Hey Bradley, thanks for the great, well thought-out response. I take it you’re from Ohio, so the Browns joke must have resonated :p
Thanks for the link. There’s a lot of information in the Facebook videos, so it’ll take some time to view in completion.
I am open to understanding more about the ‘gift in tongues.’ After visiting various churches across the U.S., it still is quite foreign to me compared ot the majority of Christian churches that have been visited. This is perhaps my most “controversial” piece, which thankfully, forces me to be more understanding to those who’ve challenged it.
One of the things that still gets me is from Acts 2:11. The Apostles went out and shared the Gospel with the crowds. “We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” the Scripture writes. Now I’m no Greek translator, but I’ve come to understand the term “tongues” literally means “language.” So to me, the passage would represent the “wonders of God in our language.” Not some celestial, all-encompassing gobbledygook language.
I’m with you in regards to the letters being a big deal in those days. I’d be interested to know what percentage of the population could even read or write back then! Hopefully better than what Johnny Football had while with the Browns (shoot, there I go again).
Bad Browns jokes aside, feel free to reach out anytime. Be glad to chat.
