What Paul Meant, Part 1

I've been reading What Paul Meant by Garry Wills, which my church's adult forum was apparently reading this past summer. I picked up the book from my fiancé, who is hoping to become an Episcopal priest and who enjoys reading about the Bible as much as I do. Of course I stole the book before he got a chance to read it himself, and have refused to return it until I'm finished. I've found it interesting so far, so I'm probably going to be bringing up some of the things it discusses for the next few days.

I found an interesting Biblical quote here that I seem to have missed during any of my seven or eight straight-through readings of the Bible:

I would rather speak five intelligible words in the gathering, to be understood by others, than speak thousands of words in tongues. (1 Cor 14.18-19)

Now, isn't that interesting? Paul is speaking to the glossolalists of Corinth here, and he seems to be insisting that their speaking in tongues act is all schtick and no substance.

This particularly calls to mind a film I've loved for years: "Hell House", which documents the insanity of an evangelical megachurch in Texas. In this documentary, these evangelical folks make much of the Bible's infallibility, and take the entire text literally and word-for-word. But they also appear to adore trying to speak in tongues, claiming that when one engages in this sort of behavior, it is like "a language that only God can understand."

Hrm. Seems to me that this Bible verse indicates that speaking in tongues is a waste of time. Intriguing, no?