I agree....I can recall when the charismatic movement first hit where I lived. Whatever church it came into ended up splitting the congregation....and being a smaller community the town also became divided. There was much confusion and unrest....It was awful for many who lost friends and family members over this tongue speaking, and the theatrics which they brought with them....not to mention for the young Christians who were being mis-led if they didn't speak in tongues then they weren't saved.
The problems with communicating were similar to what we see on these threads.....when confronted with the truth of the scriptures those who insisted this gift was real could not handle the idea that what they had been told was "evidence" of their salvation could be a counterfeit, and not of the Lord ...... To imagine they could be deceived was beyond a possibility in their minds.
.... For others it was like removing a pacifier from a baby....it was their only source of comfort they had learned to depend on when the road got rough. They had little knowledge of knowing what it is to "Be still and know that I am God" for in their desperate moments they leaned on tongues rather than on God Himself... for in their minds praying in tongues surely would mean God heard them since it was taught to them they had a "special" connection to God thru this so called prayer language. So for them it was cutting off that connection. And this is what this twisted teaching does to people and more.
So the fact tongues brings such division and confusion among the church memebers....it was not hard to see something was very wrong about the whole movement.
To be fair caww,I've seen the gospel do pretty much the same thing in church.
Me personally,I've not spoken in tongues...much...I've sort of tried it or 'let' it if you know what I mean.It didn't particularly click with me,I didn't like it for whatever reason(a reason that eludes me to this day) However I'm well aware that sometimes when I have a bad feeling about something,it aint always the Spirit of God but rather my own flesh squirming.Sometimes it's difficult to tell..."who can know it?"
On Kenneth Copeland,I've not before read the quotes posted on this thread and some of them are troubling to say the least.However,I watched His broadcast here in Oz (430am!)for about 10-12 years and sort of got to know him and where he was coming from and I had absolutely no doubt that he 'got it' and many of his sermons were,to me at least,very strong spiritual meat.Many many times during his sermons he would look down the camera with that big Texan block head of his and say something that was straight from God to me and boy oh boy did I ever feel convicted! He was and is to me one of the most annointed preachers of the Word that I have ever heard.
"...micophone picked up Copeland saying..."Take the mark of the beast""
If Copeland actually meant what that statement seems to be implying he meant,that would indeed stagger my mind and grieve me greatly.I hope that doesn't trouble any here,I'm just thankfull for what I learned way back when listening to his sermons.
Hoping this thread doesn't get locked.
God bless