Research On Glossolalia

I just read about some cutting-edge research about speaking in tongues (you may have also seen this referred to as “glossolalia”).

Summary quote:

“We noticed a number of changes that occurred functionally in the brain,” comments Principal Investigator Andrew Newberg, MD, Associate Professor of Radiology, Psychiatry, and Religious Studies, and Director for the Center for Spirituality and the Mind, at Penn. “Our finding of decreased activity in the frontal lobes during the practice of speaking in tongues is fascinating because these subjects truly believe that the spirit of God is moving through them and controlling them to speak. Our brain imaging research shows us that these subjects are not in control of the usual language centers during this activity, which is consistent with their description of a lack of intentional control while speaking in tongues.”

I pass this along because we so often focus on research findings which seem to challenge the faith (or more frequently on research findings which challenge our interpretation of the faith), it’s always interesting to spot those that correspond to exactly what we would expect based upon a straightforward reading of the Bible.