Michlow, when I first spoke in tongues, it was completely involuntary. It was my voice, my vocal chords and my breath but it was like a fountain of water gushing from my belly through my throat, words in tongues. Was your experience like this?
Michlow, I hope you answer my above post about tongues but I have another question for you. You said God told you to leave an apostolic church. Was that to attend a different church or to leave church altogether? I am sure that you are aware that the bible says we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. So why would God tell you something contrary to his word? What exactly did he tell you? If you don't mind me asking.
wow, michlow. I didn't know you were so involved. I don't understand how you can be agnostic after being baptized and speaking in tongues. Did you feel anything spiritual when you were baptized? How can you doubt God after speaking in tongues? Wasn't it involuntary tongues by the spirit or was it repeated gibberish?
I'm not quite as far removed as Timmy and michlow. However, I'm not a christian. I've doubted everything and still doubt most everything.
I was baptized and spoke in tongues. I didn't feel much when I was baptized. Maybe relief. Maybe a little bit of feeling like I did something right and good. Baptism is not about feelings though.
As far as speaking in tongues, it was not repeated gibberish. My feelings at the time of speaking in tongues also confirms that it was not repeated gibberish. However, I doubt the legitimacy of any of my tongues experiences and since mine are just like everyone elses then I doubt theirs also. This does not mean I think they just repeat gibberish... One of the biggest confirmations for me that my tongues weren't legit is that to this day I feel that I could speak in them if I just closed my eyes, tightened up on the inside and let that tightness go up my throat and then began to speak. Heck, even the emotions that accompanied them somewhat return when I go through these motions and I'm not even a Christian.
By the way I could do alot more theorizing on how tongues occur even though they aren't legit...
Let's take the example of a new convert. He learns that his new church teaches that those who never speak in tongues are not saved. This makes him long for the tongues experience that much more. He even prays and asks and begs God for this experience.
The church people tell him that he got close that night with "stammering lips." Of course he doesn't think that if tongues are involuntary then how do they know I am close? The reason they know he is close is because the events leading up to the actual tongues are all voluntary. (I'll provide more evidence for this thought later).
He comes again another night and rather quickly gets back to where he was last time with the stammering lips. He finally pushes through and speaks in tongues. Of course what actually happened is that he learned what voluntary actions to go through in order to eventually speak in tongues. This is evidenced by the fact that subsequent tongues experiences follow this one and that they are all entered into easier than the first one. In other words, in order to speak in tongues again he uses similar but refined voluntary actions to those that allowed him first to speak in tongues.
So the question is are tongues voluntary? For most people no! Most people cannot consistently produce exactly what actions are required to produce that experience. It is the lack of consistency that makes tongues involuntary. However, make no mistake that a person voluntarily has influence on whether or not he speaks in tongues.
Michlow, when I first spoke in tongues, it was completely involuntary. It was my voice, my vocal chords and my breath but it was like a fountain of water gushing from my belly through my throat, words in tongues. Was your experience like this?
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Originally Posted by *AQuietPlace*
Could you talk about this a little more? How/when you still speak in tongues? When you're praying, just out of the blue..... when? What triggers it?
I kind of feel like I'm on the therapists couch, LOL
When I speak in tongues, it's not like I have no control over it. I can clamp my lips shut and stop my tongue from moving. But at the same time, it's not an action that I perform willingly.
The best way to describe why or when is that it seems to happen when I am totally and completely overcome emotionally. Whether this is joy, sadness, anger, excitement, it doesn't seem to matter. I guess I look at it takes over when I am beyond words or coherent thought.
It's one of the things in my experience that I cannot explain. And I'm pretty sure I'm not making it up. I guess there is a chance that it could be some sort of brainwashing / mass hysteria after effect, but I don't truly believe that.
I kind of feel like I'm on the therapists couch, LOL
When I speak in tongues, it's not like I have no control over it. I can clamp my lips shut and stop my tongue from moving. But at the same time, it's not an action that I perform willingly.
The best way to describe why or when is that it seems to happen when I am totally and completely overcome emotionally. Whether this is joy, sadness, anger, excitement, it doesn't seem to matter. I guess I look at it takes over when I am beyond words or coherent thought.
It's one of the things in my experience that I cannot explain. And I'm pretty sure I'm not making it up. I guess there is a chance that it could be some sort of brainwashing / mass hysteria after effect, but I don't truly believe that.
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