Tongues. Some are given the gift of speaking, some of interpreting, and others have only heard the gift. Having heard the gift, I count it a blessing to witness the Holy Spirit fall upon someone in such a manner that it produces a completely different and unintelligible language unknown even to the speaker. But lately, people have taken to mocking the gift–with such oh-so-witty lines as “I Shuda Boughta Honda”–and most recently making profit off of the sacred gift.
Holy Ghost Tees sells t-shirts with alleged tongue phrases that they believe can be heard from the mouths of “Holy Rollers” and the “C.O.G.ictilic” in service. Each shirt features a phonetic spelling of the phrase but offers nothing beyond a bunch of cleverly strung together syllables. It’s hard to tell whether these phrases are real or if they were made up in the mind of yet another mocker. What is most problematic–beyond the $37 price tag–is the fact that the words are printed on the shirt without explanation as to what they mean. These shirts defeat the purpose of opening eyes to the wondrous works of the Holy Spirit by belittling a profoundly deep experience and contributing to the compartmentalization of Christian spiritual gifts.
To add even more confusion to this collection of mixed-message shirts, HGT’s Myspace page features a female model sporting a bare midriff and a micro-mini–with legs not closed enough, couples cuddled up together, and models that look more interested in Calvin Klein contracts than Christianity. Am I being harsh? Probably so. But it is only because something that is considered sacred to me and many others is turning into an addition to the gallery of sacrilege.
But it seems designers welcome the contempt from people like me. Check out what they had to say on their MySpace page: “These tees are creating a buzz amongst the Christian community who may find them offensive because of the ‘tongues.’ But the cool people love the vibe and continue to buy.”
Well then, I guess I’m not cool enough.
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posted March 29, 2007 at 12:41 am
There is nothing cool about these shirts or mocking of a Biblical truth and gift. The “cool” people buying these shirts are what the world defines as “cool” and the “humor” of these shirts is what the world defines as humorous. But whatever, He has overcome the world.
posted March 29, 2007 at 7:55 am
This article was written just to stir up the faithful. Christians actually love this stuff, it feeds into their persecution paranoia. Didnt jesus even tell you that you would be mocked for your beliefs? You should be rejoicing, especially if you actually believe speaking in tongues isnt gibberish. And if he has truly overcome, why would you even concern yourself with these ‘worldly’ t-shirts? ‘Worldly’?People wear shirts in heaven? You just gave them a free advertisement. I didnt even know about this until reading this blog post and now may buy one of those t-shirts.
posted March 30, 2007 at 12:25 am
gadje, I want one, too! How funny! There’s a mega-church here in Tampa that supports this kind of thing, and it’s pretty funny to watch. Someone will make some money, the Christians(tm) who enjoy pretending to be oppressed will get to complain – win/win all the way around!
posted March 30, 2007 at 12:29 am
Regardless of the designers’ intent, I think these shirts will be used by the enemy through skeptics, atheists, and other opponents of Christianity as a tool for mockery and to destroy the Holy Spirit’s credibility. How can a seeker take a believer seriously when the seeker’s only knowledge of the Holy Spirit is through these unintelligible shirts? Too many people WANT to laugh at God. These shirts give them another opportunity. Even if believers love these shirts because they refer to the Holy Spirit, the shirts do not necessarily glorify God. If the shirts do not glorify God, then what’s their point?
posted March 30, 2007 at 5:44 am
I am not sure but this seems dangerously close to blaspheming the Holy Spirit.
posted March 30, 2007 at 7:44 pm
“Too many people WANT to laugh at God. “-Jason HPerhaps they just want to laugh at the ‘group think’ of speaking in tongues? What would you say about a jew who wears one of these t-shirts?
posted April 2, 2007 at 6:46 pm
What would I say about a jew who wears one of these t-shirts? I would think that a Jewish person who wore this shirt would be mocking believers; who believe the scriptures that talk about speaking in toungues, witness others speaking in tongues, and/or speak in tongues. Theologically speaking, a Jewish person could not believe in speaking in tongues. So, a Jewish person wearing a shirt that mimicks speaking in tongues could easily be interpreted as an act of mockery.
posted April 2, 2007 at 9:23 pm
Someone will make some money, the Christians(tm) who enjoy pretending to be oppressed will get to complain – win/win all the way around! -PaulaChristians “pretending” to be oppressed, I think you have it mistaken. You may be taking your cues from the lukewarm Christians of Laodicea, but “hot” Christians, don’t pretend to be oppressed, we just are oppressed by people that like to spit on us and mock us daily. Jesus didn’t pretend to be oppressed, whipped and beaten for our sins–everyone including yours–nor do we pretend to be oppressed, offended and disrespected in regards to that which we hold sacred. But, I can’t fault you for your comment because most Christians already knew they would be offended daily because of their beliefs. So we are always ready and clothed in the armor of God to protect against the enemy and his minions.
posted April 15, 2007 at 3:41 pm
Maybe the people I know just aren’t cool enough, but if I wore those shirts, I really don’t think anyone would get them. I mean, maybe they’d figure out “I Shuda Boughta Honda”, but “E Ko Ni A She”? They’d stare at it for hours and never be able to quite figure out the joke. I don’t really get it either. Maybe it’s because I’ve had friends who’ve experienced speaking in tongues, so I just generally don’t experience it as funny. I certainly don’t understand how it became trendy. But I personally think it’s more weird and random than actively offensive.
posted August 6, 2010 at 3:35 am
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