03-22-2007, 12:15 AM
BRAIN STUDY – SPEAKING IN TONGUES
(Including Grandma Anna’s Testimony)
EXCERPT QUOTES FROM
Speaking in Tongues: Alternative Voices in Faith
March 20, 2007
By VICKI MABREY and ROXANNA SHERWOOD
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2935819&page=1
At the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Andrew Newberg is looking for an explanation for what most regard as inexplicable.
Newberg is determined to unravel the relationship between faith and science by studying what happens in the brain during the deepest moments of faith. He's recently published a study looking at the brain activity of eight Americans who speak in tongues.
"If we are really going to look at this powerful force in human history of religion and spirituality, I think we really have to take a look at how that affects our brain — what's changing or turning on and off in our brain," Newberg said.
'Why We Believe What We Believe'
When asked if he was skeptical about what he'd find when he decided to study the brain at the moment someone is speaking in tongues, Newberg said, "If … the question is, is this a real phenomenon? Is this really the voice of God speaking through them? That's a much more problematic question, I think, and something that I'm not sure if we have specifically answered just by doing our study."
Newberg used CT scans to look at what happens in the brain's control center when someone speaks in tongues.
Study particpants like Donna Morgan listened to gospel music during the first scan. Brain activity during that scan was then compared with brain activity as the subject spoke in tongues.
Morgan was excited when she heard about the study. She was convinced that the results would support what she said she feels all the time.
"When I heard about the study, I already knew, in my spirit, that it was going to be proven that there was a part of our brain that we have no control [over]," she said, "that when the Holy Ghost is interceding for us we are out of control." Newberg has been studying how faith is mapped on the brain for quite some time. He's recently published a book called "Why We Believe What We Believe."
In earlier studies, he looked at what happens in the brains of Buddhist monks meditating and Franciscan nuns praying. The results were quite different from what happens in the brains of people speaking in tongues, whose brains, he found, went quiet in the frontal lobe — the part of the brain right behind the forehead that's considered the brain's control center.
The Voice of God?
"When they are actually engaged in this whole very intense spiritual practice … their frontal lobes tend to go down in activity. … It is very consistent with the kind of experience they have, because they say that they're not in charge. [They say] it's the voice of God, it's the spirit of God that is moving through them," said Newberg.
"Whatever is coming out of their mouth is not what they are purposefully or willfully trying to do. And that's in fairly stark contrast to the people who are — like the Buddhist and Franciscan nuns — in prayer, because they are very intensely focused and in those individuals the frontal lobes actually increase activity." We asked Stoltzfoos to visit the University of Pennsylvania to have his brain scanned by Newberg while he spoke in tongues, and Stoltzfoos did not hesitate in agreeing to participate.
"I don't think faith has anything to be afraid of from science. Science validates faith, so bring it on, whatever the facts are, bring it on."
First, Stoltzfoos' brain was scanned as he prayed in English. Then, on Newberg's cue, he spoke in tongues, which sounded like a foreign language — a little Hebrew, a bit of German — but actually he wasn't saying anything in any known language.
Newberg said the scan showed that part of Stoltzfoos' frontal lobe did go quiet.
'Not as Crazy as They Thought'
But what science determines at the end of the day is of no consequence to those who believe they are blessed with the gift of tongues.
=======
GRANDMA ANNA’S CLARIFICATION OF WHO IT IS THAT IS SPEAKING IN TONGUES
The Word Says that it is OUR spirit that is doing the praying in tongues.
KJV 1 Corinthians 14:14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my <3450> spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
Strong's Concordance:
3450 mou/ mou {moo}
Meaning: 1) I, me, my, of me
Origin: the simpler form of 1700;; pron
Usage: AV - my 501, me 52, mine 19, I 11, mine own 4; 587
=======
GRANDMA ANNA’S TESTIMONY OF RECEIVING THE GIFT OF TONGUES
Sandy had an experience at camp in the summer of 1970 and came home all excited. “Mama, they prayed for me and I received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and now I speak in tongues!” (Acts 2:4) “You do what???” was my exasperated reply. “That was for the era of the disciples; it isn’t done today. And … it’s a bunch of nonsense and I don’t want to hear any more about it.”
Then I saw the change in her life and in the reality of her personal relationship with God. He was the same God I served, yet I didn't know Him like she did and I yearned for that intimacy! I pondered the “speaking in tongues” as she called it, wondering if she still did it. Finally, I asked her if she still did this “tongues thing.” “Yes, Mama, I do,” she said quietly.
“What does it sound like?”
“Porta quita. Comen a tata.” She said rapidly over and over again. “Do you know anybody else that does this?” “Oh, yes, Mama, you know the two ladies at church in the choir that you say always look so happy? They both do it.” I was amazed.
The phrases sounded Spanish to me but I wasn’t sure of the words, so I finally looked them up.
Porta = door of a port hole
quita = discharge, release
Comen = they eat
a = with
tata = daddy
I translated it as, “Door of a porthole released. They eat with Daddy.”
A full language did not come to her for a long time. However, these few words were her commission from the beginning to open a “porthole” in heaven so that others could enjoy eating with their Daddy in Heaven. She was repeating this request thousands upon thousands of times and bombarding heaven with a prayer she didn’t even understand at the time! I have always thought that was so amazing. I believe it was the foundation of her ministry, which teaches people how to have a feast of intimacy of their own with their Daddy in heaven. It was also a lesson to me in the importance of tongues!
Discovering the meaning, convinced me that tongues were real because I knew she didn’t know Spanish. Moreover, I could also see a wonderful new joy in her. I was soon in hot pursuit of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit myself! I wanted it so badly I literally agonized over it. I pursued it alone with Him with everything in me. I knew nothing about it other than what Sandy had told me and what I read in the Bible. Finally, in desperation, I told the Lord I wasn't coming out of the studio den until He blessed me with the same thing He gave His disciples and to my daughter. Within an hour HE DID! I was afraid to stop speaking in tongues for fear I couldn't do it again. I was non-stop “motor mouth” for several hours until my daughter returned home and confirmed me, assuring me it wouldn't go away! It didn't! (Smile)
I devoured the Word to find out all I could about it. Paul said, “I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all;” (1 Corinthians 14:18 New King James) I was drawn to the verse that says, “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself,…” (1 Corinthians 14:4 NKJ) In that verse, the Greek word for edifies is “oikodomeo.” In the Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Concordance, it means to build a house, erect a building, to build up from the foundation, to restore by building, to rebuild, repair, metaphorically to found, establish, to promote growth in Christian wisdom, affection, grace, virtue, holiness, blessedness, to grow in wisdom and piety
Did I ever need all of those! My life was a mess and I figured if Paul spoke in tongues more that anyone, there was a good reason. It made sense to me to follow his example and do it as frequently as possible. Thus, I began a lifestyle of consistently speaking in tongues at every nudging of the Holy Spirit. I have found that the more frequently I do this, the more exciting, divine encounters I have in my life!
The Holy Spirit filling me was also a major character turning point in my life. My shyness began to disappear. I no longer enjoyed the worldly pleasures of the world. I loved to give more than to receive. I had a passion to know Father God and His Son intimately. I devoured His Word from cover to cover over and over again. The scriptures opened up to me in an amazing way. I learned what He likes and what He hates. I learned what brings Him joy and what makes Him angry. I learned of His mercy and His holiness. Most of all I learned that love was what motivated Him. Now that was a real eye opener!
I was taught all my life that the gifts were not for today. In fact, I had never seen them in operation. Yet, now my life centered on the times when the Holy Spirit would flow His gifts through me to others. Prophetic dreams and visions were frequent. They became an ordinary occurrence in my daily life.
From that day forward, I had a fervent goal in my life and that was to share being born again and the baptism of the Holy Spirit with as many people as possible. My heart’s desire was to help others come to Christ and receive His wonderful promise of eternal life with Him and the Father as well as living an abundant supernatural life of on earth.
“And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31 NKJ)
“I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:4 - 8 NKJ)
“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” (1 Corinthians 12:-12 NKJ)
(Including Grandma Anna’s Testimony)
EXCERPT QUOTES FROM
Speaking in Tongues: Alternative Voices in Faith
March 20, 2007
By VICKI MABREY and ROXANNA SHERWOOD
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2935819&page=1
At the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Andrew Newberg is looking for an explanation for what most regard as inexplicable.
Newberg is determined to unravel the relationship between faith and science by studying what happens in the brain during the deepest moments of faith. He's recently published a study looking at the brain activity of eight Americans who speak in tongues.
"If we are really going to look at this powerful force in human history of religion and spirituality, I think we really have to take a look at how that affects our brain — what's changing or turning on and off in our brain," Newberg said.
'Why We Believe What We Believe'
When asked if he was skeptical about what he'd find when he decided to study the brain at the moment someone is speaking in tongues, Newberg said, "If … the question is, is this a real phenomenon? Is this really the voice of God speaking through them? That's a much more problematic question, I think, and something that I'm not sure if we have specifically answered just by doing our study."
Newberg used CT scans to look at what happens in the brain's control center when someone speaks in tongues.
Study particpants like Donna Morgan listened to gospel music during the first scan. Brain activity during that scan was then compared with brain activity as the subject spoke in tongues.
Morgan was excited when she heard about the study. She was convinced that the results would support what she said she feels all the time.
"When I heard about the study, I already knew, in my spirit, that it was going to be proven that there was a part of our brain that we have no control [over]," she said, "that when the Holy Ghost is interceding for us we are out of control." Newberg has been studying how faith is mapped on the brain for quite some time. He's recently published a book called "Why We Believe What We Believe."
In earlier studies, he looked at what happens in the brains of Buddhist monks meditating and Franciscan nuns praying. The results were quite different from what happens in the brains of people speaking in tongues, whose brains, he found, went quiet in the frontal lobe — the part of the brain right behind the forehead that's considered the brain's control center.
The Voice of God?
"When they are actually engaged in this whole very intense spiritual practice … their frontal lobes tend to go down in activity. … It is very consistent with the kind of experience they have, because they say that they're not in charge. [They say] it's the voice of God, it's the spirit of God that is moving through them," said Newberg.
"Whatever is coming out of their mouth is not what they are purposefully or willfully trying to do. And that's in fairly stark contrast to the people who are — like the Buddhist and Franciscan nuns — in prayer, because they are very intensely focused and in those individuals the frontal lobes actually increase activity." We asked Stoltzfoos to visit the University of Pennsylvania to have his brain scanned by Newberg while he spoke in tongues, and Stoltzfoos did not hesitate in agreeing to participate.
"I don't think faith has anything to be afraid of from science. Science validates faith, so bring it on, whatever the facts are, bring it on."
First, Stoltzfoos' brain was scanned as he prayed in English. Then, on Newberg's cue, he spoke in tongues, which sounded like a foreign language — a little Hebrew, a bit of German — but actually he wasn't saying anything in any known language.
Newberg said the scan showed that part of Stoltzfoos' frontal lobe did go quiet.
'Not as Crazy as They Thought'
But what science determines at the end of the day is of no consequence to those who believe they are blessed with the gift of tongues.
=======
GRANDMA ANNA’S CLARIFICATION OF WHO IT IS THAT IS SPEAKING IN TONGUES
The Word Says that it is OUR spirit that is doing the praying in tongues.
KJV 1 Corinthians 14:14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my <3450> spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
Strong's Concordance:
3450 mou/ mou {moo}
Meaning: 1) I, me, my, of me
Origin: the simpler form of 1700;; pron
Usage: AV - my 501, me 52, mine 19, I 11, mine own 4; 587
=======
GRANDMA ANNA’S TESTIMONY OF RECEIVING THE GIFT OF TONGUES
Sandy had an experience at camp in the summer of 1970 and came home all excited. “Mama, they prayed for me and I received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and now I speak in tongues!” (Acts 2:4) “You do what???” was my exasperated reply. “That was for the era of the disciples; it isn’t done today. And … it’s a bunch of nonsense and I don’t want to hear any more about it.”
Then I saw the change in her life and in the reality of her personal relationship with God. He was the same God I served, yet I didn't know Him like she did and I yearned for that intimacy! I pondered the “speaking in tongues” as she called it, wondering if she still did it. Finally, I asked her if she still did this “tongues thing.” “Yes, Mama, I do,” she said quietly.
“What does it sound like?”
“Porta quita. Comen a tata.” She said rapidly over and over again. “Do you know anybody else that does this?” “Oh, yes, Mama, you know the two ladies at church in the choir that you say always look so happy? They both do it.” I was amazed.
The phrases sounded Spanish to me but I wasn’t sure of the words, so I finally looked them up.
Porta = door of a port hole
quita = discharge, release
Comen = they eat
a = with
tata = daddy
I translated it as, “Door of a porthole released. They eat with Daddy.”
A full language did not come to her for a long time. However, these few words were her commission from the beginning to open a “porthole” in heaven so that others could enjoy eating with their Daddy in Heaven. She was repeating this request thousands upon thousands of times and bombarding heaven with a prayer she didn’t even understand at the time! I have always thought that was so amazing. I believe it was the foundation of her ministry, which teaches people how to have a feast of intimacy of their own with their Daddy in heaven. It was also a lesson to me in the importance of tongues!
Discovering the meaning, convinced me that tongues were real because I knew she didn’t know Spanish. Moreover, I could also see a wonderful new joy in her. I was soon in hot pursuit of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit myself! I wanted it so badly I literally agonized over it. I pursued it alone with Him with everything in me. I knew nothing about it other than what Sandy had told me and what I read in the Bible. Finally, in desperation, I told the Lord I wasn't coming out of the studio den until He blessed me with the same thing He gave His disciples and to my daughter. Within an hour HE DID! I was afraid to stop speaking in tongues for fear I couldn't do it again. I was non-stop “motor mouth” for several hours until my daughter returned home and confirmed me, assuring me it wouldn't go away! It didn't! (Smile)
I devoured the Word to find out all I could about it. Paul said, “I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all;” (1 Corinthians 14:18 New King James) I was drawn to the verse that says, “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself,…” (1 Corinthians 14:4 NKJ) In that verse, the Greek word for edifies is “oikodomeo.” In the Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Concordance, it means to build a house, erect a building, to build up from the foundation, to restore by building, to rebuild, repair, metaphorically to found, establish, to promote growth in Christian wisdom, affection, grace, virtue, holiness, blessedness, to grow in wisdom and piety
Did I ever need all of those! My life was a mess and I figured if Paul spoke in tongues more that anyone, there was a good reason. It made sense to me to follow his example and do it as frequently as possible. Thus, I began a lifestyle of consistently speaking in tongues at every nudging of the Holy Spirit. I have found that the more frequently I do this, the more exciting, divine encounters I have in my life!
The Holy Spirit filling me was also a major character turning point in my life. My shyness began to disappear. I no longer enjoyed the worldly pleasures of the world. I loved to give more than to receive. I had a passion to know Father God and His Son intimately. I devoured His Word from cover to cover over and over again. The scriptures opened up to me in an amazing way. I learned what He likes and what He hates. I learned what brings Him joy and what makes Him angry. I learned of His mercy and His holiness. Most of all I learned that love was what motivated Him. Now that was a real eye opener!
I was taught all my life that the gifts were not for today. In fact, I had never seen them in operation. Yet, now my life centered on the times when the Holy Spirit would flow His gifts through me to others. Prophetic dreams and visions were frequent. They became an ordinary occurrence in my daily life.
From that day forward, I had a fervent goal in my life and that was to share being born again and the baptism of the Holy Spirit with as many people as possible. My heart’s desire was to help others come to Christ and receive His wonderful promise of eternal life with Him and the Father as well as living an abundant supernatural life of on earth.
“And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31 NKJ)
“I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:4 - 8 NKJ)
“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” (1 Corinthians 12:-12 NKJ)