Professor Locs, aka Charles 
Easley, is an educator who explores race, class, gender, sexuality, media and popular culture with humor and insight. His column is published here each Wednesday. Opinions expressed are solely his own. Click here to read his blog
You guys know I love cruising for interesting news. I have to thank my girl Ramona Holloway from The Satisfied Life for turning me on to this story. I saw this posted on Ramona’s Facebook page.
It seem Juanita Bynum is in the news again. Best known for her work as a minister, inspirational speaker and recording artist, her life has been an inspiration to many, especially to women – which made her very public divorce all the more tragic. Bynum accused her then-husband, Bishop Thomas Weeks III, of spousal abuse and ultimately ended the marriage.
Now Bynum is making news for something a little more bizarre. Apparently, she was posting on her Facebook wall and got so caught up in the spirit that she began to post in tongues. (Holy anointed oil, Batman, I did not think that was possible!)
I have told you guys before that I am more of an academic scholar and not as well versed in theology, but I am familiar with the phenomenon of speaking in tongues. I queried several of my friends who are much more versed in the area of biblical studies. I got a range of opinions. Some said speaking in tongues is reserved for a chosen few; others said anyone could perform this act if they were “caught” up in the spirit.
I have witnessed people speaking in tongues in church, and when I was younger I even worked with a woman in customer service who was known for standing up in her cubicle and speaking in tongues after a particularly combative call. I was fascinated by how uncomfortable this made her boss and co-workers.
Side note for those who do not possess the gift of speaking in tongues: If you want to have a similar effect at your job, I have found that yelling random lyrics from any Parliament song will work just as well.
Example: Your boss confronts you on your tardiness.
You respond loudly: “Make My Funk the Pee Funk.”
This response will either confuse your boss into silence or security will be alerted. Practice at your own risk.
Now back to Juanita Bynum. I had to really wrap my head around, logistically, how one can do a Facebook post in tongues? I have this wonderful ap called "Shazam" on my iPhone. It allows me to listen to any song and it will generate the song’s title and artist. I wonder if there is a similar ap for speaking tongues.
Again, when I spoke to other more knowledgeable about speaking in tongues, opinions varied. I think some feel left out because they do not understand the language. If only there were a closed-caption feature for the big monitors in church that allowed non-tongue speakers to follow along.
One person I interviewed said more people are claiming to have the gift. If this trend continues, I wonder if the makers of the Rosetta Stone language-learning series will include tongues in their next edition.
I am not mad at Bynum for using social networks to get the word out. I use Facebook very effectively to communicate with my students. However, I am concerned about how, logistically, you translate speaking in tongues to a Facebook post.
Here is just an excerpt from one of her post:
As usual, guys, I am being somewhat sarcastic, but I am truly baffled by this. I am not sure if this is a speaking-in-tongues post or hardware malfunction. I once had bits of candy stuck in my keyboard that caused a similar effect when I typed.
Those of you who are a lot more spiritually learned than I, please share your comments. Is this proof of Bynum’s anointing? Did she mix medication? Get distracted by an episode of “Basketball Wives?” Or, like me, was her keyboard the victim of some late night snacking?
