What does Speaking in Tongues mean?

1. 61

   Vegas Eliasposted 13 years ago

   What does Speaking in Tongues mean?
   
   I have read The Holy Bible and what I understood is that the Apostles spoke in different languages which were not understood by the audience; There were interpreters who translated these speeches to the audience so that they understood. However in some prayer meetings I have heard people uttering sounds and noises which are beyond linguistic comprehension and they term it as Speaking in Tongues. I would like to know from really learned persons whether the modern version of Speaking in Tongues is right and relevant to Christianity.

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2. 0

   Jesshubpagesposted 13 years ago

   Tongues in the Bible are not gibberish. Tongues are languages used by men in their own ethnic group to intelligently   convey their messages.

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3. 60

   anancelesteposted 13 years ago

   It will depend who is answering the question and what is exactly you're looking for. To be safe ask it to a person that shares the same faith as you. Remember, there are several Christians denominations, and ironically they have a slightly different take on the meaning of speaking in tongues or the interpretation of tongues means.

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4. 60

   Dubuquedogtrainerposted 13 years ago

   Good question and I am interested to read what others who are more knowledgeable than I have to say about this subject.
   
   I am not a Bible scholar but it is understanding from what I have heard from a past or I had in the past that "tongues" are no longer relevant today because we have the Bible, that the Holy Spirit speaks to us directly through the Bible and that speaking in tongues may actually be demonic in origin.
   
   I have heard it many years ago in the 70's. It takes someone else with the spiritual gift of interpretation to interpret it, which made me wonder why the indirect communication from God, and left me feeling somewhat skeptical.

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5. 61

   cascolyposted 13 years ago

   actually the bible doesnt say or even imply the apostles spoke different languages - they were all recruited locally and most likely spoke aramaic
   
   the speaking in tongues came at pentecost when supossedly peter was able to address an audience that spoke different languages and they all understood him - so there's never an actual claim than any person spoke a different language, but instead that one person was understood by many different listeners
   
   how that came to be the modern speaking in tongues is another story entirely

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