On a recent episode of “Strange Encounters” — a podcast on spiritual warfare — BlazeTV host Rick Burgess received a message from a listener who was disturbed by what he had been seeing in the Pentecostal church.

He wrote, “The Pentecostals seem to me to be mocking the Holy Spirit by running around the church speaking in gibberish, knocking people down, etc. Is this some sort of demonic type of behavior that is not honoring the Spirit of the Lord or just confused people who have twisted Scripture and clearly don’t seem to follow it?”

Rick addresses the controversial issue of speaking in tongues by first pointing out different denominations’ preferences for one specific part of the Holy Trinity.

“Conservative Presbyterians, you see a more stoic, reverent representation and a lot — a lot — a lot of talk about the Father. … If you were to go to a traditional, say, Baptist church, you’re going to hear a lot about the Son,” he says.

“And then you get into the charismatics … your Pentecostals, your Church of God, and it’s almost like the Holy Spirit is their favorite.”

The issue of speaking in tongues, Rick explains, begins with “[taking] God as he is.”

“We should be worshipping God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit,” he says.

Rick points out that speaking in tongues is often treated by denominations that embrace it as something that makes them “superior” to other Christians.

“Some go even further to say that to speak in tongues is to prove that you are truly redeemed. Scripture would not agree with that,” he says.

So what does Scripture say about speaking in tongues?

Rick refers to the apostle Paul’s advice in 1 Corinthians 14:

Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.

Rick unpacks Paul’s teaching: “Is speaking in tongues real? Yeah, it is. Is it some gift that … is beneficial to the church? Not really.”

“If it’s just a bunch of gibberish with no one to interpret and you’re making a scene in the church and drawing attention to yourself and it has no benefit to the rest of the church, then Paul doesn’t seem to think much of it at all,” he continues.

However, Rick is conflicted about whether or not speaking in uninterpreted tongues in church is overtly demonic.

“I don’t really know the answer to that. It feels to me that any time that we are singing praise songs that have bad theology, preaching messages that are not biblically sound, and, I guess I would say, and speaking in tongues in a way that is in conflict with Scripture, I think at the heart of all that is demonic activity,” he says.

“Because let me tell you, [demons] would love to come inside the church if they have been invited.”

To hear more, watch the episode above.

Want more from Rick Burgess?

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​Strange encounters, Strange encounters with rick burgess, Rick burgess, Speaking in tongues, Spiritual warfare, Demonic oppression, Blazetv, Blaze media 

I’ve been fighting Duchenne muscular dystrophy for 40 years. My brothers Angelo and Antonio died from it at ages 20 and 22, respectively. Antonio died in 2015, when my son, Ryu, was barely a toddler and had already been diagnosed with the same terminal illness.

My childhood memories are of praying for my brothers, caring for them with my mother, and Mom taking all five of her kids to church almost every day. I always asked God to heal my brothers, and — after Ryu was born — I added him to those prayers.

I’ve been saying the same prayer for help and to be able to lend my voice for over 40 years.

But I also went to God with another prayer — I asked that He would open the door that allowed me to share our family’s story. I didn’t know what that looked like, or when it would come, but I trusted in it.

This year, that prayer was answered when I was asked to speak out not just on behalf of my brothers and son, but for every family that feels isolated because of a terminal rare disease.

I visited Washington, D.C., to share my story with lawmakers from both parties as well as patient advocates and to ask them to push the Food and Drug Administration to stop standing in the way of drugs like Elevidys, the only gene therapy treatment for my son’s illness.

The advocacy worked. I can’t say how much my own small voice, speaking up for the first time, helped, but so many people speaking out made a difference.

The first indicator was when the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Director Dr. Vinay Prasad announced his resignation from the FDA just a week later — he leaves this month. Prasad blocked treatments, with the support of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, that could have helped kids like Ryu all across the country to live.

RELATED: Trump is keeping his word on health care costs

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

I’m just a mom. But we recently celebrated Easter, where a carpenter saved the world. He overcame the establishment of His time, which was willing to throw the vulnerable and sick to the side. He fell, but He didn’t falter — I hope to follow His example.

As we were approaching Holy Thursday this year, Ryu was having a hard evening. He needed his Bipap machine to help his lungs function, as he so often does. But he looked at me — my 14-year-old wheelchair-bound boy who is the happiest kid I know — and said, “Mom, this sucks. But what you’re doing makes it a lot easier.”

My story may not matter to FDA Commissioner Makary, who seems to have forgotten about Ryu and thousands of other kids like him. But God sees every hair on our heads. He named us before our parents knew us. And sometimes, like Gabriel told the prophet Daniel, prayers are answered long before we see their fruition.

I’ve been saying the same prayer for help and to be able to lend my voice for over 40 years. To the world, Antonio and Angelo may be long deceased, but they are the foundation for how my husband and I have cared for Ryu. And God has allowed me to carry their stories from my home in El Paso to our nation’s capital.

Commissioner Makary and Dr. Prasad may have forgotten that their job is to save lives, but God seems to have different plans. He’s just getting started with me in spreading His good news, and so far it has been amazing.

But I’m also not surprised, because I knew God would take care of it all.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in the Christian Post.

​Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Healthcare, Fda, Prayer, Faith, Vinay prasad, Elevidys, Opinion & analysis 

A New Jersey woman tasked with prosecuting lawbreakers, including those driving under the influence, has received a slap on the wrist after her 30th birthday turned into a night she would probably like to forget.

On March 8, 2025, Bryashia Atchison-Henderson, an assistant prosecutor in Essex County, apparently celebrated turning the big 3-0 a little too hard. A driver contacted police after allegedly witnessing Atchison-Henderson make a sharp turn and then fall out of her vehicle.

‘She threw up in the car.’

Edgewater police found Atchison-Henderson lying in a parking lot near her car, which was parked on a curb and still running, bodycam footage revealed. She also told the cops, “I didn’t realize I was this drunk,” prompting a field sobriety test.

“You kinda just admitted to me that you were drunk,” one officer says on the video.

She had difficulty standing and could not correctly identify her location, video showed. She also began to cry and repeatedly begged to call her son’s father.

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Atchison-Henderson was arrested around 8:30 p.m. and placed in the back of a police cruiser. One of the arresting officers later told a colleague, “She threw up in the car.”

While at the station, she allegedly refused a breathalyzer. She also vomited again, this time in the processing room, authorities said, according to NJ.com.

For over a year, Atchison-Henderson continued working at the prosecutor’s office with a DUI charge looming over her head. The office did not acknowledge her arrest until four months later, the New Jersey Globe reported.

On April 2, 2026, she pled guilty to reckless driving. She will reportedly have to pay a $340 fine plus court costs. The Globe noted that the reckless driving conviction will also likely result in points on her record.

A charge of refusing a breathalyzer had already been dropped.

The Essex County prosecutor’s office confirmed to NJ.com that Atchison-Henderson remains employed but declined to comment on any possible disciplinary action she may face.

“Administrative investigations are confidential,” the office said in a statement. “As such, we are unable to comment on the matter.”

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​Bryashia atchison-henderson, Essex county, New jersey, Dui, Politics 

In 2018, I was a guest of Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) at the State of the Union. The place was electric — political theater at its finest. Members of Congress, guests, and press were packed into a room that felt more like a pressure cooker than a chamber. And whoever designed those gallery seats clearly had smaller people in mind.

We had to be there early, which meant a lot of sitting. I struck up a conversation with the man seated just behind me to my left. It turned out to be Bill Nye. He was cordial. My kids had watched him on TV. We talked briefly, just two people passing time.

A serious person is obligated to be even-handed, even when he doesn’t like someone or disagrees with him.

After the speech by Donald Trump, as the room began to empty, I stuck my hand out to Bill, and his only response was, “He didn’t talk about space.”

It wasn’t a big comment. But it was revealing. We had just witnessed something few people ever experience in person. And that was his takeaway.

A lot has happened with America’s space program since then.

I looked and have yet to see where Bill Nye said, “I don’t agree with the man, but something good happened here.”

I did see he was at a No Kings rally last month.

Which raises a simple question: Are we willing to acknowledge what is true, even when we don’t like who it’s attached to?

We hear a lot about following the science. Fine. Then follow it.

Because if you start with the premise that a person is irredeemable, then everything he does must be dismissed. At that point, you’re not evaluating evidence. You’re protecting a conclusion you’ve already chosen.

We’ve seen this before. A man once stood face to face with truth and asked, “What is truth?” Not because the answer wasn’t there, but because he had already decided what he was willing to accept and what it might cost him.

Truth is not hard to find, but it’s hard to accept when it costs us something.

Sometimes you see people model a better way.

I encountered one of those moments when my wife, Gracie, sang at the inauguration of the governor of Tennessee.

At the time, Harold Ford Jr. was a young congressman who was present at the event. After Gracie performed, there were a lot of people on that platform. Important people. People far more connected than we were.

But Harold made a point to come straight to us.

Not a quick handshake and move on. He engaged. Asked questions. Took genuine interest.

A few days later, we found ourselves on the same flight to Washington. Gracie was headed to Walter Reed to sing for wounded warriors. Once again, Harold made a beeline for us.

Same posture. Same curiosity. Same kindness.

We’ve not crossed paths since, but I still watch him when he’s on “The Five.” Not because I agree with everything he says. I don’t. I watch because he is measured. He gives credit where it’s due. He asks questions. He looks for common ground. He treats people as individuals, not categories.

That stayed with me.

I saw something recently that would have been unthinkable not long ago.

Mark Levin had Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) on his show. If talk radio were music, I always considered Rush Limbaugh a virtuoso and Mark Levin heavy metal.

Levin and Fetterman engaged. Asked real questions. Gave thoughtful answers. No rush to score points.

Just two men doing something we used to call normal. And that’s when it hit me. Why does that feel unusual?

RELATED: You don’t have to engage with crazy

Mark Von Holden/WireImage

For 40 years, I’ve lived in a world where I don’t get to choose who walks into the room to care for my wife. Nurses. Surgeons. Specialists. People from every background and belief system.

I’ve seen medical professionals wearing pronouns on their badges. While I inwardly sighed and questioned the scientific judgment of someone who touts that, Gracie still needed care.

And in that moment, my irritation didn’t get a vote. So I did what caregivers learn to do.

I stuck out my hand and engaged. I listened, observed, and learned to separate what I felt about a person from what I could clearly see in front of me.

A serious person is obligated to be even-handed, even when he doesn’t like someone or disagrees with him.

The next time you hear something good about someone you can’t stand, ask yourself a simple question: Could this be objectively true, even though I don’t like this person?

You don’t have to change your vote or your convictions, but you do have to decide whether you’re going to follow the facts or protect a script.

In the real world, where people actually depend on you, clinging to a preferred script isn’t just lazy, it can be very costly.

If you’re willing to set that script aside, even for a moment, you might find something better than being right.

You might find clarity. And in a world this loud, that’s no small thing.

​State of the union, Political disagreement, Caregiving, Truth, Donald trump, Mark levin, John fetterman, Opinion & analysis