You know, the one Church in the NT that was famed for speaking in tongues was the one in Corinth - and Paul wrote to them to say that tongues was no big deal, and that they should work on showing more love?
We ought to keep this in mind when we read of people being ' slain in the spirit', or speaking in tongues, or similar manifestations of 'the Toronto blessing' happening in churches.
This is not to knock anyone who does speak in tongues, just to put it into perspective a bit. Me, I have follwed a trajectory a bit like Halley's Comet - whereas some people have stayed in the church that they were born and raised in all their lives, I was born C of E and went to a traditional boarding school, where school assembly, RE lessons and confirmation classes were the done thing. however, my mum got into Jehovah's Witnesses, whom I left for the New Age Movement. from there , I slowly moved back towards Christianity by way of a small and Christian fellowship and ended up in the United reformed Church , where I have been the last 15 years or so.
The Witnesses introduced me to the idea that Christmas had a pagan origin, and they did not celebrate Christmas for that reason . however, I got to see as I grew older that the Witnesses were not infallible and that god was not leading them as much as they might suppose. Moreover, the Bible itself was full of borrowed pagan ideas which the Hebrews gacked from their pagan neighbours.
So, on leaving them , I went to chat to some local pagans - reading in those days, being not far from Greenham Common Airbase, was awash with new Age Activists who were into ecology, CND and Green Politics. so that is where I headed next. i joined ashrams, or teaching circles, I became a chela, or pupil, to certain English people who could show me something of the esoteric traditions of India, China and Japanese Zen Buddhism. I studied Tao, Astrology, chakras and such . And yet somehow, this was not for me. Things happened that I shall recount another time perhaps, and I set my feet once more for the Western Christian tradition.
And so I began to look at the Christian faith afresh - not as the Witnesses saw things , but with a more informed view on Scripture. And so I began to check out Charismatic and other churches that were not C of E. the URC was one such place and that is where I ended up, but I did the Alpha course, and went to Westminster Chapel, where R.T . Kendall did theological lectures in the evening during the week.
It was R T Kendall who introduced me to the books by Jackie Pullinger, a Christian woman who went as a missionary to China. In her books, she recounts her own adventures in the faith - how she got addicts off of heroin, using nothing more than prayers and strong black coffee. She also won the respect of hardened criminals among the Hong Kong Triads- the Chinese equivalent to the Mafia. She came across to them as she does to me, a very courageous and virtuous individual, much in the Gladys Ailward tradition.
Interestingly , when she began to convert Chinese people to Christianity, some began speaking in tongues. Now, I have been to St Luke's, an Evangelical Church run by the C of E in Cranham. I did the Alpha Course there, and have heard people speak in tongues in their services. And really, it seems to me that these people were just babbling ecstatically and then someone would translate for them , not repeating the form of the original message, but saying something rather shorter, less repetitive and rather different.
Yet Jackie reports that in her congregation, someone who was new would get up and speak in English - good English - 'the sort of English that you would hear from an Oxford don' , as she put it. And then someone else would stand up and repeat the phrase in eloquent Mandarin Chinese. Now, Jackie Pullinger was the only person in the room who could have got the sense of both or even performed this feat, she says- and she says this happened, and other ordinary , uneducated people did it. As far as I am concerned, her character is such that I quite believe her.
Closer to home , I have not seen that happen myself, yet I do know that some strange things have happened in Britain. I recall reading about a reporter for the Evening Standard going along to a revival meeting being run by an evangelist visiting London . The Evangelist would have people come forward , and he would lay his hands on them and they simply collapsed, fell backwards and were caught by two assistants who were there to make sure they never got hurt. This rather cynical reporter went froward, and was instantly ' zapped' as they put it. Our reporter never saw any visions of heaven , never got converted - they just had an experience they could not explain . they felt no pain , just inexplicably blacked out when the minister laid hands on them. Hmmm...
While I was at R.T. Kendall's class one evening , The hymn writer Graham Kendrick was there as the guest speaker. he recounted the story of how he was writing a song at the time, and wondering about one of the verses he had done. Graham explained that a fellow Christian in his church came up to him and said " the Lord has given me a message to give to you. Jesus wants you to keep that verse about Moses and Elijah in the song - don't delete it." Now, Graham had not even mentioned the song he was at work on to anyone. how did this person know about the verse in question ? Again , considering the source of this story, i am prepared to go with it.
But what is going on here? Is all this somehow connected to God and Jesus, or is there something else at work? If so, what is it? Western science does not seem to be able to supply the answer as to why a cynical and curious journalist should be knocked unconscious by the lightest touch of the hands - yet to those who taught me, the answer is simple: it was Kundalini.
Those who have a knowledge of the eastern Esoteric Traditions will know that yoga is more than just posture and breathing exercises. it is also about ' opening ones chakras'. the chakras are thought to be energy centres in the body that regulate the flow of 'prana', or life force - the Chinese call it 'qi' and the Japanese 'chi'. By the use of acupuncture and acupressure, some practitioners can channel the flow of this energy to promote healing , or even drug free pain relief.
But the real aim of an adept is to raise ones own chi to a point where ones chakras are in perfect accord and the energy can flow through the system with more effect. the Hindus call this state ' Kundalini'. they claim that one whose life is in balance can become master of their emotions , and face life with total serenity. not only that , but do things like accomplish healing just by touch - the Master's 'energy field' will align and adjust that of the sick person, making them well. Someone whose powers are still latent or are newly formed will not have the same degree of control and will simply ' short out ' their subject, according to my guru. I wonder if this is what happened to the reporter from the Evening Standard. Also, it seems that the' Toronto blessing' that leaves some people rolling on the floor making animal noises is not something that a wise and loving god would do, but might be the result of raising someone's chi for them to suddenly - it would release all sorts of emotional tensions, but that is all. A guru would understand how to direct these energies to a more dignified and better result. i much suspect that Jesus was a master of Kundalini- the art if manipulating chi.
Not only that , but s/he will be able to discern the thoughts and emotions of those nearby. And have the ability to speak their language and understand theirs. Now, I have seen people at Spiritualist churches who claimed to be clairvoyant ' demonstrate their mediumship', and try to offer me proof that they were in contact with the dearly departed. sadly , all I saw was ' cold reading '. However, I have also seen a Christian Prophet at work, using what he called ' the gift of prophecy'. he was ale to tell someone in the audience a great deal, with no prompting whatever. he even said something to me, a complete stranger which is strangely coming about in my life, just as he said. Perhaps i should write next about spiritualism and cold reading - but my conclusion , so far is that healing , Gifts of prophecy, speaking in tongues , are all gifts that flow from God - but God does not give these gifts solely to those who walk the Christian path. they are also available to those who practice Yoga , tai Chi and Zen Buddhism it seems.
Not everyone has the gift of playing the piano by ear - but some people can . Likewise some people , it seems, have a natural talent for healing , clairvoyance, and other abilities that seem as if they are touched by some divine presence in their lives. And , perhaps they are.
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