Can you explain your personal views and scripture accompaniment regarding praying in tongues? I realize it’s a sensitive topic. I am asking in a respectful manner. Trying to explain this topic to those who are more scientifically inclined is always a challenge. Looking for more insight and believe it can align with some of the breakdown of praying mentioned in this article.
1 corinthians 14 is paul’s take, and i tend to lean more that direction.
“I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.”
1 Corinthians 14:18-19 ESV
i grew up in a context that was almost all tongues all the time. like praying in tongues was a better, more powerful and more spiritual way to pray. i don’t know if i agree with that.
i think we are spirit, soul and body, and praying in tongues is the physical representation of something spiritual happening, but too many people - in my opinion - focus on “tongue talking” rather than doing helpful and practical things.
i could say a lot more, but there’s a lot of opinions out there about it by people way smarter than me. i don’t personally focus on
it a lot either way because scripture isn’t as clear on that. my personal focus is on demonstrating the fruit of the spirit and the “most excellent way” of loving people in 1 corinthians 13. in fact, i’d recommend you read 1 corinthians 12-14 and it may give you a clearer picture from paul’s perspective.
Thanks for the references. I will review and pray on them. It’s a difficult subject to explain to someone seeking logical explanation. It requires supernatural belief and experience to comprehend. I’m not sure, I may not have the answers some of my engineer and scientific friends are seeking. I don’t feel not having it makes you any less Christian or impedes your purpose. Different gifts for everyone!
not understanding something fully is not the same as it being illogical. if a person understands how God sees spiritual things, spiritual things are perfectly logical!
there’s a chapter in the Way to Live about this that will come out in a few weeks! that may help you.
science itself is often uncertain, even the scientific method isn’t about “proof.” it’s about what the evidence points to as being most plausible. as i say in the book, faith is not a spiritual concept, it’s a human concept. we have faith in the laws of physics, in evidence and scientific methodology. there is way more to life that is uncertain than certain. even for people who are “logical.”
logic itself requires faith that logic and reason work. so again, it’s much more about seeking to understand something than writing it off.
most people who say things are “illogical” are often just ignorant. how an acorn can become a tree makes no sense without an understanding of biology. how i can type this comment and send it wirelessly over the internet is illogical without a basic understanding of technology.
Exactly. I tried using the scientific method for structuring this with my peers. The hypothesis: what is speaking in tongues? How can we create a test that could evaluate parameters? What are the parameters? And since no experiment can ever be duplicated exactly how will this change the outcome? With many denominations in Christianity it will be one of those topics that will play into your belief in supernatural. Many still place constraints on God and how He can operate. I like hearing different views. I look forward to that chapter!
Can you explain your personal views and scripture accompaniment regarding praying in tongues? I realize it’s a sensitive topic. I am asking in a respectful manner. Trying to explain this topic to those who are more scientifically inclined is always a challenge. Looking for more insight and believe it can align with some of the breakdown of praying mentioned in this article.
1 corinthians 14 is paul’s take, and i tend to lean more that direction.
“I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.”
1 Corinthians 14:18-19 ESV
i grew up in a context that was almost all tongues all the time. like praying in tongues was a better, more powerful and more spiritual way to pray. i don’t know if i agree with that.
i think we are spirit, soul and body, and praying in tongues is the physical representation of something spiritual happening, but too many people - in my opinion - focus on “tongue talking” rather than doing helpful and practical things.
i could say a lot more, but there’s a lot of opinions out there about it by people way smarter than me. i don’t personally focus on
it a lot either way because scripture isn’t as clear on that. my personal focus is on demonstrating the fruit of the spirit and the “most excellent way” of loving people in 1 corinthians 13. in fact, i’d recommend you read 1 corinthians 12-14 and it may give you a clearer picture from paul’s perspective.
Thanks for the references. I will review and pray on them. It’s a difficult subject to explain to someone seeking logical explanation. It requires supernatural belief and experience to comprehend. I’m not sure, I may not have the answers some of my engineer and scientific friends are seeking. I don’t feel not having it makes you any less Christian or impedes your purpose. Different gifts for everyone!
well, God invented logic.
not understanding something fully is not the same as it being illogical. if a person understands how God sees spiritual things, spiritual things are perfectly logical!
there’s a chapter in the Way to Live about this that will come out in a few weeks! that may help you.
science itself is often uncertain, even the scientific method isn’t about “proof.” it’s about what the evidence points to as being most plausible. as i say in the book, faith is not a spiritual concept, it’s a human concept. we have faith in the laws of physics, in evidence and scientific methodology. there is way more to life that is uncertain than certain. even for people who are “logical.”
logic itself requires faith that logic and reason work. so again, it’s much more about seeking to understand something than writing it off.
most people who say things are “illogical” are often just ignorant. how an acorn can become a tree makes no sense without an understanding of biology. how i can type this comment and send it wirelessly over the internet is illogical without a basic understanding of technology.
Exactly. I tried using the scientific method for structuring this with my peers. The hypothesis: what is speaking in tongues? How can we create a test that could evaluate parameters? What are the parameters? And since no experiment can ever be duplicated exactly how will this change the outcome? With many denominations in Christianity it will be one of those topics that will play into your belief in supernatural. Many still place constraints on God and how He can operate. I like hearing different views. I look forward to that chapter!