No, I would disagree with you here. Paul talks about how it's better to speak a few words in your own language than to speak a thousand words in tongues (this is directed to the church) because the church is to edify believers, and if no one can understand them it is useless speaking. I'm not saying that speaking tongues is wrong in and of itself, because it means speaking in other languages and can be used to spread the gospel, as mentioned before, and it doesn't mean speaking to God or the Holy Spirit, because the only forms of communication we have like that is through prayer and scripture. On the other hand, the church service is for believers, and I'm quite positive that Paul addresses this in 1 Corinthians. He doesn't condemn the use of tongues altogether, because he says we should all desire that gift (although not all of us will have it), but it's use within the church is not needed. I'm not going to bash any church for doing it, but I believe that a local church would be better off speaking their native language to be more productive in the ways of Biblical teaching and edification.

This post was edited by flipypy on May 30 2011 03:18pm

Thank you for your response flipypy.

I have heard your objections many times before. My post was extremely short and I could hardly qualify myself, but I did mention that the Bible makes it clear that there are different types of tongues: 1) The Gift of the Spirit. 2) A personal prayer language.

You have objected to the first, but not the second. Many people who object to the first verse, I think, do not recognize the context and the reason that Paul gives his address in I Corinthians 12-14 that you alluded to.

First of all, even back in I Corinthians 1:7 Paul states, "so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ." Here Paul explicitly links the use of Spiritual Gifts in the church with the revelation of Jesus Christ. Even after I Corinthians 12-14 Paul states, "Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel."

But why does he even write I Corinthians 12-14? Why does he use language that seems to condemn the use of tongues and interpretation in the church, and furthermore to state that some gifts will cease? The reason he makes these statements is because individuals were misusing the gift of tongues. They would conduct services by standing up to speak and then speak in tongues as a sermon, with no interpretation of it. THAT is the context of I Corinthians 12. Once you understand that, you understand that Paul is telling them the proper way to use the gift of tongues, not to cease using it period. He calls tongues useless language without interpretation because it WAS useless when nobody could understand these sermons people were giving in tongues. The problem was using tongues as a sole means of communicating a message, not using it period. So I don't believe it is correct to say that the use of tongues within the church is not needed, because elsewhere Paul makes it clear that it IS needed, even WITHIN the passages given in I Corinthians 12-14.

I'm not sure what you mean when you say that speaking in tongues as a personal prayer language "doesn't mean speaking to God or the Holy Spirit." It is simply another way of praying that Paul himself says he took part in, albeit on a regular basis.

I think you are misinterpreting that verse. He is referring to the use of tongues in church, not the use of tongues in church without an interpreter. He plainly says that it would be better to speak a few words in your native language than a thousand words in tongues, which means that you will much easily get a teaching point across in your own tongue rather than using a foreign one. The reason he talks about church being the purpose of edification for others is because tongues do not accomplish that goal. They are, as indicated earlier, for personal use or the spreading of the gospel, but not edification of the church, which is why I believe it should not be used in the church.