, that is just making stuff up.  Interpretation of tongues is being able to understand real human languages which they have never learned.

Wow you need to be VERY careful when you tell anyone that what they do or what they have heard isnt of God.     

Not when it comes to babbling, I don't, because I have the Church which is guided by the Holy Spirit.  There is no duplicity in the Holy Spirit.

I have heard countless people speaking in the God given prayer language that definitely HAS got a structure and definitely WAS of God. I have the gift of discerning of spirits and I can tell you they were genuine.

No you haven't, and if you think they have, then you don't have the gift of discerning spirits either.

Unbelievable that you can judge what I have seen a heard more than I can myself, when you werent even there. Both my husband and I have been praying in tongues for most of our adult lives, about 30 years. Both of our languages have a clear structure as much as any known language. We are speaking languages that we dont know, thats the point. It by passes our minds and is our spirits praying directly to God who is spirit.

What is unbelieveable is that you believe that you are unquestionable because of your "experience", or that your "experiences" are themselves infallible.

"I've never seen that" and "I've seen that a lot" is often your argument as to why you believe yourself to be right.

How can you possibly judge what other do or dont do, or what churches do or dont do if you arent even there? The gift of tongues is 100% Biblical, no where does Paul say that these gifts are anything but common in the body of Christ, and yes I do have the gift of discerning of spirits, some mature godly believers have told me that. My husband and I pray in tongues every day and have done for well over 30 years(more in his case). Its normal for us to pray to Our Father in this way. Its no big deal, its our spirits communicating with God who is spirit. 

PLease show me where in the following passage Paul says that this gift is rare. He is telling people in a regular meeting what the godly order should be for giving a word in tongues. It was clearly a common practise there, so much so that they had to all wait their turn, and still is, and no where are we told any different

1 Corinthians 14:26-28New International Version (NIV)

Good Order in Worship
26 What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28

[Catholica]

Tongues was needed in the early church because of the Church's small size.  There were many languages to preach the gospel in and there was a greater need for tongues because of the combination of the two.  Nowadays the Church is everywhere in every country speaking every language naturally. 

Tongues still exist, but they exist as people speaking languages which they don't know, not gobbledy-gook.

Wow.  I am surprized.  You sound just like the protestant cessationists I grew up around.

Maybe you had better take that up with some of your own Catholic Charismatic theologians.  If memory serves, the last few popes, going back to Pope Paul VI,  have been favorable to the Charismatic Catholics.

A cessationist would say that the gifts have ceased, correct?  I am not saying that.  And in fact, there is evidence throughout the history of the church that they have not.  I'm saying that, when the gift itself (not babbling) is understood for what it actually is, it's use is fairly uncommon, if not rare.

One cannot be cessationist about the babbling so-called gift.  It can't cease if it never started and doesn't exist.

How often have you heard a person who, say, never learned Spanish, speaking Spanish to someone who cannot speak English?  Just for example.  Substitute any language for Spanish you like.  That's what the gift of tongues is.

IT may be rare in the RC church but its not rare in other churches.

That's because other "churches" don't believe (in general) in the actual gift of tongues, but in rather a false imitation that sounds like babbling.

[Catholica]

Its certainly not rare at all. I have heard many people praying in tongues and these are mature believers who I know very well who would never make anything up. I have also heard quite a few genuine words from God given through tongues and interpreted as well. IF you go to the right churches where the HS is actually allowed to work and speak, you will hear this a lot. There is no Biblical basis to say that its a rare gift, in fact Pauls says quite the opposite. 

'Gibbersh' is a word often used by people who dont usually believe that this gift is for today. Many languages will sound like 'gibberish' if we dont understand them.  However God does understand it and thats the point.

You have heard glossolalia which is a false practice, and the people who speak it may be honestly believing they are speaking in tongues but they are just producing gibberish in their desire to speak in tongues.  Glossolalia is false and consists of no structure common to all languages but is just a stream of meaningless syllables that sound like language to those speaking them.

Gibberish is the accurate term to refer to glossolalia because what the people are doing is speaking gibberish, with no structure whatsoever, and it is a completely false attribution to the actual gift of tongues from the Holy Spirit, which was exhibited first at Pentecost and then by several other holy men and women throughout history.

No one understands the gibberish that some falsely attribute to the gift of speaking in tongues because it is not a language.  There are many mentally unstable people out there, and many deceivers especially in that kind of church who enjoy the attention they get from "interpreting tongues".  But that is not the interpretation of tongues either, that is just making stuff up.  Interpretation of tongues is being able to understand real human languages which they have never learned.

Wow you need to be VERY careful when you tell anyone that what they do or what they have heard isnt of God.     

Not when it comes to babbling, I don't, because I have the Church which is guided by the Holy Spirit.  There is no duplicity in the Holy Spirit.

I have heard countless people speaking in the God given prayer language that definitely HAS got a structure and definitely WAS of God. I have the gift of discerning of spirits and I can tell you they were genuine.

No you haven't, and if you think they have, then you don't have the gift of discerning spirits either.

Unbelievable that you can judge what I have seen a heard more than I can myself, when you werent even there. Both my husband and I have been praying in tongues for most of our adult lives, about 30 years. Both of our languages have a clear structure as much as any known language. We are speaking languages that we dont know, thats the point. It by passes our minds and is our spirits praying directly to God who is spirit.

What is unbelieveable is that you believe that you are unquestionable because of your "experience", or that your "experiences" are themselves infallible.

"I've never seen that" and "I've seen that a lot" is often your argument as to why you believe yourself to be right.

How can you possibly judge what other do or dont do, or what churches do or dont do if you arent even there?

Simple, because they are practicing babbling, not the gift of tongues.  If it was the gift of tongues, they would simply be able to speak in another human language, for the purpose of communicating with someone.

The gift of tongues is 100% Biblical

It sure is.  But babbling glossolalia is 100% unbiblical.

no where does Paul say that these gifts are anything but common in the body of Christ, and yes I do have the gift of discerning of spirits, some mature godly believers have told me that.

In his time, they were more common than they are now.  There was a greater need for them then.

My husband and I pray in tongues every day and have done for well over 30 years(more in his case). Its normal for us to pray to Our Father in this way. Its no big deal, its our spirits communicating with God who is spirit. 

Babbling is no big deal alright, it is no deal at all.  God must be frustrated though, he just wants you to pray to him, not babble nonsense talk.

PLease show me where in the following passage Paul says that this gift is rare. He is telling people in a regular meeting what the godly order should be for giving a word in tongues. It was clearly a common practise there, so much so that they had to all wait their turn, and still is, and no where are we told any different

1 Corinthians 14:26-28New International Version (NIV)

Good Order in Worship
26 What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28

Experience in the world shows that the gift of tongues is exercised rarely.  What you do is not the gift of tongues.

Basically no one was doing the babbling version until some man founded the pentecostal movement.  Then all of a sudden everyone was babbling.  Makes as much sense as the babbling does.

Linguists have analyzed a very large sample of this babbling.  Each person babbles using syllables according to his native language, which means people who speak spanish babble spanish syllables and people who speak English babble English babbles.  You probably babble with a British accent.  But none of the people who babbled in that large sample had any linguistic structure that is common to all languages, and none of them babbled the same syllables.  The babbles are not a language, they are just babbles.

[chosenone]

Mark 16:17-18New International Version (NIV)

17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; THEY WILL SPEAK IN NEW TONGUES; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

[Catholica]

Mark is absolutely correct. Only the "new languages" he is talking about are real languages, not gibberish shown to be not a language at all.

[kensington]

Some real languages sound like gibberish.  They always have.  There are thousands of languages upon the earth. 

Isn't speaking in tongues a gift of the Holy Spirit?  I believe it is, and in that case, it is for all believers to be filled and to be able to speak in another tongue.  To pray and or sing in other tongues.  My husband and I both have this gift, and both of our words have been interpreted. 

I see in the audio the mass is referred to... I can see why he believes it's a very rare thing...  It probably is in the Catholic church.  Rare indeed. 

According to the teachings of Paul, this recording is a false teaching. 

[Catholica]

Some real languages sound like gibberish.  They always have.  There are thousands of languages upon the earth. 

Real languages may sound like gibberish to you, but actually they have structure. All real languages have structure.  A linguist can tell whether something someone is speaking is an actual language or not.  The fake kind of speaking in tongues, the gibberish kind, is NOT a language.  It does not have structure like a real language has.

Isn't speaking in tongues a gift of the Holy Spirit?  I believe it is, and in that case, it is for all believers to be filled and to be able to speak in another tongue. To pray and or sing in other tongues.

Yes, it is a gift of the Holy Spirit, a gift which allows a person to speak to another person in a language that the second person naturally understands even though the first person with the gift of tongues does not.  And all people have all the gifts.  But they are not gibberish gifts; they are gifts that allow us to share the gospel with other people.  Gifts to be used for others who have not heard the gospel.  Not gifts for ourselves.

My husband and I both have this gift, and both of our words have been interpreted. 

If you have the gibberish type, then you haven't exercised the actual biblical gift of tongues, and your interpreter was making stuff up.

I see in the audio the mass is referred to... I can see why he believes it's a very rare thing...  It probably is in the Catholic church.  Rare indeed.

Lots of Catholics have been tricked into believing in the gibberish nonsense as you have as well.  None of that is from the Holy Spirit.

According to the teachings of Paul, this recording is a false teaching.

If that is what you must tell yourself, then I cannot stop you.

[kensington]

I'm sorry, at what point did I say I believed that gibberish was the same as speaking in tongues? 

I said, some languages sound like gibberish.  But, pray tell how many linguist are sitting in EVERY service where a message or tongues may be heard? 

Are you a linguist?  Are you a linguist who can tell through a computer if someone's gift is not real? 

The whole premise of your argument falls down on these...  There are actually TWO types of gifts with tongues, one is your prayer language that you receive when you receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of tongues, one with groans and utterances that no man, only the Holy Spirit can understand.

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because[g] the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

I Corinthians 14:2  "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries."

The word even says that there need be no interpretation or interpreter as the Holy Spirit knows what we pray. 

And the Gift of tongues for the building of the body, and there will be an interpreter to give the interpretation.  As Paul spoke of in length in I Corinthians 14.

Acts 2:4 "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance."

[chosenone]

I'm sorry, at what point did I say I believed that gibberish was the same as speaking in tongues? 

I said, some languages sound like gibberish.  But, pray tell how many linguist are sitting in EVERY service where a message or tongues may be heard? 

Are you a linguist?  Are you a linguist who can tell through a computer if someone's gift is not real? 

The whole premise of your argument falls down on these...  There are actually TWO types of gifts with tongues, one is your prayer language that you receive when you receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of tongues, one with groans and utterances that no man, only the Holy Spirit can understand.

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because[g] the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

I Corinthians 14:2  "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries."

The word even says that there need be no interpretation or interpreter as the Holy Spirit knows what we pray. 

And the Gift of tongues for the building of the body, and there will be an interpreter to give the interpretation.  As Paul spoke of in length in I Corinthians 14.

Acts 2:4 "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance."

[chosenone]

Mark is absolutely correct. Only the "new languages" he is talking about are real languages, not gibberish shown to be not a language at all.

Most foreign languages could be described as 'gibberish' to us if we don't understand them. Personally I would never be so disrespectful as to do so, especially when it is a language that God has given.  ::eek::Anyone one foolish enough to do that is walking on very thin ice.
There have been many cases, one in my own church, where a  man was speaking in tongues and a visitor there from another country asked him where he had learnt their language. He didnt even know what language it was previously to that and had never learnt it.
There are thousands of different known languages in the world, my husbands prayer language, for example, sounds far eastern. Others I have heard sound more European.   

[winsome]

 It seems to me that there are three different activities that are referred to as the charismatic 'gift of tongues'.

1. Speaking (and understanding) a language that we have not learnt. To me this is the most likely usage of the Greek glossa (& declensions) in 1 Cor 12 & 14. It also ties in to other uses of glossa, meaning (human) language in Acts & Revelation.

2. Praying with un-intelligible sounds (sometimes called 'prayer tongues'). I think this can be a valid form of prayer, either individually or in a group but is not a gift. It is a prayer technique that is normally learnt, but sometimes just occurs naturally to someone in particular circumstances.

Like a mantra, or some repetitious Taize chant, it gives the mind and tongue something to do while praising God from ones heart. There is no need to concentrate on words or (if singing) on a tune, or on keeping in step with other members of the congregation.

(By 'un-intelligible sounds' I do not mean to be derogatory but descriptive.)

3. Prophesying with un-intelligible sounds. I think this one is invalid. It is self deception on the part of the person uttering it and also on the part of the person (if any) who 'interprets' it

[kensington]

Well, the idea that tongues is rare in the body of Christ, or should be doesn't hold up to scripture either...

Paul spoke to there being more than one with tongues in the same service. He encouraged multiple gifts to be flowing in one service.  Letting it be done in an orderly fashion and not all giving a word or a message in tongues at once.  Even two or three giving a word in tongues.  How is that rare? 

26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

27 If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.

28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.

29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.

30 If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.

[chosenone]

Well, the idea that tongues is rare in the body of Christ, or should be doesn't hold up to scripture either...

Paul spoke to there being more than one with tongues in the same service. He encouraged multiple gifts to be flowing in one service.  Letting it be done in an orderly fashion and not all giving a word or a message in tongues at once.  Even two or three giving a word in tongues.  How is that rare? 

26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

27 If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.

28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.

29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.

30 If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.

Yes thats the point and verses I used a while back in this debate. Paul had to limit words given in this way which shows there were many more who had words. Many churches often have words from God or prophecies given in tongues, its completely bIblical and should be normal and frequent if a church is open to hearing God speak.   

[winsome]

Well, the idea that tongues is rare in the body of Christ, or should be doesn't hold up to scripture either...

Paul spoke to there being more than one with tongues in the same service. He encouraged multiple gifts to be flowing in one service.  Letting it be done in an orderly fashion and not all giving a word or a message in tongues at once.  Even two or three giving a word in tongues.  How is that rare? 

26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

27 If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.

28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.

29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.

30 If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.

Yes thats the point and verses I used a while back in this debate. Paul had to limit words given in this way which shows there were many more who had words. Many churches often have words from God or prophecies given in tongues, its completely bIblical and should be normal and frequent if a church is open to hearing God speak.   

You are coming at this with your assumption that the gift of tongues is not simply the gift of speaking a (human) foreign language that has not been learnt.

Paul was writing to gentile Christians in Corinth. Corinth was a major sea port where there were many nationalities with many languages. Greek was the common second language for many people but there would also be some who did not speak Greek.


26 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue [an unknown language], hath a revelation, hath an interpretation [a translation of that unknown language]. Let all things be done unto edifying.

27 If any man speak in an unknown language, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.
because many speaking in foreign languages followed by atranslation holds up the flow of the meeting. So limit it to two or three. Have a translator ready and let just one person do the translation.

28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
because if no-one can translate there is no value to the community - it's not edifying anyone.

29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
Just two or three prophecies and then some discernment

30 If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.
When the first person has spoken and another has a prophecy let the first one shut up.

It's all about the meeting being conducted in an orderly way.

[winsome]

Yes thats the point and verses I used a while back in this debate. Paul had to limit words given in this way which shows there were many more who had words. Many churches often have words from God or prophecies given in tongues, its completely bIblical and should be normal and frequent if a church is open to hearing God speak.   

Prophecies are biblical.

Prophecies spoken in a human language are biblical .

Prophecies that given out as gibberish are just gibberish and are not biblical.

[kensington]

NO ONE HERE said that Prophecies should be should be given in gibberish.  You guys need to get off of that.  It has been said that some languages sound like gibberish.  Which is true to the common person sitting there.  There is no way a linguist sits in every service, nor is it needed since just as the word that would seem to us to be gibberish is given by God, so is the interpretation. 

It doesn't matter what it sounds like to you and me, God knows what is being said, and He gives the interpretation.

And even the scripture spoke for it's self in my post, you did not need to translate again in red.  I typed in English.  And my point was that it was not as rare as claimed since there was the permission for more than one in a service, Paul spoke to that because it was happening.  He admonished them to take turns and to be in order.  Not to get out of hand, nor for services to be all about tongues and words given. 

It's plain to see that you know very little about this topic, even the OP posted someone else's teaching on this topic.  No research or study on his own to document.