Gracie2004 wrote:
Having also been a protestant at one point in my life, I've had a little experience with some who 'think' they can speak in tongues. But it is really very dangerous for those who are inexperienced, or who have no interpreter. In fact, on occasion, some have been translated to be cursing God instead of praising God, so one never really knows what they are saying unless there is an interpreter. Gibberish cannot ever be interpreted,
I need to point out an error here. Interpretation is not the same as translation. God may give the interpreter the ability to know what the person is saying without necessarily translating word for word.
Quote:
...so those speaking in tongues are just taking for granted that they are praising God, which may not be the case at all.
Reports of people cursing God in tongues have been circulated for a long time. My personal conviction is that this is very rare. The cases that involve cursing God usually involve people who have a prior involvement in witchcraft and are still being influenced by demonic spirits.
Quote:
...in known tongues needs to be interpreted, as I said above, those who were speaking in tongues truly thought they were praising God and were astonished, and scared to think that they could be used to curse God instead. I would warn your friend to be VERY careful.
Scripture tells us not to be afraid but to have faith. If you ask God for a gift of the Holy Spirit, will He give you something evil instead? Will he empower a true believer to curse Him when all they really wanted to do was to praise Him?