[27] If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. [28] But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God. [29] Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
The speaking in unknown tongues in the New Testament was speaking in a language one had not previously learned. Notice that the multitudes were confounded because these men were speaking in their “own language” (Acts 2:6). They were not speaking some kind of babble that no one could understand.
1 Corinthians 14:14-19 King James Version (KJV)
For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
While tongues are asserted to be meant as a sign for unbelievers and prophecy for believers, the illustrations depict the negative effect of tongues upon unbelievers and the positive effect of prophecy not on believers but upon unbelievers.
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
The Bible says, “Building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost” —Jude 20. Speaking in tongues stimulates faith and helps us learn how to trust God more fully. For example, faith must be exercised to speak with tongues because the Holy Spirit specifically directs the words we speak.
I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue” (1 Corinthians 14:14-19). In describing his own gift of speaking in tongues, Paul wrote, “my spirit prays” (1 Cor. 14:14).
[27] If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. [28] But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
In Christian theology, the interpretation of tongues is one of the spiritual gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12. This gift is used in conjunction with that of the gift of tongues – the supernatural ability to speak in a language (tongue) unknown to the speaker.
For Southern Baptists, the practice, also known as glossolalia, ended after the death of Jesus' apostles. The ban on speaking in tongues became a way to distinguish the denomination from others.
The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
And just as the Lord said to Paul in Acts 18:9, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent,” so must we obey the call to evangelize in the proper setting and time.
From the outside, observers often describe this as a trance. “This is consistent with Pentecostal reports that their awareness and memories of their tongues experiences range from absent to hazy,” Lynn said. “In the brain, this is what Newberg and others call 'deafferentation.
In Vedic religion, "speech" Vāc, i.e. the language of liturgy, now known as Vedic Sanskrit, is considered the language of the gods. Later Hindu scholarship, in particular the Mīmāṃsā school of Vedic hermeneutics, distinguished Vāc from Śábda, a distinction comparable to the Saussurian langue and parole.
glossolalia, also called speaking in tongues, (from Greek glōssa, “tongue,” and lalia, “talking”), utterances approximating words and speech, usually produced during states of intense religious experience.
For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.
The idea of speaking in tongues is mentioned in the Bible in 1 Corinthians:12 as a spiritual gift that a baptized person who has accepted Christ could receive from God and the Holy Spirit. This gift allows a person to speak a foreign language they otherwise have no knowledge of.
And according to 14:16, prayer in tongues is a perfectly legitimate way in which to express heartfelt gratitude to the Lord. Furthermore, we know that praying in tongues was a staple experience in Paul's private devotional life.
She says in modern day, speaking in tongues is a practice popular in the Pentecostal church; one that started in 1905. "It was a badge of honor for Pentecostals to be set apart. They wanted to be different from the majority Christian denominations," she said.
The Bible specifically teaches that not everyone is given the gift of tongues (I Corinthians 12:29-30). That is why it's dangerous to teach that tongues are the only signifying proof of the work of God's Spirit in a person's life.
The voice of the Spirit is described in the scriptures as being neither loud nor harsh, not a voice of thunder, neither a voice of great tumultuous noise, but rather as still and small, of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it can pierce even the very soul and cause the heart to burn.
Researchers have identified at least two forms of the practice, one ecstatic and frenzied, the other subdued and nearly silent.