Speaking in Tongues

Kathleen,

You asked if I believe in tongues and my reply is yes. But not in the sense that is wrongly preached today. Which is some type of un-understandable speech. I do believe that the gift of toungues is the gift to speak another earthly language.

You as well as others have quoted the same scripture yet each time when given support of the false gift of tongues, provided through looking at the Greek text in which the scripture was written, you guys just keep referring to the scripture without explaination.


One can refer to my first post that I titled TONGUES (not the post that started the thread):

1) 1 Corinthians 14:2

Although it is not indicated consistently in some translations, the distinction between the singular tonge and the plural tongues is foundational to the proper interpretation of this chapter. Paul seems to use the singular to distinguish the counterfeit gift of pagan "babble" and the plural to indicate the genuine gift of a foreign language. It was most likely in recognition of that, that the KJV translators added consistently the word "unknown" before every singular form. The implications of that distinction will be noted as appropriate. Against the backdrop of carnality and counterfeit estatic speech learned from the experience of the pagans. Paul covers three basic issues with regard to speaking in languages by the gift of the Holy Spirit: 1) its position, inferior to prophecy (2) its purpose, a sign to unbelievers not believers (3) its procedure, systematic, limited, and in an orderly fashion

2) "...does not speak to men but to God."

This is better translated,"to a god." The Greek text has no definite article. Their "babble" was worship of pagan dieties. The Bible gives no record of any believer ever speaking to God in any other language than normal human language.

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To go one step further into why Paul may have used the two words tongue and tongues . Paul would use the word tongue to express the false ecstatic babble because the babble is just that, babble. It has no distinctions, or in other words one cannot classify one persons babble different from anothers. Thus Paul would classify this false speaking as one: tongue . On the other hand the plural word tongues would be used to express the many and variying earthly languages. This is true, for such languages such as Latin, French or Spanish may be similar, but each language has its own distinctions. Thus each one must be catagorized seperately. Therefore Paul uses tongues when speaking of the TRUE gift of tongues which is speaking in another earthly language.


Jesaiah