Tongues, speaking in unknown tongues is one of the most controversial topics in the Christian faith.

The Disciples, on the day of Pentecost, 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus, preached the gospel in languages they had not learned. This gift from the Holy Spirit, which was sent by Jesus, allowed ALL of the people present to hear and understand in their own language.

I have heard of one account where this happened as recently as the 1980's. A Christian friend told me about an english speaking girl who heard the gospel, which was preached by a Mexican Pastor who did not speak english. The Mexican Preacher preached in his native language but the english speaking girl heard it in english and as a result, accepted Jesus as her saviour at that meeting.

This, however, is not the type of 'tongues' that I am going to address on this page.

The Pentecost and Assembly of God denominations are obviously centered on this as being the foremost issue in their doctrine. Some of the pastors in these denominations teach that you must speak in tongues to prove that you are of The Holy Spirit. I know this from a personal experience!

In 1980, I was a pretty devout believer and loved the Lord, Jesus Christ! I had seen and been granted many miracles and there was no doubt about my relationship with God. My mother, however, had become deeply involved in a tongues-based church who had convinced her that if a person did not speak in tongues, they were not of the Holy Spirit. My mother kept insisting that I was not 'saved' because I did not speak in an unknown tongue. She drove me to the point that I walked away from living the Christian doctrine. I 'backslid' and lived in pure hell for a decade. If this false doctrine can cause me to fall away from the Lord, I am sure there are other folks out there suffering.

The 'tongue' that these churches teach is NOT the same 'tongue' as I have previously described. The 'tongue' that these people use is a gibberish that makes no sense. I will not completely condemn the 'tongues' issue but it has NO PLACE being credited with showing evidence of the Holy Spirit.

I am not the type of teacher that gives you a verse here and there to prove my point because I believe you must read the entire book which deals with an issue. There are those who pick one line here and there and base an entire doctrine on one verse.

Read 1st Corinthians and 2nd Corinthians in it's entirety! You will plainly see that the Apostle Paul was scolding the church at Corinth for their immature handling of the tongues issue. Paul plainly explains that 'tongues' is a minor gift and should not be misused. He was being as kind as possible while trying to correct the improper handling of tongues.

I have several Christian friends who tell me, they speak in tongues. They report that they pray in a strange sounding utterance that addresses God direct from the Holy Spirit. I have one very well educated (in the doctrine) friend who says there are several types of tongues.

There is the 1st example where tongues is actually another language that the speaker has never learned but is able to speak when empowered by the Holy Spirit. She further tells me that according to her experiences she has witnessed and has the ability to pray in an unknown utterance AND she tells me there is a false tongue from Satan.

The best argument these folks have is found in Mark, Chapter 16....
¹⁵And then he told them, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere. ¹⁶Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. ¹⁷These signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak new languages.^{[3] 18}They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won't hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick and heal them."

Based on the literal translation of the above scripture, one could ask, do all who speak in tongues also heal the sick, handle snakes, cast out demons and drink poison? I think not. Well, was the writer talking about the Disciples, the converted Christians and/or was it a promise to those of that time? I don't know. Sometimes we have to be careful about taking EVERY verse in the bible as a stand-alone fact... Translation from Hebrew, Greek or Latin, time, culture and other factors can make a person understand that we have to read and understand the entire gospel. Not just a few scriptures here and there.

Since I don't speak in tongues, I can only pray for wisdom on this topic and listen to those who are gifted in this area. My point is this, some may have this ability but it is not a requirement to be kingdom bound.

Therefore, if a church, pastor, friend or relative tells you that you must speak in tongues to be acceptable for their congregation or the Lord... GET OUT OF THERE!!