Of all the instances of tongues in the Bible, only one of them (Acts 2) actually describes what is going on:
Not true, in fact there are passages that explain in
more detail what is going on when a person speaks in tongues. 1 Corinthians 14 v2, 4, 14-21 especially.
the people are speaking in languages that exist on earth. Do you remember the verse? The observers marvelled that they heard each of the Christians in his own language.
The gift of tongues
No! "the
gift of tongues" refers specifically to the giving of a mesage in tongues in a public meeting of the church, as detailed in 1 Corinthians 12 & 14.
Acts
never calls the occurrance of tongues as "the gift of tongues" - because the Acts accounts are about people becoming meetings, not regular meetings of people who are already Christians. (This point has already been made in more detail in this thread).
is the gift to communicate across the barrier of language that existed in the first century.
No! Acts 2 shows clearly that the people that tongues was
not for communicating the gospel to other people... just look at the result:
"And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine." (vv12-13)
They were all left in doubt and confusion, not one person became a Christian or even un derstood what they needed to do to become one!
- What one would expect if you over-heard someone speaking to God, not speaking to you.
The fallacy that because people understood the language they were therefore being spoken to in tongues is an illogical leap.
If you walk down the Champs Elyses in Paris and over-hear 2 people speaking in English, do you assume they are speaking to you, because you recognise the words?
- of course not!
This is further shown by the fact that Peter stood up and
spoke to the crowd in the common learned language ...
then they understood and 3000 were added.
If God had moved on the disciples to preach to the crowd, how disorderly and arrogant of Peter to interrupt what God was doing!
By all Biblical indications, there is no basis for Christians babbling.
By my understanding. I am, of course, open to correction. Please show me a Biblical example of Christians babbling.
"For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries" (1 Cor. 14:2)
"if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks,
seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?
For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified.
I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all: Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding,
that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue." (vv14-19)
The main purpose of speaking in tongues was and is personal private prayer, you might call it "babbling" because the prayer doesn't understand what he/she is saying and neither would any of the brethren, the person is speaking to God, allowing the Holy Spirit to lead them beyond their limited understanding.
"the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" (Romans 8:26)
- We don't have the words, but of course God does!
So, like all my brethren, I pray in tongues privately, but, in a meeting, I may or may not operate a "gift of tongues". The same goes for the other attributes in the "gifts" list - wisdom, knowledge, faith... (1 Cor. 12:8-12)
To use this passsage to teach that you can be a Christian without speaking in tongues is as ridiculous as saying only some Christians get each ot the other attributes listed!
