The Scary Charismatic Movement

Let me start off by saying, as obnoxious as it sounds, that some of my best friends are Charismatics. I know it's dumb. When White people tell me some of their best friends are Black, I can only roll my eyes. But, I mean it. I don't doubt Charismatics' sincerity of faith in God. I don't doubt their good intentions. I'm not theoretically opposed to anyone speaking in tongues ever, but there is a problem with how the Charismatic movement has appeared to me through many people (mostly friends).

My only encounters with the Charismatic movement have all been scary, and they usually involve some person or people praying in "tongues" (translation: gibberish). One time, I even went on a retreat where, while someone was playing guitar continuously in the background, everyone else was rocking back and forth (sometimes on all fours), making animal noises, moaning, and just generally being scary. For a while, I stayed, hoping it would go away. Maybe I was too shocked to move. Eventually, though, I had to hide in my little bunk to get away from the insanity, but the noise still penetrated the walls. I thought to myself, "How could this be godly? What non-Christian would ever want to become a Christian after going to a retreat like this?"

Even though I've heard friends and acquaintances of mine pray "in tongues" on many occasions, I've never once heard anyone interpret tongues. I've also heard some people insinuate or say straight-out that having the gift of tongues is indicative of having a closer relationship with God. This is dangerous territory, folks. That would be like a situation in which a teacher tells another teacher, "I'm a better teacher because my students give me better Christmas gifts."

What bothers me more is that there seem to be no bounds to what can be considered a "spiritual gift." Tongues is clearly a spiritual gift outlined numerous times in the New Testament, but people will go to holy laughter, holy feeling each other up, holy whatever-I-feel-like-doing-but-am-usually-too-inhibited-to-do. Worship services dominated by a Charismatic ideology have an anything-goes and anything-is-valid feel to them, in which if someone says, "X is from God because I feel it," there's little room for any kind of validation or challenge.

What's worse is that oftentimes participants in and proponents of the Charismatic movement do not even follow scriptural guidelines for gifts. The most appropriate scripture (which Charismatics conveniently ignore in sermons, Bible studies, and general conversations) is I Corinthians 14, where Paul urges people to conduct an orderly worship (no animal noises and such, I'm assuming) in order to bear good witness. Paul also encourages those who speak in tongues to do so in private or to ask God for the gift of the interpretation of tongues. I've never seen any Charismatic be at all concerned with how Charismatic manifestations, however "godly" or "spiritual," may turn off seekers, nor have I seen Charismatics express to me any sentiment similar to "I know I've been blessed a lot in my times alone with God to be able to pray in tongues, but I have asked God to give me the gift of the interpretation of tongues so that others, too, can be edified when I pray in tongues."

I have, however, seen a lot of Charismatics flaunt, in direct opposition to Paul's admonishments, their "spiritual gifts" in extremely unedifying and haughty ways.

I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with gifts, healing, or "feeling" God, but when an Evangelical Christian movement becomes too experienced-centered and not scripturally centered, it must be called into question. It must be made accountable. --A.Y. Siu

Further readings I may not necessarily agree with:

Charismatic Chaos
"The Charismatic Movement in the Lutheran Church"
"What Are We All Singing About"
"Charismatic Attacks"
"Musings on Charismatism/ Pentacostalism"
"An Open Letter to the Catholic Charismatics"