Speaking in tongues or speaking in gibberish?

[Par5]

I recently watched a video on one of CF's forums in which I can't participate and listened to a woman in a church congregation suddenly start to shout out what to me was absolute gibberish. She was "speaking in tounges."
I would be willing to bet that if you asked several people who claimed they can interpret what was said that they would probably all give a different interpretation.
To me, it is all a charade, totally fake, as fake as the well-known fraudster in the link below.
What do you all think?

 

[JohnClay]

There might be other passages but I think the following is relevant:
Acts 2:4-8

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?​

 

[com7fy8]

I have spoken what was not English to a woman from Italy, and right after that she asked me how I spoke "Italian". Later, a woman who said she was the woman's daughter told me the woman understood only a local Italian dialect. If I really did speak her dialect, I do not know what God had me say to her, if it was God.

What do I think about that? I liked it. The language sounded perfectly spoken and like to how I suppose a dialect of Italian would sound, though I did not recognize any of the words of the Italian which I have learned.

But I wish that God now would have me do what He wants . . . all the time . . . not only miraculously at times now and then.

What really got my attention was the spiritual quality my head was in while speaking that. The spiritual quality was more perfectly pure and pleasant than I had ever experienced before then > not how I was being, to say the least. That really got my attention. But I took that to mean how God wants the Holy Spirit to change me to become, and even better than I was capable of experiencing, at that time.

 

[Par5]

There might be other passages but I think the following is relevant:
Acts 2:4-8

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?​

I take those verses to mean that they suddenly found themselves able to speak in a language other than their own in order to make themselves understood by those to whom that language belonged. They were able to communicate in the native language of the person they were talking to. Perhaps they all suddenly developed that very rare medical condition known as foreign accent syndrome?
A person speaking in tongues is not speaking any recognizable language. How does anyone know what they are saying and how can you interpret what they are saying?
I even wonder if the person making those utterances really knows what they are saying.

 

[Par5]

There might be other passages but I think the following is relevant:
Acts 2:4-8

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?​

I take those verses to mean that they suddenly found themselves able to speak in a language other than their own in order to make themselves understood by those to whom that language belonged. They were able to communicate in the native language of the person they were talking to.
A person speaking in tongues is not speaking any recognizable language. How does anyone know what they are saying and how can you interpret what they are saying?

 

[Par5]

Sorry for the double post. My bad!

 

[Jesse Dornfeld]

Abuse of something doesn't mean there is nothing good about that thing.

 

[JohnClay]

I take those verses to mean that they suddenly found themselves able to speak in a language other than their own in order to make themselves understood by those to whom that language belonged. They were able to communicate in the native language of the person they were talking to.

I thought it meant that each person in the crowd heard the entire pentecost group speak in their own language. That's why they were bewildered....

A person speaking in tongues is not speaking any recognizable language

Yeah that's my point...

 

[Par5]

I thought it meant that each person in the crowd heard the entire pentecost group speak in their own language. That's why they were bewildered....

Yeah that's my point...

The videos I have watched when people were "speaking in tongues" all happened in churches in America. I assume the congregation all spoke English so I don't see that there was a need to accommodate a foreign language by "speaking in tongues."
The link below is of a woman "speaking in tongues" and a fellow preacher "interpreting" what she says.
A pre-arranged double act as far as I'm concerned. I defy anyone to say that they honestly know what that woman was saying.

 

[Jesse Dornfeld]

The videos I have watched when people were "speaking in tongues" all happened in churches in America. I assume the congregation all spoke English so I don't see that there was a need to accommodate a foreign language by "speaking in tongues."
The link below is of a woman "speaking in tongues" and a fellow preacher "interpreting" what she says.
A pre-arranged double act as far as I'm concerned. I defy anyone to say that they honestly know what that woman was saying.

I don't agree with using tongues in this manner, however, I do believe in the gift of tongues. I think the gift of tongues is for the individuals benefit and that is the primary function. Further, in this example of tongues you give doesn't seem to line up with scripture. It does not say that speaking in tongues should be a "common practice" anywhere in the Bible. It also doesn't say that in a Church congregation that we actually speak a language known to man. While it is true that it says in the Bible not to give a message of a tongue message without an interpreter, I personally think this just means not to give a word of a tongue in the case you don't have a specific interpreter in mind who knows the language you are speaking already.

Further, you should not based your understanding of Christianity on the hyper Charismatic movement as I think sometimes they do far more harm than good for Christianity.

I would recommend looking to see what other denominations have to say about the gift of tongues rather than just assuming it's something all believers adhere to. I get your complaint that it's "weird" for lack of a better term, but just know that this doesn't actually reflect the perspective of all Christians. I feel some Churches mean well in wanting to pursue Spiritual Gifts, but they often shoot themselves in the foot when their obsession with Spiritual gifts doesn't match with what is happening in reality. There's been several threads about false prophesies about the presidency of Trump to take effect when Biden is actually president. Dr. Michael Brown, who comes from the Charismatic movement, takes issue with people standing by their teachers that have given false prophesies over what reality actually reflects. Perhaps I would steer you in his direction on what he has said about the abuses of the Charismatic Church which he has been vocal about over the years. He even has some books on the subject of the abuses of the Charismatic movement even though he actually is a part of the Charismatic movement. I think the title of the book is something like "Playing with Holy Fire" or something like that, which is made in response to someone else's book. Perhaps I am getting the name of the books wrong. Dr. Browns book might be "Authentic Holy Fire" or something like that. I would be happy to look it up if you want to know for sure.

 

[public hermit]

I recently watched a video on one of CF's forums in which I can't participate and listened to a woman in a church congregation suddenly start to shout out what to me was absolute gibberish. She was "speaking in tounges."
I would be willing to bet that if you asked several people who claimed they can interpret what was said that they would probably all give a different interpretation.
To me, it is all a charade, totally fake, as fake as the well-known fraudster in the link below.
What do you all think?

That is some bonafide nonsense. I see no good purpose in it. If people have a "prayer language," then fine. But, if you're speaking in public, just say something worth hearing. The glossolalia in Acts makes sense in that people hear in their own language. This pseudo-babble is of no edification to anyone except possibly the speaker's ego, which is an odd way to get noticed.

 

[Par5]

I thought it meant that each person in the crowd heard the entire pentecost group speak in their own language. That's why they were bewildered....

Yeah that's my point...

Why do I not understand what someone speaking in tongues is saying? Why is it just gibberish to me?
To answer my own question, it is because it is gibberish!