Confucian Mormon Buddhist
Member
Posting here because, for some reason, I can't post in any DIRs.
I spent time with a Pentecostal denomination but didn't convert to it. One thing I walked away with was the impression that, regardless of their scriptural arguments for speaking in tongues (which are adequate), the practice is fake.
Speaking in tongues, as they practice it, is supposed to be speaking in the language of angels. However, there is no grammatical structure. Most of the words are collections of random syllables. The one time I did feel compelled to speak in tongues, I stopped just short of it, as I realized that the words in my head were just random Middle Eastern city names and words I knew. The pastor who was always (like, once a month) running off to Africa on missions happened to have very African-sounding words (but still not actual African). The girl who was studying French had French-sounding words.
The Pentecostal justification for it is that the words do change to suit you individually. Then that's not a language of angels. It's obvious bull****, teased out of people through showy services that are meant to excite and pressure the audience.
I spent time with a Pentecostal denomination but didn't convert to it. One thing I walked away with was the impression that, regardless of their scriptural arguments for speaking in tongues (which are adequate), the practice is fake.
Speaking in tongues, as they practice it, is supposed to be speaking in the language of angels. However, there is no grammatical structure. Most of the words are collections of random syllables. The one time I did feel compelled to speak in tongues, I stopped just short of it, as I realized that the words in my head were just random Middle Eastern city names and words I knew. The pastor who was always (like, once a month) running off to Africa on missions happened to have very African-sounding words (but still not actual African). The girl who was studying French had French-sounding words.
The Pentecostal justification for it is that the words do change to suit you individually. Then that's not a language of angels. It's obvious bull****, teased out of people through showy services that are meant to excite and pressure the audience.