Tongues For Dummies

To be honest, I laughed. It feels like this is the way the non-charismatic's approach the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues. We don't know how to approach it, so we poke fun at it.

If we take a moment to step back in time to Pentecost, we will find ourselves laughing among the others in the crowd who witnessed the disciples first speaking in tongues. Jeers were thrown, mocking them and telling them they were drunk. The Apostle Peter boldly corrected the situation and people were left feeling ashamed.

What takes me back is the way the church treated "charismatic" gifts through the centuries. There is a stigma attached to spiritual gifts that involve the Holy Spirit largely because of the mistreatment of these spiritual gifts. In the 2nd Century, a "prophet" by the name of Montanus came into influence, claiming that he and his companions were the voice pieces of God Himself. His followers were called Montanists and they often spoke in "prophetic tongues" that according to them, superseded the authority of the Apostles. The Early Church did not take this very well, and the end result was generations of Christians who grew up with a bad taste in their mouth for speaking in tongues.

We avoided it for centuries! Now we are caught up in this net of some denominations accepting it, while others ignore it or make fun of it. So where are you on the spectrum?