| Information is generally known, but
ignored
Much of the above material is known to
many charismatics, but largely ignored. To them a personal contact with
the "Holy Ghost" shrinks to insignificance all evidence not in
harmony with their gift. The real meaning of the work of the true Spirit
to lead men "into the truth" has been reduced to allowing it
to operate the spectacular phenomena of the tongues speakers. To them, a
personal contact with "something" unseen, resulting in an
uncontrollable manifestation vaguely reminiscent of the events of
Pentecost, is superior to a prayer contact with the everlasting God of
the universe.
The advances of the "Holy
Spirit" on the minds of humanity are widely heralded through
organizations such as the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship
International, the Blessed Trinity Society, and the many Protestant and
Catholic charismatic groups. The approach or method by which the Spirit
is introduced to the uncommitted does not appear to be as important as
the ultimate results. Because of this, many of the nation’s top
tongues advocates advise the use of proven methods to
"guarantee" a direct voice-contact with the "Holy
Spirit."
Dutch Reformed minister Harold Bredesen,
chairman of the board of the Blessed Trinity Society and one of the
outspoken leaders in the tongues movement, advised the students at Yale
University to adhere to the following guidelines:
"(1) To think visually and
concretely, rather than abstractly: for example to try to visualize
Jesus as a person; (2) consciously to yield their voices and organs of
speech to the Holy Spirit; (3) to repeat certain elementary sounds which
he told them, such as ‘bah-bah bah’ or something similar. He then
laid his hands on the head of each seeker, prayed for him and the
seeker did actually speak in tongues. "—Cited by Stanley D.
Walters, "Speaking in Tongues," Youth in Action, May,
1964. (Italics supplied.)
Was it effective? Not everyone really
thinks so.
"Of the students involved, some
later became unsure that the outbreak was a genuine work of the Spirit.
I talked to one who had spoken in tongues when Mr. Bredesen first
visited the campus, could do so later whenever he wished, and on his own
initiative did so in my presence, yet doubted that it was a work
of the Spirit. A devout Christian, he was genuinely perplexed."—Waiters,
op. cit., p. 10. I cannot help thinking of the early Mormon
example, when Joseph Smith told his followers, "Arise upon your
feet, speak or make some sound, continue to make sounds of some kind,
and the Lord will make a tongue or language out of it."
The Reverend Christensen, a Lutheran
minister and a tongues speaker, advised the following: "In order to
speak in tongues, you have to quit praying in English. You simply lapse
into silence and resolve to speak not a syllable of any language you
have ever learned. Your thoughts are focused on Christ, and then you
simply lift up your voice and speak out confidently, in the faith that
the Lord will take the sound you give him and shape it into a language.
You take no thought of what you are saying: as far as you are concerned,
it is just a series of sounds. The first sounds will sound strange and
unnatural to your ear, and they may be halting and inarticulate (have
you ever heard a baby learning to talk?)."—Cited by John Miles,
"Tongues," Voice, February, 1965.
The
Prescription is Given
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