2. Since obviously tongues speaking can be imitated, and is, by heathen, Spiritists, etc., it is a questionable evidence. Deception and counterfeit can enter in. This thought alone should make us to seriously question such teaching.
This is precisely what happened to me while I was still in the Tongues Movement. As denominational Missionary-Secretary I was visiting and ministering in our churches in Ontario one summer. While I was in one of these churches, the pastor approached me about the possibility that he and his family could go to Jamaica as missionaries. I took his application forms back with me to our headquarters in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan [in west central Canada], where I presented them to our Missionary Council.
Eventually this family was sent out to Jamaica. Not too long after their arrival there I received a letter from this brother. Part of this letter reads as follows:
"Throughout Jamaica there is a class of people known as `Pocomania.’ This word means `half-mad or a little mad.’ They believe in all kinds of superstitions and practice all manner of evil. Since they are generally very poor, they usually worship in the open air. A very common sight here is to see groups of these people beating their drums and singing on the streets and along the roads. Last Sunday evening I saw five large groups in about as many city blocks. Often you can hear their drums beating until late at night. They speak in tongues and sing our choruses, and because of this it brings a great reproach upon the true Gospel and makes the preaching of the Gospel difficult."
I was shocked, particularly by the words, "They speak in tongues." All my life I was taught and myself preached that tongues speaking was THE evidence of Holy spirit baptism, that all tongues speaking was of God, and now I was informed that heathen also speak with tongues! What was this? Had it not been that I knew the missionary personally I likely would not have believed him. But here was one of our own men telling me this! That really got me thinking and investigating, only to discover that many non- Christians also speak in tongues—heathen witch doctors, Spiritists, Mormons, one branch of the Mohammedans, etc.
Once I spoke in a mission church at Alix, Alberta. During my message I mentioned the above incident about Jamaica. When I had concluded my message, a young man from the Cook Islands [near New Zealand], who was in the meeting that night, got up and publicly confirmed what I had said, that heathen also speak in tongues on his island.
So by the teaching that tongues speaking is THE evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the door is opened to the possibility of false or counterfeit tongues being accepted as genuine evidence of the Holy Spirit fullness. On the other hand, what better evidence is there than a transformed life, a Christ-like life with the fruit of the Spirit in manifestation: "Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Gal. 5:22-23)? This is difficult to imitate or counterfeit!
I also remember the excitement expressed by some Tongues people who had visited the Mormon Temple at Salt Lake City, Utah [USA]. They told me that they had discovered that Mormons, too, speak with tongues, and they had come away with the impression that there must be a close relationship between them, some kind of spiritual kinship! Apparently, if only they speak with tongues, then some false doctrine can be overlooked! And therein lies a big danger today. The modern (new) Charismatic Movement admits that there are tongues speakers who know no repentance or new birth as we know it and as the Bible teaches it.
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