Word of the Day: Awkward

awk·ward ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ôkwrd)adj. a. Marked by or causing embarrassment or discomfort: an awkward remark; an awkward silence.

I participated in the strangest of ceremonies on Friday night. It was called a "healing service" and I went with a friend who attends the church where it took place. I've always thought that as a Christian I am very open-minded and wary of putting God in a box. I don't want to limit the power of a God I acknowledge to be an all-powerful being, therefore I try not to restrict the things I can stretch my imagination to believe. However, Friday night proved that I do have boundaries to my faith.

My points of contention:

1) Speaking in tongues is just weird. And who taught them those languages anyway?

In this article, two points are made that I'm not sure I accept.
a. speaking in tongues is the only absolute proof a Christian has that he is born again;
b. it vividly illustrates to the believer the most basic principle of the Christian walk, which is trusting the Word of our heavenly Father. Another article makes a good point that: First, speaking in tongues can be self-induced. Second, speaking in tongues can be group-induced. Third, speaking in tongues can be satanically-induced.

2) There is no way that everyone in attendance can hear God telling them things except for me. Everything anyone said to each other was prefaced with the phrase "God is telling me to say this to you" or "I feel that God would have me say to you..."

3) This guy doesn't even know me, who is he to tell me I'm "cut off from my family" and "longing for God's acceptance?" This series of prophetic statements seems more like astrology than the Word of God.