‘Gibberish’ in the pew? Rick Burgess confronts the tongues controversy in Pentecostal churches

On a recent episode of “Strange Encounters” — a podcast on spiritual warfare — BlazeTV host Rick Burgess received a message from a listener who was disturbed by what he had been seeing in the Pentecostal church.

He wrote, “The Pentecostals seem to me to be mocking the Holy Spirit by running around the church speaking in gibberish, knocking people down, etc. Is this some sort of demonic type of behavior that is not honoring the Spirit of the Lord or just confused people who have twisted Scripture and clearly don’t seem to follow it?”

Rick addresses the controversial issue of speaking in tongues by first pointing out different denominations’ preferences for one specific part of the Holy Trinity.

“Conservative Presbyterians, you see a more stoic, reverent representation and a lot — a lot — a lot of talk about the Father. … If you were to go to a traditional, say, Baptist church, you’re going to hear a lot about the Son,” he says.

“And then you get into the charismatics … your Pentecostals, your Church of God, and it’s almost like the Holy Spirit is their favorite.”

The issue of speaking in tongues, Rick explains, begins with “[taking] God as he is.”

“We should be worshipping God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit,” he says.

Rick points out that speaking in tongues is often treated by denominations that embrace it as something that makes them “superior” to other Christians.

“Some go even further to say that to speak in tongues is to prove that you are truly redeemed. Scripture would not agree with that,” he says.

So what does Scripture say about speaking in tongues?

Rick refers to the apostle Paul’s advice in 1 Corinthians 14:

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.

Rick unpacks Paul’s teaching: “Is speaking in tongues real? Yeah, it is. Is it some gift that … is beneficial to the church? Not really.”

“If it’s just a bunch of gibberish with no one to interpret and you’re making a scene in the church and drawing attention to yourself and it has no benefit to the rest of the church, then Paul doesn’t seem to think much of it at all,” he continues.

However, Rick is conflicted about whether or not speaking in uninterpreted tongues in church is overtly demonic.

“I don’t really know the answer to that. It feels to me that any time that we are singing praise songs that have bad theology, preaching messages that are not biblically sound, and, I guess I would say, and speaking in tongues in a way that is in conflict with Scripture, I think at the heart of all that is demonic activity,” he says.

“Because let me tell you, [demons] would love to come inside the church if they have been invited.”

To hear more, watch the episode above.

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