The Art of the Unexplained: Tongues, Emotions, and Radical Pentecostalism

The Pentecostal charismatic movement is definitely part of modern
Christendom. Your powers of observation are without parallel. You just
described with a little tongue in cheek humor and brazen honesty the true
nature of the effervescent movement I believe now paralyzes the Christian
faith today. It has long been my opinion that shallow Christians invent
false spirituality, emotional pandering and doctrinal ambiguity. to assuage
their rather shallow faith.
I am not completely cognizant of why I agree with you so heartily. There
must be genuine Christians in these groups, of that I am sure. I know
several of them myself. But every one of them given an honest moment told
me that the emotionalism they expressed was a stylistic preference or a
personal reaction, not a response to any superior movement of God in their
midst. I have also found many such individuals doctrinally wanting. The
Bible clearly teaches in I Corinthians 14 that God prefers order (presbyter)
in worship offered to him. And he specifically states that the gift of
Tongues is to be used one at a time rather than all at once and then only a
couple of expressions at once. It also might be noted that this particular
gift died at the end of the apostolic era only to re appear around the
beginning of the last century.
I am also given to believe that these more special gifts are to re emerge
toward the end times at the behest of God Himself. I do remember from my
Christian infancy that having lacked proper training at the time, I was
given to seek the experiential to support my rather childish faith. As I
grew, I came to realize that faith in and of it's self is an act of the will
and not subject to traditional proof beyond that mentioned in Hebrews 11:1.
Then as I continued in my faith, I stumbled upon the remarkable teachings,
history, and practices of the Christian faith which demanded my attention
far more than any emotional stupor. I often wonder if some people thusly
disposed subconsciously attempt to assuage their guilty consciences because
they have decided not to practice true faith and thereby live by the even
more radical standards taught by Christ in passages like the Great White
Throne Judgment at the end of Matthew 25. But then again, who am I to call
the experience of another a fabrication just because I do not share that
experience.
I also suspect that though you and I approach life from two different
perspectives, we practice life in much the same way. Right is still right
and wrong is still wrong. Perhaps that is just part of the nature of
existence. Perhaps God placed it in the nature of existence. But I do
think a genuine, well thought out morality or ethic is best based on
rationality and documentation rather than emotional putrescence. I also
suppose this morality or ethic might come from social conventions backed up
with a little Darwinism. But on the other hand, it could also be extracted
from some pre exist and founding document like a constitution or a.. ahem..
well, let's not go there. Remember that every generalization is false,
including this one.

1.
http://theartoftheunexplained.blogspot.com/2010/09/tongues-emotions-and-radi
cal.html