“’speaking in tongues,’ is not only not biblical (tongues in the Bible were an actual language)”
What in the world are you talking about? Tongues are biblical. Tongues can be an actual language, but they are gifts of the Spirit.
“These signs will accompany those who believe ... they will speak new languages” -Mark 16:17
“Now I should like all of you to speak in tongues...” -1 Cor 14:5
“how ... vapid this Pope is.”
How many languages do you speak? How many advanced degrees do you have? You could benefit from a little humility.
“there is nothing about this movement that is a benefit to anyone”
You don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve personally seen one person healed of a bad back situation by a charismatic priest. There are people who have been healed by charismatics and there are before and after x-rays and tests to prove they’ve been healed. A number of charismatics are very gifted and bring great good to others.
I’ve never been a big charismatic but was in the movement a bit during the 90s. Like Pope Francis, I was put off a bit by liturgical abuses I saw in Charismatic Masses and a few charismatics who seemed to think the Holy Spirit guided them to something contrary to the Magisterium. There have been excesses in the Charismatic movement and a need for it to be purified. But to say it’s not Biblical ... What do you do? Throw out 1 Cor 13 and 14?
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Of course I do. I was a Pentecostal and highly involved with this stuff. For years I witnessed “Prophets” give false prophecies, wicked and evil people speak in “tongues,” amongst a host of other things. I’ve watched people work themselves up to emotional fervor, become convinced about this or that particular prophecy, confirm it through various spiritual signs, and then the prophecy and their expectations are utterly destroyed. I’ve witnessed people who did nothing but go from one emotional high to another, who in the end got broken and through all of that didn’t know the slightest thing about the Gospel.
There is no significant difference between what the Charismatics do, whether it’s Catholic or Protestant, and what Oneness Pentecostals do, who deny the trinity, or Wiccans, or Satanists, or “Psychic” vampires, or Stage Hypnotists.
“There are people who have been healed by charismatics and there are before and after x-rays and tests to prove they’ve been healed. A number of charismatics are very gifted and bring great good to others.”
And Benny Hinn has people who swear up and down that he cured their cancer, but that certainly doesn’t change all his false prophecies and heretical teachings, right?
Do you know what is biblically supposed to happen to a false prophet for even just ONE false claim?
“bad back situation by a charismatic priest. There are people who have been healed by charismatics “
Look at your choice of words....who does the healing?