In the last few years there has been a flood of investigation with many tapes of tongues and interpretations. An article in Christianity Today related the results of the analysis of taped tongues-speech by a group of U.S. Government linguists. They did not recognise the tongues as being any specific language, although one thought that it might possess the structure of a language.
It may be argued that as there are 3,000 or more languages in use in the world, even a group of linguists would know only a small percentage of these. This objection was challenged by W. E. Welmers, Professor of African Languages at the University of California. He wrote,
“We do know something about representative languages of every known language family in the world. I am by no means unique among descriptive linguists in having had direct, personal contact with well over a hundred languages representing a majority of the world’s language families.”
He commented on an analysis he had made of a sample of tongues-speech. It contained “no more than two contrasting vowel sounds”, was made up of “a most peculiarly restricted set of consonant sounds” which were expressed in “a very few syllable clusters which recur many times in various orders” He concluded that the sample “does not sound like a language structurally.”
False Interpretations
There have been a number of cases of people going into Pentecostal meetings and deliberately speaking in a language to see whether there would be an interpretation. In corresponding with Bro. Sargent some years ago on this topic he mentioned this, “I remember Bro.— saying that he once went to such a meeting and repeated a passage of Caesar’s Gallic in Latin which was duly given an edifying translation by one of the Pentecostals.” The “edifying” translation was evidently of a different kind of warfare! I understand there was a recent case in Melbourne of a Jew who was rather unwillingly persuaded to go to a Pentecostal Gathering by his wife. He gave a rendering of a Psalm in Hebrew to which a “translation” was given!
There are a wide variety of claims that actual languages have been recognised in “tongues speech”. Books by Pentecostal writers are full of such claims, reporting incidents, which if true, are a true parallel of the Scripture use of the gift as a sign to unbelievers. But the case against the great mass of Pentecostalism is so strung — that it is not genuinely of God — that one cannot but have a strong sense of skepticism towards these claims. Some investigators have traced these claims which have been made from the very beginnings of Pentecostalism at the turn of the century. (It is evident that they cannot avoid the evidence of Acts 2 that at Pentecost literal languages were spoken.) Burdick refers to some of these investigations
“Cutten cites Mosiman, who wrote in 1911, to the effect that, although he had traced many claims of `real speech in foreign languages,’ he had failed to find one case that was authentic. Cutten also examined many such claims and came to the same conclusion as Mosiman.”
Burdick himself had had claims reported to him but found they were “hardly ever subject to verification.” (5) John Sherrill, the reporter who investigated Pentecostalism and who was won over to experience “Spirit Baptism” and tongues, admits that in the course of his investigation he taped many tongue-speakers. He got six University Professors to listen to them one day — but none recognised a known language. In the course of his book Sherrill had “documented” many claims to actual languages being recognised. So also do others. But when verification is sought — it proves elusive.
Evidence From Hypnotism
It does seem that should these be satisfactorily verified in isolated cases, that we would still need to look carefully at the claim. As there are examples under hypnotism of forgotten learning coming to light, and things not consciously learned being remembered, this factor might be an explanation in some cases. Bergsma, a Psychiatrist who has studied Pentecostalism, relates it to the science of cybernetics which deals with the storage and recall of memory. He wrote,
“Obviously nothing can come out of each individual brain that was not previously stored there. Materials stored may be altered, fragmented, confused, distorted but cannot be humanly created. Also, it is obvious that language, which comes out as a language in glossolalia, must have been introduced somehow into that person’s life. Even if that person was not conscious he or she had heard those words.“
Now I can give a couple of examples to bear this out. There is a brother I know who, before he came into the truth, practised hypnotism — as an amateur hypnotherapist — for some 25 years. Some years ago, as a “contact”, we talked on the subject of hypnotism and he spoke of a lady he was helping to gain more confidence in her singing, for she aimed to be a professional singer. On one occasion he had suggested she sing a certain song in German and she did so beautifully. Although her parents were German, she herself could not speak a word of German under normal circumstances. She had arrived in Australia as a very little child.
- L. Marcuse, one of the highest authorities on hypnotism, asks
“In hypnosis can one play the piano or speak a foreign language if these are suggested? The answer to this question is yes provided one could do so before. People showing a ‘new’ ability are not necessarily showing it for the first time, but may be showing it as a result of the removal by hypnosis of an inhibition or block which prevented the appearance of this previously acquired ability. It is not implied that the previous learning is always conscious. A case is cited of a man being able to repeat a passage in an ancient language. He was completely unable to account for this, inasmuch as he had no knowledge whatsoever of the language and could not remember ever having seen the passage. Careful research subsequently disclosed that he had at one time been seated in a library where a book lay open at the passage in question. and that it must have caught his eye and registered in his memory while he was consciously absorbed in thinking about other matters.”
When confronted with such evidence of the capacity of the human mind we must surely hesitate to trust the evidence of subjective human “experience”. God’s revealed word is our foundation stone that is a principle we need to cling to with all our might. If the eye can be an unwitting recorder for the memory bank then so can the ear, perhaps even more so. And, just to digress how needful to discipline ourselves in daily living that our minds might always feed on that which is spiritually healthy to body and soul.
When Known Languages Have Been Spoken
It is interesting that there have been reported cases of tongues in known languages in non-Christian circles. Edward Langston, according to Burdick, “says that in East Africa many persons possessed by demons speak fluently in Swahili or English although under normal circumstances they do not understand either language.” Another report is
“that among the Thonga people of Africa when a demon is being exorcised the person sings a curative song which he himself composes. Usually the songs are in the Zulu tongue. Even if the person does not know this language it is claimed he will be able to use it `by kind of miracle of tongues.’ “
Cutten cites a case of an illiterate servant who, in a delirium, “spoke at length in Latin, Hebrew and Greek. Upon investigation it was learned that when she had served in the home of a clergyman she had heard him recite long passages in these languages.”
With these facts in mind it is hoped that these articles will help some to take special care that they might not be deceived. Remember we have been warned that there will be manifest by false prophets “great signs and wonders: inasmuch, that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matt. 24:24). In so much of what we have been considering we have seen a fulfilment of these words. How true also the comment of the Master “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.” (John 4:48) and it is in this last generation when earnestness of belief is fading away — that the leaders of a wayward Christendom are seeking to resuscitate their flocks with a diet of so-called “signs and wonders.”
An Unsuccessful Gift Of Prophecy
The Gifts of Tongues and Healing lend themselves more easily to counterfeiting. Where the Pentecostal movement has tried to emulate other gifts they have failed dismally. In the 19th Century, before the word Pentecostal was coined, there existed the Catholic Apostolic Church, founded by Edward Irving (17921834). Pentecostals like to claim that theirs is the latter-rain outpouring of the Spirit which had its first manifestation in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve 1900. But history denies this. Irving was a close friend of Thomas Carlyle, who said that after Irving allowed “tongues” in his church his “services became pure bedlam.” Apparently they set out to practise other gifts, and a certain Robert Baxter joined his movement in 1831, but became disillusioned when prophecies supposedly made through the operation of the Spirit failed. He left them, telling Irving, “we had all been speaking by a lying spirit and not by the Spirit of the Lord.” He went on to publish a book denouncing the claims of Irving. Thus journeys into attempts to profess other gifts are rare, although I have heard Pentecostals claim the gift of prophecy.
I discussed this with one of their Pastors, but he claimed that the gift of prophecy was not a gift to foretell the future, but a gift to rightly interpret the word of God. Whilst it may be true that a “prophet” is not always one who foretells the future — but also “forth-tells” God’s message — it is undeniable that the Spirit enabled believers in the days of the Apostles to foretell future events — and it is fair to conclude that this demonstrated the operation of the Gift of prophecy.
The most valuable tradition the Christadelphians have is that of a regular and systematic reading of the Scriptures. It gives us the whole perspective of God’s ways. It helps us to avoid the human inclination to follow a leader, for our minds are fed with truth, and according to our assimilation, we will be able to sense the wrong emphasis so often manifest in those who would draw disciples after themselves. But inasmuch as we let go this valuable tradition — just as much we will weaken our defence against these things, and become susceptible to the “signs and wonders.” Moses warned Israel (Deut. 13: 1 -6) and his warning fits our need today. “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder come to pass…” if such a person says, “Let us go after other Gods… thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet”. So we see that he was to be rejected even though his signs came to pass. It would appear that the Lord allows the fulfilment of his signs as a test, that He might know “whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (v.3). Although the true prophet is to be believed when his signs come to pass (Deut. 18:22), the truth of his teaching is to be the pre-requisite before any notice is taken of his sign. Those who are drawn to Pentecostalism and who ignore its =scriptural teaching and practice should realise they are under a test and in danger of failing.
So far we have said little about Pentecostalism from the angle of Scripture. We propose to devote our next article to have a look at some of the lessons of Scripture.
Daniel The Prophet – (Part 3)