Pentecostal view of the holy spirit.

[Lamar]

The thing about "unknown tongues" is (conveniently) there's no way to prove or disprove it. When tongues first became a big thing in the early 20th century, the belief was that tongues were human languages that had not been previously learned, but were supernaturally imparted. However, when missionaries set out to demonstrate it by traveling to foreign lands to preach the gospel in the native tongues of the people, they fell flat; no one understood a word they said. It wasn't long after this they retooled and tongues became an unknown or angelic tongue. No one could say otherwise because how could they?

To me this is the most clear and convincing evidence that ecstatic utterances are not the real thing.

There is a obvious way to prove tongues/interpretation are real. Have someone speak in tongues and then have multiple "interpreters" write down what was said. Do this a number of times and a consensus can be reached.

 

[ResidentAlien]

There is a obvious way to prove tongues/interpretation are real. Have someone speak in tongues and then have multiple "interpreters" write down what was said. Do this a number of times and a consensus can be reached.

That actually makes a lot of sense; but you could never get anyone to try it. They'd have a thousand reasons why it wouldn't work: You can't put God to the test; if they did it and it didn't work it's because the Holy Spirit doesn't operate on demand; the speaker or the interpreter is fake, not tongues; etc., etc., etc. That's the beauty of the angelic language, nothing to prove and no one can disprove.

 

[FollowerofShiloh]

At my age I have heard literally millions of prayers from all sorts of people from preachers to pew warmers and there's always a portion in every prayer where the person stops knowing what to say. Or they pray short prayers because they can't remain focused. And then people ask, why hasn't God answered our prayers? Because you never asked God for what you actually needed.

But to those people who have everything they need from God we see why.

13 These things we also speak—not in words taught by human wisdom but in words taught by the Ruach, explaining the spiritual to the spiritual.

26 In the same way, the Ruach helps in our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Ruach Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.


I say to those who reject tongues let them remain blinded and still in need. For it's by ignorance and pride they suffer as they do.