Mythopoeika
I am a meat popsicle
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2001
- Messages
- 53,264
- Location
- Inside a starship, watching puny humans from afar
What do people think of speaking in tongues (aka glossolalia)?
Have you witnessed it happening, and did you think it was fake or genuine?
Myself, I once went to my mum's church (evangelistic baptist) some years ago - although I'm an atheist, my mum dragged me along because she wanted me to meet some people.
During prayer, one of the congregation started humming and started speaking in gibberish.
A few minutes later, another man stood up and said that God had told him to translate. He then reeled off the usual message about peace and love among all humankind etc. Nothing new or revelatory.
I've known these people for a long time - so I noticed immediately that both of these people were church elders.
Unfortunately, politeness prevented me from standing up and shouting 'it's a big fake!'.
I told my mum afterwords what I thought of it - a little 'play acting' to con the faithful - but my poor old mother was having none of it! She's blinded by faith and completely sucked in by the whole thing.
Have you witnessed it happening, and did you think it was fake or genuine?
Myself, I once went to my mum's church (evangelistic baptist) some years ago - although I'm an atheist, my mum dragged me along because she wanted me to meet some people.
During prayer, one of the congregation started humming and started speaking in gibberish.
A few minutes later, another man stood up and said that God had told him to translate. He then reeled off the usual message about peace and love among all humankind etc. Nothing new or revelatory.
I've known these people for a long time - so I noticed immediately that both of these people were church elders.
Unfortunately, politeness prevented me from standing up and shouting 'it's a big fake!'.
I told my mum afterwords what I thought of it - a little 'play acting' to con the faithful - but my poor old mother was having none of it! She's blinded by faith and completely sucked in by the whole thing.