Glossolalia, or simply ’speaking in tongues’ is a phenomenon interested me for some time now. It does, of course, refer to the phenomenon of supposedly speaking some unknown language, especially during religious worship. Explanations as to why people suddenly burst into glossolalia range from divine intervention (a popular one among Pentecostal Christians) to blunt mental illness.

Comparative studies seem to indicate that glossolalia somewhat resembles ordinary language, in so far as it demonstrates some degree of phonological structure, rhythm and accent, yet studies in neuroscience claim that it shows brain activity which differs from everyday speech when it is being uttered.

Finding a video which sufficiently demonstrated the tara ba rumeso kare mapoti shalafa ‘ sound but which doesn’t spill over into religious instruction proved difficult. This is the best I could come up with:

The ‘meaning’ of these utterances is an interesting topic in its own right. Glossolalists believe that ‘tongues’, or whatever you want to call it, actually constitutes a real language, one with its own lexicon and grammar. Yet if asked to repeat what they say or translate it into their native language, most are unable (or are unwilling) to do so. The ability to speak in tongues is, according to them, a divine gift from their deity.

The consensus from the viewpoint of linguistics seems to be that is that glossolalia does not constitute a truly meaningful language. Rather, the seemingly random speech sounds serve as a sort of tool to express deep belief in and attachment to a higher being. Nonetheless, speaking this pseudo-language is generally a deeply significant and emotional experience for the person involved.

Somewhere in the middle there are believers who do think that the descriptions of ‘tongues’ in the new testament (notably in Acts, apparently), refer to the God-given language which modern-day worshippers describe. They do not, however, believe that the utterances of modern-day worshippers, such as those in the following video, relate to this language, dismissing them on-the-spot and meaningless.

I definitely fall into the ‘pseudo-language’ category, but I find the whole thing fascinating nonetheless. I am still amazed at the effect religious belief has on people’s minds, and sit here wondering whether the glossolalists consciously make themselves behave this way, or whether it’s a sort of out-of-body experience.

In the spirit of objectivity, I follow on from yesterday’s Jesus Camp entry with a different but equally questionable children’s summer retreat: Camp Quest, which I found (as usual) on one of my many daily visits to BBC News. It is, according to the US equivalent’s website, supposed to

[…] provide children of freethinking parents a residential summer camp dedicated to improving the human condition through rational inquiry, critical and creative thinking, scientific method, self-respect, ethics, competency, democracy, free speech, and the separation of religion and government […].

The camp has naturally drawn controversy, instantly labelled an ‘Atheist Camp’ or a ‘Dawkins Camp’ (While I’m sure Richard Dawkins is pleased to see the camp setting up in the UK, he does not, in fact, have any personal involvement with it). In response to the media frenzy, the organizers offer this page of refutation.

While arguably less sinister than the Kids on Fire School of Ministry, is it any less fundamentalist?

EDIT: Viddler seems to have taken down its mirror of Jesus Camp. I guess you’ll have to find it elsewhere!

‘MR. PRESIDENT! ONE NATION UNDER GOD!’ cry the children in front of the cardboard cut-out of George W. Bush. Disturbed yet?

Directed by Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing and released in 2006, Jesus Camp is a documentary film about a Charismatic Pentecostal summer camp, which aims to teach children how to ‘take back America for Christ’. A classic example of thought reform at its most deadly, it is a worrying snapshot of the hardline conservative bible-thumpers of 21st century America.

As it dips in and out of the lives of a handful of evangelical christian families, we see that both inside and outside the home, what can only be described as brainwashing is taking place. We meet a sickeningly content boy watching ‘Creation Adventures’, a cartoon which happily tells him that God made the earth 6000 years ago. We meet a jubliant young girl who loves to dance, and would be having a ball if not for her sin of dancing ‘for the flesh’ (everything has to be done for the Lord).

While this certainly infuriated me, I soon found out that it barely tips the iceberg. Keen to save their souls, pastor Becky Fischer scorns children as young as seven and eight who are on their knees, hysterically upset about their supposed ’sins’. She yells that they are ‘phonies’ and ‘hypocrites’, before stepping in with ‘the water of your [God's] word’ to ‘cleanse’ them (it’s really just a bottle of the finest Nestlé spring water. I wonder who settled that sponsorship deal?).

Later on, a ‘pro-life’ activist comes to speak to the campers. Armed with a roll of red duct tape, a box of anatomically-incorrect plastic foetuses (you can buy your very own set here if you’re interested), and the most condescending tone of voice in existence, he explains that ‘God formed you in your mother’s womb. You’re not just a piece of protoplasm’. He then delivers his punch-line: ‘whatever that is!’ His joke certainly is funny, if only because it illustrates perfectly that he clearly has no business discussing matters of biology. ‘You’re not just a piece of tissue in your mother’s womb. You were created intently by God. Isn’t that incredible!’. Yes, it certainly is incredible. Incredible that a grown man has convinced himself that this unsubstantiated religious rhetoric is fact.
The most disturbing part of this episode is the pastor’s bizarre ’symbolic gesture’ of taping the children’s mouths shut with his big strips of red tape. It sums up the aim of the camp: to silence the individual voices of the most impressionable people in society, whilst (quite effectively) convincing them that they’re better for it.

I challenge you to watch this without wanting to cry out in anger. Perhaps the only good to come of this profoundly sad tale is that after the film’s release, the camp’s organizers were so innundated with complaints that they had to shut it down.

from creationmuseum.org:

The state-of-the-art 70,000 square foot museum brings the pages of the Bible to life, casting its characters and animals in dynamic form and placing them in familiar settings. Adam and Eve live in the Garden of Eden. Children play and dinosaurs roam near Eden’s Rivers. The serpent coils cunningly in the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Majestic murals, great masterpieces brimming with pulsating colors and details, provide a backdrop for many of the settings.

Wax Adam catches up with wax Eve in the wax garden of Eden.

Located in Petersburg, Kentucky, the Creation Museum purports to showcase the history of the natural world, through such ‘engaging’ exhibits as ‘Men in White’, ‘Six Days of Creation’, ‘The Last Adam’, and ‘Dinosaurs and Dragons’.

Now I have no problem with fantasy theme parks; Disney World has always provided a wealth of entertainment. But when you make such ludicrous claims as ‘[...] natural selection allows organisms to possess characteristics most favorable for a given environment—but it is not an example of evolution in the molecules-to-man sense.’, it goes beyond entertainment, and becomes deplorable.

Having paid a ludicrous $21.95 to see this rubbish, stupid men and women (and usually their brainwashed children) travel along roads lined with rational people (atheists and moderate christians alike) who protest against the museum’s existence, decrying its denial of scientific evidence to support creationism.

Are you enraged by this? I sure am!