Posted on 01/25/2011 6:54:48 AM PST by Cronos
The following passage from 1 Cor 2 would seem to contradict your idea:
"Indeed, no one understands him"
Paul is not just speaking of himself, but of the tongues-speaker in general.
1 Cor 14:2 “For anyone who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him, he utters mysteries with his spirit.”
Your interpretation; “Simple. If a chinese Christian goes into a Greek Church and wishes to address the congregation, but NO ONE understands him he can only be speaking to the air or to God.”
Notice the “speaks not to men but to God”. If the person is not speaking to men how can there be a man to interpret. It also says “no one understands him”. How then is that person supposed to keep silent if the verse tells us that no one understands him but still is told that he is speaking to God?
*** It also says “no one understands him”. How then is that person supposed to keep silent if the verse tells us that no one understands him but still is told that he is speaking to God?***
Again Paul is speaking so people can understand him. Look at the context in the same chapter. As you can see it deals with people speaking foriegn languages.
1Cr 14:6 ¶ Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?
1Cr 14:7 And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped?
1Cr 14:8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
1Cr 14:9 So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.
1Cr 14:10 There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them [is] without signification.
1Cr 14:11 Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh [shall be] a barbarian unto me.
READ THE REST OF THE CHAPTER. You can not help but see he is talking about foreign languages.
The chapter is speaking about spiritual gifts...not about speaking a foreign language like Hebrew.
Based on the chorus to the song “Angels We Have Heard On High”, its pretty obvious that the language spoken in Heaven is Latin.
Though based on Genesis where Moses claims to get antediluvian genealogies and maps from ‘The Book of Adam’, one could argue that Hebrew is God’s language.
I find it amusing that people only speak in tongues in churches where speaking in tongues is spoken.
Here is true speaking in tongues...
1Cr 14:21 In the law it is written, With [men of] other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.
Isa 28:11 ¶ For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.
Isa 36:11 ¶ Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand [it]: and speak not to us in the Jews’ language, in the ears of the people that [are] on the wall.
....
Isa 36:13 ¶ Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.
Linguists studying glossalalia have made some interesting observations.
However, they often tend to follow THEIR theology.
And, often their samples selections are quite flawed on a number of factors.
Been a while since I checked in on that sphere of research. 35 years ago, at the time of my dissertation, it was in its infancy.
There’s also an arrogant assumption on the part of the naysaywers that
in “the tongues of men and of angels . . . “
the ‘of angels’ MUST sound like tongues of men.
LOL.
ABSOLUTELY INDEED.
The smug ignorance of the naysayers is probably equal parts ignorance and arrogance. Sometimes it seems like 90% arrogance.
Some of the critter experiences speak of communications being more on a concept level vs a word level—wherein whole paragraphs or even whole pages are communicated by a word, so to speak. Certainly normal earth language concepts simply do not deal with such differences well. However, the naysayers are convinced they have it all figured out.
You can speak 8 languages? That is awesome. I agree about Italian, when I go there, I pick up the words for things pretty quickly; that or point at what I want plus most of the ones I’ve met speak English well.
What pseudo-tidy biases you seem to have.
Quite understandable.
Other folks and their preferences, customs, biases, habits . . . structures and assumptions . . . can readily take a lot of joy out of life and even our Christian walk . . .
particularly when we have our eyes on them
instead of ON GOD.
That’s been a long hard lesson in my life.
A lesson I’m still learning.
Those scriptures you cite there shed no light on the plain meaning of the text of 1 Cor 14.
The ability to speak in a foreign language is not what Paul is talking about. He's talking about spiritual gifts in this chapter of Corinthians.
**AND ARE THEN KICKED OUT
OF THOSE CHURCHES RATHER QUICKLY
So, it’s not very surprising there are no tongues speakers there,***
That would be like a member of our church who got involved with Kenneth Hagan’s ministries years ago.
One winter he bought a van, but it would not run worth a hoot. He came to the conclusion that a devil had gotten into the carburator, so he spent an entire cold night in the van trying to pray the devil out of it.
It didn’t work.
I never had a problem with people praying in tongues. It was just the people who would insist that it was necessary to be spirit filled. I read that book once or twice though and speaking in tongues is not the only spiritual gift mentioned...
>particularly when we have our eyes on them
instead of ON GOD.
That’s been a long hard lesson in my life.<
You and me both!
***What pseudo-tidy biases you seem to have.***
I like to keep my beliefs tidy. It keeps me from falling for every fad that comes along.
If I let myself go away from sound doctrine and opened up to emotions, some devil might find me swept and garnished, and bring in seven more devils worse than the first.
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