A Questioning Faith: What is glossalalia and should we practice it?

A Questioning Faith:

What is glossalalia and should we practice it?

Discussion Flow

• Definition of terms• Biblical witness• Historical Development• Pentecostals and Charismatics• Reflections

Definition of terms

• Glossalalia-Greek word for “tongues”

1. Angelic Language- cf. 1 Corinthians 13:12. Unknown human language- xenoglossia3. Ecstatic Utterance“Unlearned languages spoken under the influence of the Holy Spirit.”

• Pentecostals- A group of

denominations that emphasize the work of the Holy Spirit

• Charismatics-A trans-denominational movement that places emphasis on the gifts of the Holy Spirit

• Baptism with the Holy Spirit

- Foundational belief of Pentecostals

Biblical Witness

• Speaking in tongues is technically only found in New Testament

• Ecstatic language and the presence of the Spirit are found in a few other places

1 Samuel 10:5-13; 19:18-24

• Both revolve around the presence of God’s spirit

• Both involve King Saul“…as you come to the town, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the

shrine with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre playing in front of them; they will be in a prophetic frenzy. Then the spirit of the Lord will possess you, and you will be in a prophetic frenzy along with them and be turned into a different person.”

1 Samuel 10:5b-6

Acts of the Apostles

• Acts 2:4“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.”

• Acts 10:44-46“While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with

Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God.”

• Acts 19:5-7“On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied – altogether there were about twelve of them.”

Luke’s viewpoint

“Acts treats glossalalia as a nonambiguous symbol of the Spirit’s presence and a sign of the mission’s success.”

Luke Timothy Johnson

1 Corinthians 12-14

• Paul’s only writing on the issue• Addresses a particular situation in Corinth

rather than an essay on speaking in tongues• Paul seems to be supportive of practice• Paul also seems to be concerned with the way

it has effected corporate worship at First Church Corinth

Key Pauline Points

1. Content of speech more important than manner of delivery

-Prophecy is understood by all-Tongues is not understood without

interpretation

2. Holy Spirit decides which believer receives which gifts

-Many scholars believe that a spiritual elite was being validated by speaking in

tongues-Paul emphasizes the gift as one of many

and not a requirement for all believers

3. Gifts should benefit the body of believers-Tongues is focused on the individual,

not the corporate community-Paul recommends that tongues

normally be limited to private prayer

4. When gift is given in public, church should restrict tongues to opportunities when it can be interpreted.

“Paul does not ‘damn tongues with faint praise.’ Rather, he is concerned to put that gift into a broader context, where it can be used privately as much as one pleases, but in

the community only in the context of edification, which requires intelligibility. Hence it must always be accompanied by interpretation, those who speak in tongues must do so in orderly sequence; and in any case, in the assembly prophecy is preferable.”

Gordon Fee

Summary of Biblical Witness

“Even for the earliest period of Christianity, therefore, glossolalia appears to be at best a sporadic and ambiguous occurrence. Two inferences about that first period are therefore inadequately supported by the data:

• That tongues was a normal and expected accompaniment of the Spirit (and therefore, by implication, an essential component of authentic Christianity)

• That tongues demonstrates how the first Christians lived in a charismatic fog of trance or dissociation.

Luke Timothy Johnson

Historical Development2nd -3rd centuries

“We have heard many brethren in the church having prophetic gifts and speaking in tongues and bringing to light men’s secrets for the common good and explaining the mysteries of God.”

Irenaeus of Lyons (ca. 200 CE)

After 200 CE Silence

• Silence can be from:-Tongues were practiced rarely and primarily by dissident groups-Orthodox writers, suspicious of

charismatic activity, ignored manifestations of popular religion such as glossolalia which did not meet their increasingly high standards

Historical Perspective

“…by the fourth century, John Chrysostom confesses himself at a loss to interpret the passages about tongues in 1 Corinthians, guessing that Paul must be referring to the ability to speak different languages. In the fifth century, Augustine dismisses tongues as a special dispensation of the primitive church which is no longer of pertinence.”

Luke Timothy Johnson

“Arguments from silence are notoriously suspect, but the paucity of evidence for glossolalia in the second 200 years of Christianity suggests that it became in increasingly marginalized activity.”

Luke Timothy Johnson

Pentecostals and Charismatics

• First report of speaking in tongues is 1901, in Topeka, Kansas

• Charles Parham, Methodist leaning clergy formulated the doctrine of “Baptism with the Holy Spirit”

• William Seymor was taught by Parham, had to take all classes sitting outside the classroom

• Seymor becomes involved with Azusa Street Revivals in 1906

• LA Times headline:“Weird Babel of Tongues, New sect of fanatics is breaking loose, Wild Scene last night on Azusa St, gurgle of wordless talk by a sister”

• First two decades- many interracial assemblies

• 1924 split along racial lines

• Late 1950’s – charismatics began among many established churches

• Deeply influenced by Pentecostals

Basic Beliefs of Pentecostals

• Aligned doctrinally with Evangelicals• Basic theology flows from Holiness churches • Affirm a definitive second work of grace

Works of Grace

• First work of grace- -Our salvation

• Sign- baptism by water

Works of Grace

• Second work of grace--Our sanctification

• Sign- baptism with the Holy Spirit

What does this mean?

Pentecostals• When baptized with the Spirit• Speak in tongues• Most believe this must be present • Others believe that it may be present• Speaking in tongues becomes a continual act

of the spiritual life

What does this mean?

Charismatics-• Do not necessarily believe in a second work of

grace• Bear witness to their experience: speaking in

tongues• Sanctification is more a spiritual walk of

growth in the Spirit

Pentecostal Current Situation

• 115 – 400 million followers worldwide

• 11,000 different groups• Profound growth in

Third World

Presbyterian Response

• No doctrinal issue with speaking in tongues per se

• Reformed belief that we receive the Spirit at baptism, no distinct second work of grace

• Sanctification is not a dramatic second work but a lifelong continual process

Should we practice it?

• Worship: No- Not a part of our understanding of proper worship

• If sought, this should be discouraged• If gift is given, encouraged to practice gift in

private or at charismatic gatherings• Can be highly problematic in non-Pentecostal

situations• Paul’s words remain, love is our bottom line