“It would be like saying, I am going to prove I am a Christian by proving I say the Rosary or that I had seen angels. Fine experiences, perhaps, but no evidence of conversion.”
Hmm. This seems a little different though. Saying the Rosary and seeing angels are not related to salvation.
But, as shown in that video I linked to above from the AG website, AG believes that someone can only speak in tongues if they have truly accepted Jesus as their savior. So I can see how he could think that obviously if he said he spoke in tongues, people would know he was saved. In fact, since he came from AG, I can see how he would think that is even better evidence than just “saying” he was saved.
According to AG, it’s kind of like how you can’t get a PhD without having a Bachelor’s degree: being saved is a definite requirement.
“Hmm. This seems a little different though. Saying the Rosary and seeing angels are not related to salvation.”
You misunderstand the A/G position (I used to be an A/G minister). Speaking in tongues is not evidence of salvation. It is evidence of being baptized in the Holy Spirit.
What is missing is the subjectivism of the whether a person has truly spoken in tongues or not. I suppose some in the A/G, but certainly not all, would suggest that it could be not be faked or the person could not make it up.
For many, speaking in tongues would be evidence then, only if it is real tongues. I could go in front of an A/G board and pretend to speak in tongues, it would not mean I was filled by the Spirit.
So many are missing the point of the post and the odd position of this atheist. He is suggesting that his experience was real, and yet that God does not exist. If tongues is a gift of God, how can he still claim it is real? That borders on insanity. If God does not exist, he was “faking” his tongues experience, as was every other person in the the youth group. Why wouldn’t he admit that? Because it goes against his goal of suggesting he was a “real Christian”.
Bottom Line: If there is no God, there are no “authentic” or “real” Christians. Because real Christians are made by a real God, only.