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Spurious tongues are not Biblical
So, the spurious tongues are not Biblical;
they are not Godly, and they are not the result of the presence
of the Holy Spirit. This does not imply, however, that somewhere, today,
God may not see the need to supply one of His people with actual
foreign-language ability in order to allow them to bring the gospel into
a spiritually dark area. This always remains God’s prerogative. But
the gift of tongues as manifested in the charismatic movement today can
certainly not be ranked in this category.
Being a socioreligious phenomenon,
glossolalia has aroused the interest of many social scientists; and
being quite outspoken, many of these investigators have made no attempt
to conceal their feelings or conclusions.
George B. Cutten, often criticized for
his blunt views, maintains that "whatever may be predicted of the
psychological conditions of speaking in tongues in the New Testament, it
is evident that the experience since then may be classified as ecstasy
or allied phenomena. In ecstasy there is a condition of emotional
exaltation, in which the one who experiences it is more or less
oblivious to the external world, and loses to some extent his
self-consciousness and his power of rational thought and self-control.
"—Speaking with Tongues Historically and Psychologically
Considered, page 157.
A study conducted by J.N. Lapsley and
J.H. Simpson of Princetown Seminary supports Cutten in this. In their
research they noted among the tongues speakers the presence of
"uncommonly troubled people," who exhibited "more anxiety
and personality instability than non-Pentecostals of the same
socioeconomic backgrounds."—"Speaking in Tongues," Princeton
Seminary Bulletin, LXIII, 1965, pp. 3-18.
Dr. Samarin’s research has provided
him with the scientifically supported conviction that anyone can acquire
glossolalia. According to him it is simply for the asking.
"The only necessary, and perhaps
sufficient requirement for becoming a glossolalist," Samarin
concludes, "seems to be a profound desire on the part of an
individual for a new or better religious experience."
"Glossolalia as Learned Behavior," Canadian Journal of
Theology, 15, 1969, pp. 60-64.
Throughout all the opinions advanced by
scholars, one common thought pervades—that of attributing the strange
tongues to an emotional disturbance, usually excluding the probability
of an outside supernatural catalyst.
Says Robert R. Gustafson, "In
fact, the phenomenon called tongues today appears to provide not only a
psychic release from emotional disturbances, but it also appears to
provide an emotional high by which one is able to escape momentarily
from inward problems and conflicts."—Eiobert R. Gustafson, Authors
of Confusion (Tampa, Fla.: Grace Publishing Company, 1971), page 80.
Attributing this disturbance to religious emotionalism, others express
it in more ecclesiastical tones.
"When an unstable or eccentric
person, in his search for light or for power, hears of some mysterious
experiences of this man or that, he almost invariably hopes that such
strange things also may happen to him, " says Dr. Stolee. "His
heart is set on this; his prayers center on it. The beatific ‘visions,’
the ‘being in the Spirit’ that others claim as their lot he must
have at whatever cost. He can and will not take refuge in the plain
promises of Christ, but must have some external sign of some inward
ecstasy as proof of the ‘spirit baptism.’
"If then, he knows no rivers of
living waters flowing out from his life, if no thrill grips him, if no
token appears, he is disappointed even unto despair. He envelops spirit
fever. All because the mysterious ‘baptism’ on which he had set his
heart is missing."—H. J. Stolee, Speaking in Tongues
(Minneapolis, Minn.: Augsburg Publishing House, 1963), page 81.
If you have ever witnessed a committed
charismatic in action, then you have no difficulty in accepting Dr.
Stolee’s argument, for once set on receiving the Holy Spirit, the
aspirant tongues speaker will stop at nothing to reach the desired state
of spiritual bliss.
The
Super-emotional State
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