Excerpt from 20/20 Broadcast:
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.
1Corninthians 14: 13 For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says."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.
14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.
15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.
16 If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?
17 You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified.
18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.
18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.
19 But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.
Can we gain from bringing spiritual things into the laboratory, putting them under a microscope? Does the above experiment show that a person is basically brain-dead while they are speaking in tongues, or that they have entered some spiritual state? Still, it is an interesting approach to look at the phenomenon objectively.
The 20th Century, in a way, belonged to Pentecostalism. The Pentecostals managed to span the globe with the gospel perhaps more effectively than any other church movement in history.
Today, even among Pentecostals, tongues is almost a non-issue.
Early on, one of the pioneers of Pentecostalism, Charles Parham, believed the practice would effectively be used to bridge all language barriers in communicating the gospel. The truth is, it didn't. Instead, tongues tend to be an intensely private practice typically associated with prayer.
Still, Paul devoted an entire chapter to this subject, so it had some importance. Basically, he was telling the Corinthians to use the gift wisely, so that people could tell a church service from an insane asylum. Fifty people gathered together, babbling away, would not make much sense to an unbeliever passing by. Christ needs to be explained to be understood.
It is easy for some Christians to emphasize experience as the mark of their truth. Really, though, experience is highly subjective and subject to abuses. The good news is not about how we feel or how we do things; it is about who He is. It is about getting that across. It is about communicating the fact that God is accessible through His Son. It is not about us at all.
Paul said he spoke in tongues "more than any." But he was careful to put the practice in its place. It can certainly edify the person who does it; but it is not meant for public consumption.
But Paul also said, "Don't forbid the practice of speaking in tongues." Just put it in its proper place. Don't run off with something until you understand how to discipline it and use it with discretion. If you use these things in a showy way, you will not be edifying yourself or anybody else. "Will they not say that you are crazy?"
Can we gain from bringing spiritual things into the laboratory, putting them under a microscope? Does the above experiment show that a person is basically brain-dead while they are speaking in tongues, or that they have entered some spiritual state? Still, it is an interesting approach to look at the phenomenon objectively.
The 20th Century, in a way, belonged to Pentecostalism. The Pentecostals managed to span the globe with the gospel perhaps more effectively than any other church movement in history.
Today, even among Pentecostals, tongues is almost a non-issue.
Early on, one of the pioneers of Pentecostalism, Charles Parham, believed the practice would effectively be used to bridge all language barriers in communicating the gospel. The truth is, it didn't. Instead, tongues tend to be an intensely private practice typically associated with prayer.
Still, Paul devoted an entire chapter to this subject, so it had some importance. Basically, he was telling the Corinthians to use the gift wisely, so that people could tell a church service from an insane asylum. Fifty people gathered together, babbling away, would not make much sense to an unbeliever passing by. Christ needs to be explained to be understood.
It is easy for some Christians to emphasize experience as the mark of their truth. Really, though, experience is highly subjective and subject to abuses. The good news is not about how we feel or how we do things; it is about who He is. It is about getting that across. It is about communicating the fact that God is accessible through His Son. It is not about us at all.
Paul said he spoke in tongues "more than any." But he was careful to put the practice in its place. It can certainly edify the person who does it; but it is not meant for public consumption.
But Paul also said, "Don't forbid the practice of speaking in tongues." Just put it in its proper place. Don't run off with something until you understand how to discipline it and use it with discretion. If you use these things in a showy way, you will not be edifying yourself or anybody else. "Will they not say that you are crazy?"
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