Medical study proves validity of speaking in tongues

In 2008, the University of Pennsylvania released findings from a medical study proving that the practice of speaking in tongues is sourced by the Holy Spirit. In the study, participants’ brain activity was monitored while they spoke in tongues, giving the medical researchers scientific insight into the parts of the brain active while speaking in these “heavenly tongues”—and the results were astounding.

Much of the study is outlined in the below piece by ABC News, findings that are well worth the watch.

Speaking in tongues, as ABC News accurately states, “is an ancient practice mentioned in the Bible. [Apostle] Paul called it ‘speaking in the tongues of angels.’ Jesus’ Apostles were first said to do it at Pentecost.”

It is this spiritual phenomenon that Dr. Andrew Newberg, while at the University of Pennsylvania, set out to find an explanation “for what most regard as unexplainable.” While trying to discover the relationship between faith and science, his study quickly ascertained that speaking in tongues is absolutely not regular language. Newberg states to ABC News: “It’s not language—it’s not regular language at least that would normally activate the frontal lobe [of the brain].”

So what did Newberg’s medical study show happens to the brain during one’s deepest moments of faith then?

Newberg shares the heart of his study: “If we’re really going to look at this very very powerful force in human history of religion and spirituality, I think we really have to take a look at how that affects our brain, what’s changing or turning on or turning off in our brain” during those extremely deep and powerful moments of faith.

And “remarkably he discovered that what’s happening to [the test subjects when they pray in tongues] neurologically looks a lot like what they say is happening to them spiritually.”

When test subjects prayed in their native language, their brain activity indicated normal behavior for speech in the frontal lobe. However, when the same test subjects prayed in tongues their brain activity showed something extremely different. “[The test subject’s] scan showed that the frontal lobe, the part of the brain that controls language, was active when he prayed in English. But for the most part, it fell quiet when he prayed in tongues.”

Dr. Newberg confirmed this finding saying, “When they are actually engaged in this whole very intense spiritual practice for them, their frontal lobes tend to go down in activity, but I think it’s very consistent with the kind of experience that they have because they say that they are not in charge—it’s the voice of God, the Spirit of God that’s moving through them.”

The study found many other fascinating findings that affirm that speaking in tongues is truly a spiritual gift and not a mental practice. We encourage you to watch the full ABC News piece to learn more.

It’s a real shock that in order to babel incoherently one must first shut down the brain.

No kidding.

It does not prove their claim that it's GOD doing it, however.

Speaking In Tongues Not Necessarily Christian: Widespread In Heathen Religions By John R. Rice (1895-1980)

http://dividedbytruth.org/FD/sitnnc.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossolalia

Other religious groups have been observed to practice some form of theopneustic glossolalia. It is perhaps most commonly in Paganism, Shamanism, and other mediumistic religious practices.[59] In Japan, the God Light Association believed that glossolalia could cause adherents to recall past lives.[60]

Glossolalia has been postulated as an explanation for the Voynich manuscript.[61]

In the 19th century, Spiritism was developed by the work of Allan Kardec, and the phenomenon was seen as one of the self-evident manifestations of spirits. Spiritists argued that some cases were actually cases of xenoglossia.

To have power to build the Kingdom, you need this Baptism.

Where is the command in scripture to be Baptized in the Spirit? Where is that command to pursue it? Or desire it? Go find every Greek verb in the NT in the imperative mood ... There isn't one that commands us to be baptized in the Spirit ... or seek it ... You are adding to the text.

There is however a command to be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18) ... it is THAT ministry of the HS that has powerful effects (fruit, evangelism, preaching, etc.)

Those who believe in this special, after salvation, second blessing Holy Spirit baptism destroy the unity of the body of Christ (Eph 4). They sever the body of Christ into the "haves" and the "have nots" ... and that is quite a severe Biblical error.

Getting the gift of tongues is the most common of the gifts. Interpretation is a separate gift and often doesn't come with the ability to speak it. In the Last Days these gifts will wane.

2Ti 3:5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

Many people are playing church today and shun the supernatural. The power comes from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I can do nothing of myself. To have a complete relationship with God, IMO, you need the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise you may know a lot about Christ, without ever knowing Him. In the end, the whole thing is about a relationship. Many today act like Israel when God spoke to them at Mt Horeb, and say to Moses, don't let Him speak to us anymore and you tell us what he is saying. We seem to want a veil between us and our Creator. The veil was removed at the cross, but still people freak out if something supernatural breaks out. If we are going to have a relationship with God, it's going to have to be supernatural. God is Spirit. A carnal man CANNOT have a relationship with anything spiritual. People that go to churches that don't believe in the gifts have no power to heal, prophesy, cast out spirits, or anything supernatural. They are basically just schools to discuss Jesus and know ABOUT Him.

It can still happen, my aunt tells me a story where someone in her congregation began speaking an unknown tongue and a couple of visitors began weeping. It seems the person was speaking perfect Hebrew,normally unknown to that person and the visitors were Jewish who reacted in joy upon hearing the blessings of God and Yeshua in their own language.

The gifts of tongues have never stopped but the Apostle Paul laid down sensible rules for their use in worship services. I believe many have been surprised privately in their prayers to discover they may have been praying in a “babbling way or with “sighs and groanings” so deep” being directed by the Spirit himself. I think it happens more than even “traditional evangelicals” that don’t “believe such things are for today’s church” would expect, but it happens in a “threaded in” sort of way. Even those persons praying might find themselves almost wordless, but feeling deep groanings of the spirit, coming away with a “wow, what was that, would anyone understand what just happened to me if I told them” type of experience.

The real test of course is do such things start making positive impacts in one’s spiritual growth. Does scriptural knowledge deepen, does personal behavior correct itself overtime, do you feel corrected inside over words spoken in haste, do you find that your personal doctrinal beliefs increasingly center around a Christ who was fully a man but also God come in flesh(the test of 1John 4)? Those things validate any other gifts like tongues as being of the Holy Spirit.

If I understand the act of speaking in tongues the Bible also says they must have an interpreter or they should be silent. My Dad is a deacon in a Southern Baptist church and I recall many a debate between him and our Pentecostal cousins on this subject. They were adamant it didn’t mean that and would get mad when he told them if they started speaking in tongues at the church we attended and had no one to interpret their speech he would tell them to be silent. I also seem to remember it upsetting them when he would say speaking in tongues is the least of all of God’s gifts.

My take, is it may sound spiritual but if no one can understand what you are saying you are making it about you and not God.

When you were Baptized, did they not say "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit"?

Act 19:2 he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit."

Act 19:3 And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" So they said, "Into John's baptism."

Act 19:4 Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus."

Act 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Act 19:6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.

Act 19:7 Now the men were about twelve in all.

Paul thought these 12 needed another baptism and they spoke in tongues as evidence.

Act 10:44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. Act 10:45 And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. Act 10:46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, Act 10:47 "Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" Act 10:48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.

Here Peter witnessed Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit evidenced by receiving tongues. The he ordered they be baptized in water. Receiving the Holy Spirit Baptism is a separate baptism from water baptism.

Act 9:17 And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Act 9:18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. Here again is separate baptisms.

There are more examples, but just the fact that every pastor baptizes in the name of the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost should say that we have known this forever. The problem is, if the person baptizing you doesn't have the Baptism to give, You won't receive it. John baptized in Repentance, but Paul baptized in the Spirit because He had it to give. If 50 Baptists get together to baptize someone and none speak in tongues, the recipient won't get tongues at Baptism. Tongues is just evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit. If Paul thought it was important, I want it. You have NO power without it.

Your Dad was well read and the Pentecostals weren't. There should be an interpreter because it is useless to the church to hear stuff they can't understand. It's not sinful, it's not forbidden to speak in tongues and no one should FORBID anyone speaking in tongues. If there is no interpreter it's just useless to the body.

Scriptures clearly say Tongues is the least of the gifts but it is the most common. If a Pentecostal can prophesy or have words of knowledge, I'll bet they would agree, but most just speak in tongues so they build themselves up. That is prideful. Tongues is however, evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Now having said all that, did your father speak in tongues? I'll bet his church forbid it. My Pastor, who is 91 yo, was raised in Church of Christ. He prayed to receive the Holy Spirit baptism and received tongues. He mentioned it to the church and was kicked out of the church. I'm pretty sure Baptists would do the same. There is a Methodist church where I live that has tongue speakers. What I have learned over my 68 years is Denominations are "traditions of Men". Go by the Bible and make it your doctrine, not the dogma made up by men. Everybody picks certain verses out of context to base their whole dogma on. That is from Satan. Just as he distorted God's words to Adam and Eve, He quoted exact verses from the Bible to tempt Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus wrote it so He quoted it in context back to him. Most churches have certain creed's that make them separate from the body of Christ. The RCC is the biggest offender.

Honestly I don’t know if he has or not, I suspect not. He was raised in the First Christian, Methodist and as he got older the Baptist church as a kid. I recall him talking about hearing it as a kid a few times in church.

If someone started speaking in our church and had an interpreter, he wouldn’t say a word to them. Our pastor was saved in I guess you would call it cross between a Baptist and a Pentecostal church so I am sure he has heard tongues at some point in his life. Would he allow it? Yes if there was an interpreter, because that is the Bible’s teaching, not a particular denominations. The pastor and church seem to follow Biblical scripture and not dogma.

About the only thing I know of there is any disagreement on is the second coming doctrine and it really isn’t a hubbub or argument. The pastor and a couple of deacons are minimalist and a few of his deacons are not, they believe it’s over when the Lord returns. That being said they respect each other positions and as they both put it, they would rather see souls saved and be ready to meet God than argue over something that when it happens will happen and if you are saved you are good so why argue, win souls to God.

That being said there is quite a bit of shouting and amens that come forth each service at our church. One lady in particular who sings in the choir is a screamer/shouter. She will cut loose with a scream and then go to praising and shouting. I work the sound room and I know the songs that set her off and I take the headphones off.

Years ago when my oldest son was two we had this little tiny lady who would get happy while singing in the choir and you could tell it was coming because her song book would go flying. One Sunday morning I was running the sound and I saw the book go flying and she let out with a whoop and praise the Lord!!! My son’s head popped up on the second row pew and before my wife could get to him he let out an Indian war cry right back at her. I thought the pastor on the front row was going to lose it laughing, his wife die. The choir just kept right on singing and the little lady praising and shouting.

They had come to America when they were young, and they told the student that he was speaking an obscure dialect spoken in only a remote area of Russia. They student had never been there.

This phenomenon has also been known to happen to people after a head injury or coma, indicating that it is a possible capacity of the human brain in some instances.

As someone who has studied six languages and remains fairly fluent in a few, I listen with skepticism on most of the "tongues"-speaking I have heard when visiting pentacostal churches. It all sounds the same, like nonsense syllables with no syntax. But from your description, this young man was manifesting what was described in the Bible -- an ability to communicate in a previously unstudied language for the purpose of evangelizing.

This discussion can get as deep as anyone could want. When building the Tabernacle, only the priests were to be anointed. Not everyone in the camp would be anointed. The utensils in the Tabernacle would be anointed also.

Does the Scriptures say we are a royal priesthood? Are we to be utensils in the Tabernacle of God? The Holy Spirit is synonymous with anointing oil. There are some that will be on the milk forever, but Paul longed to teach the meat.

I think most people will admit they couldn't read the Bible until they were saved. But there is a deeper place to go with God where you receive eyes to see and ears to hear. God teaches by revelation and the Holy Spirit is our Teacher. If you don't have the Holy Spirit immersion, there is just so much you can learn and that's it. God wants to takes us into the deep, and we are at ankle level.

Non believer in the gifts limit themselves to a carnal life and just touching the edge of the shore. God's desire is for us to get so deep, we lose ourselves in Him. This is what it means to become ONE with Him. We see through a glass darkly right now, but He wants us to see Him face to face. Carnal man will die to be face to face with God. Only the Spiritual man can see His face and we will be as he is on that day.

We cannot even fathom the depth, height, and width of God's glory. Trying to explain spiritual things to carnal men is impossible. The average doubter here will NEVER even request to receive the gifts God has waiting for them. Supernatural things scare them. They feel foolish making sounds they can't understand so they won't even try. God gives us free will so they can go through life saying this is all I want of God. There can't be any more than what I already know, so who cares?

If you will allow the Spirit to speak to you, He will call you closer to God. It's God's desire to have a people that will give themselves over to Him. After all, that's what Jesus did. Jesus had no life in the flesh but everything He saw and heard the Father do, He did. That's what God desires from His people. If the Apostles healed and raised the dead, why aren't we?

My whole testimony is my mother in law was dying of a terminal illness called aplastic anemia. She had no bone marrow. She would bleed to death when cut. She lived on transfusions for over 18 months. Finally, my wife received a word from God to pray for her specific need as my mother in law was down to her last donor and was about to go into surgery. I said they would cut on her and she would bleed out on the table so they could quit spending money on her.

My wife said she knew instantly what to pray for so she prayed for one stem of Jesus' bone marrow. She prayed and they wheeled her into surgery. When they came out, she was at 70k on her platelets which were 20k when she went in. I asked how many bags of platelets did they give her and they said NONE! She went home in about a week when the stitches healed and she lived another 25 years and died of heart trouble. Aplastic anemia is incurable. the only treatment is bone marrow transplant and she was too old to get one. She got one from Jesus.

Seeing this with my own eyes changed what I thought forever. Even the doctor said it was a miracle and he had never see anything like it. People we give our testimony to say,.."Well the drugs finally kicked in". She hadn't taken any drugs in the last 6 months because they didn't work. The doctor said there was nothing else to be done for her. God was showing that He wanted the glory for what He was about to do.

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