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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
understanding of the tongues .	marge	Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Question: Dear brother Ignatius,i am not sure of the gift of tongues that i hear some using when praying with others ,and others in worship.For sometime i have thought that when Holy Spirit came down on apostles they preached in foreign languages so that all who were present understood according to each owns language.I cant help but wonder do half of them know what they are saying.And why is there no mention of our great saints using the tongues.Or no mention of blessed JP 2 using these tongues in prayer either.I would be greatfull to hear what your views are . God bless you always .many thanks.
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r) Dear Marge: The experience of tongues on the Day of Pentecost has no relationship to the alleged "tongues-speaking" of today. A close reading of Scripture about the Day of Pentecost reveals something different: (Act 2:1-11) On the day of Pentecost all the Lord's followers were together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from heaven like the sound of a mighty wind! It filled the house where they were meeting. Then they saw what looked like fiery tongues moving in all directions, and a tongue came and settled on each person there. The Holy Spirit took control of everyone, and they began speaking whatever languages the Spirit let them speak. Many religious Jews from every country in the world were living in Jerusalem. And when they heard this noise, a crowd gathered. But they were surprised, because they were hearing everything in their own languages. They were excited and amazed, and said: Don't all these who are speaking come from Galilee? Then why do we hear them speaking our very own languages? Some of us are from Parthia, Media, and Elam. Others are from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, parts of Libya near Cyrene, Rome, Crete, and Arabia. Some of us were born Jews, and others of us have chosen to be Jews. Yet we all hear them using our own languages to tell the wonderful things God has done. There were more languages being heard than there were Apostles. This seems to imply that the Gift of Tongues was a gift in which the hearer heard his own language regardless of the language spoken by the Apostles. Whether or not this interpretation is correct, the modern Charismatic movement has many problems. One of the biggest problems is the speaking in tongues, which St. Paul says is the least of all gifts. It is also interesting to note that as best as I can remember at the moment there are no recorded instances of tongues speaking outside the first century. Tongues was meant to be an Sigal (authenticating) sign. Such Sigal gifts were no longer needed after Christianity was firmly established. We have an entire essay on the subject of the Charismatic Renewal that talks about the pros and cons of the movement. The essay also goes into detail on these issues. The essay is entitled, Charism Building Up the Church. The footnotes in this document are very important to read as they are more than just references to sources. The footnote also contain a lot of additional information. The one footnote that is directly pertinent to this discussion refers to the reason why the alledged gift of tongues needs to be tested: 69. There are two accounts from priests that illustrate the need for discernment and testing. The first is an experience of Father Anthony, a Carmelite priest who attended a charismatic meeting. At the meeting, one or two people stood up and spoke in “tongues” while another interpreted. Father Anthony then stood up and spoke in tongues. The “interpreter” interpreted Father Anthony’s tongues. At this point father Anthony knew that the interpreter had a false gift. He stood up and informed her that her gift was false, that her interpretation was in error. In fact, Father Anthony has recited the Lord’s Prayer in the Polish language. The experience of another priest is chilling. The Father was at a charismatic meeting where a woman was praising God in Tongues. After the meeting, the Father approached the woman. He asked her if she knew what she was saying when she was speaking in tongues. She replied that she was praising Jesus. The Father informed her that she happened to be speaking his native language and that she was not praising God, but was cursing God. These two true stories should give anyone who speaks in tongues great pause no matter how wonderful they think their tongues speaking has been for them. We can never underestimate the power of self-delusion, nor the power of the evil one to fool us. Anyone in the Charismatic Renewal, or anyone who otherwise believes they have a Spiritual Gift, which all of us have at least one gift, needs to read this document to be sure their experiences and views are not contaminated by "Pentecostalisms" (that is, contaminations from the views of the Penecostal denominations). God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

understanding of the tongues .

marge

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Question:

Dear brother Ignatius,i am not sure of the gift of tongues that i hear some using when praying with others ,and others in worship.For sometime i have thought that when Holy Spirit came down on apostles they preached in foreign languages so that all who were present understood according to each owns language.I cant help but wonder do half of them know what they are saying.And why is there no mention of our great saints using the tongues.Or no mention of blessed JP 2 using these tongues in prayer either.I would be greatfull to hear what your views are . God bless you always .many thanks.

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r)

Dear Marge:

The experience of tongues on the Day of Pentecost has no relationship to the alleged "tongues-speaking" of today. A close reading of Scripture about the Day of Pentecost reveals something different:

(Act 2:1-11) On the day of Pentecost all the Lord's followers were together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from heaven like the sound of a mighty wind! It filled the house where they were meeting. Then they saw what looked like fiery tongues moving in all directions, and a tongue came and settled on each person there. The Holy Spirit took control of everyone, and they began speaking whatever languages the Spirit let them speak.

Many religious Jews from every country in the world were living in Jerusalem. And when they heard this noise, a crowd gathered. But they were surprised, because they were hearing everything in their own languages. They were excited and amazed, and said: Don't all these who are speaking come from Galilee? Then why do we hear them speaking our very own languages? Some of us are from Parthia, Media, and Elam. Others are from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, parts of Libya near Cyrene, Rome, Crete, and Arabia. Some of us were born Jews, and others of us have chosen to be Jews. Yet we all hear them using our own languages to tell the wonderful things God has done.

There were more languages being heard than there were Apostles. This seems to imply that the Gift of Tongues was a gift in which the hearer heard his own language regardless of the language spoken by the Apostles.

Whether or not this interpretation is correct, the modern Charismatic movement has many problems. One of the biggest problems is the speaking in tongues, which St. Paul says is the least of all gifts. It is also interesting to note that as best as I can remember at the moment there are no recorded instances of tongues speaking outside the first century. Tongues was meant to be an Sigal (authenticating) sign. Such Sigal gifts were no longer needed after Christianity was firmly established.

We have an entire essay on the subject of the Charismatic Renewal that talks about the pros and cons of the movement. The essay also goes into detail on these issues. The essay is entitled, Charism Building Up the Church.

The footnotes in this document are very important to read as they are more than just references to sources. The footnote also contain a lot of additional information. The one footnote that is directly pertinent to this discussion refers to the reason why the alledged gift of tongues needs to be tested:

69. There are two accounts from priests that illustrate the need for discernment and testing. The first is an experience of Father Anthony, a Carmelite priest who attended a charismatic meeting. At the meeting, one or two people stood up and spoke in “tongues” while another interpreted. Father Anthony then stood up and spoke in tongues. The “interpreter” interpreted Father Anthony’s tongues. At this point father Anthony knew that the interpreter had a false gift. He stood up and informed her that her gift was false, that her interpretation was in error. In fact, Father Anthony has recited the Lord’s Prayer in the Polish language.

The experience of another priest is chilling. The Father was at a charismatic meeting where a woman was praising God in Tongues. After the meeting, the Father approached the woman. He asked her if she knew what she was saying when she was speaking in tongues. She replied that she was praising Jesus. The Father informed her that she happened to be speaking his native language and that she was not praising God, but was cursing God.

These two true stories should give anyone who speaks in tongues great pause no matter how wonderful they think their tongues speaking has been for them. We can never underestimate the power of self-delusion, nor the power of the evil one to fool us.

Anyone in the Charismatic Renewal, or anyone who otherwise believes they have a Spiritual Gift, which all of us have at least one gift, needs to read this document to be sure their experiences and views are not contaminated by "Pentecostalisms" (that is, contaminations from the views of the Penecostal denominations).

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.