The Danger of a Pagan Religious Experience
…The Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.
Acts 26:17–18
This was the commission Paul received from Christ on the Damascus road where he was converted. And it is a summary of the calling of all Christians to take the gospel to the ends of the world, that people might be saved from faithlessness or from false systems of belief, and brought into the saving knowledge of God.
Pagan tongues: A fact that must be acknowledged is that many other religions teach their adherents how to have ecstatic emotional experiences. Dr Merrill F. Unger in his book, New Testament Teaching on Tongues, wrote the following:
That tongues can be and are counterfeited by demon spirits is evidenced by the fact that spiritistic mediums, Muslim dervishes, and Indian fakirs speak in tongues. It must be remembered by those who try to make tongues a badge of spirituality or a status symbol of saints who have attained the height of spiritual experience, that speaking in tongues and their interpretation are not peculiar to the Christian church but are common in ancient pagan religions and in spiritism both ancient and modern.
The very phrase “to speak with tongues” (Greek glosais lalein, Acts 2:4; 10:46; 19–6; 1st Cor. 12–14; cf. Mark 16:17) was not invented by New Testament writers, but borrowed from the ordinary speech of pagans. Plato’s attitude toward the enthusiastic ecstasies of the ancient soothsayer (mantis, diviner,) recalls the Apostle Paul’s attitude toward Glossolalia among the Corinthian believers.
Virgil graphically describes the ancient pagan prophetess “speaking with tongues.” He depicts her disheveled hair, her panting breast, her change of color, and her apparent increase in stature as the god (demon) came upon her and filled her with this supernatural afflatus. Then her voice loses its mortal ring as the god (demon) speaks through her, as in ancient and modern necromancy (spiritism).
Religions have through the centuries noticed the spiritual void of humanity and sought to fill it with ecstatic emotionalism — confusing emotions with spirit. The Bible says that we are dead in our transgressions and sins, and we understand that to mean that humanity is spiritually dead, cut off from the life of God. Our disease is spiritual in nature, not emotional, and requires a spiritual solution, not an emotional.
Nevertheless, people are attracted to emotional experiences — we cheer at ballgames, weep at weddings, laugh at comedies, get sentimental over silly things — and after these emotional purgings we feel a bit better inside, more relaxed and calmer. But this is just emotion, and does not substantially change us.
Revisiting the Prophets of Baal: In 1 Kings 18:20–40 we have the dramatic account of the showdown between the prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal. The different approaches of worship are also described. The false prophets called on Baal with great emotions and drama, leaping about the altar they had made, even to the point of cutting themselves according to their custom, crying out to their god with intensity.
Elijah’s prayer was very simple and plain, and his demonstrated faith in God. His was the one God answered. And in this way he contrasted true faith with false faith.
False faith seeks to inform and engage a distant and apathetic god. Jesus said, “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. for they think they will be heard for their many words” (Matt. 6:7). Christ taught that God is aware of our needs, that He desires to bless us, and that He is ready to help us.
Yet often in Charismatic services and in their songs, they have returned to similar theology that sees God as distant, unaware, and unconcerned. So there is much hopping around to be noticed and work to motivate God to answer and care. I see this as very “paganistic” in thought and practice.
There are likewise those who claim to be able to teach people how to speak in tongues — but all they do is to encourage emotional utterances — no different from other religions.
The biblical emphasis is on hearing the gospel, believing, and surrendering our lives to God for Him to do what He wants to do. We should trust Him with the experience that He entrusts to us, and not to seek after the experience of others not promised in scripture.
The work of the Spirit is to give life of God to us, assuring us, sanctifying us, strengthening us, transforming us. This should be our focus — life, truth, transformation, holiness — and not mere raw emotion.
