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ABC's Nightline Showcases Scientific Study of Speaking In Tongues

"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."

Vicki Mabrey, Roxanna Sherwood/TN (Mar 21st, 2007)

ABC's Nightline this Thursday will cover the phenomena/gift of speaking in tongues.

At the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Andrew Newberg has been conducting a scientific study of the phenomenon for a long time. According to an ABC report, Newberg found that brain scans show quite different results with Christians praying in tongues compared to Buddhist monks meditating and Franciscan nuns praying. The frontal lobes—the part of the brain right behind the forehead that's considered the brain's control center—went quiet in the brains of tongue-speakers.(Photo: ABC News)

"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."

Says one participant in the study, Pastor Gerry Stoltzfoos, "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."

"When you have experienced this, you don't really care what anybody else thinks. It is personal in the first place; it is something between you and God," said Stoltzfoos. "So we don't really care if it is validated or not, but it is fascinating when it is, so that people who have thought we are crazy can have something to look at and—we are still crazy, we are just not as crazy as they thought."

Source: ABC

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