"When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability." (Acts 2: 1-4).
Um, this is scary stuff. I think if that happened to me I'd be curious and maybe a little concerned. This is the original passage upon which contemporary Pentecostals rest their claims to receiving the "gift" of glossolalia- speaking in tongues.
My first observation is that the passage says that the Apostle actually SPOKE LANGUAGE, simply different ones. In other words if this happened to me today I'd be speaking in Russian or Japanese- languages with which I have no relationship. Well, I guess I know "sayonara." Anyway, even a plain reading of the text without recourse to advanced literary theory clearly states they were speaking languages.
Every review I've ever seen, which Professor Shepherd acknowledged, notes that contemporary Pentecostals, when "fallen out" make guttural sounds, gibberish, and non-linguistic pre-language. This affords the individual an opportunity to receive the "gift" and thus complete an intricate social system of baptism that indicates the difference between an insider (called a "Saint") and an outsider (called a "Sinner"). The possession by the loa of the Vodou devotee functions in much the same way- to provide an individual a subjective way to experience god and to cement one's insider status.
I have never experienced this form of prayer. I am leery of the fuzzy margins of where the individual ends and God begins because of course in my tradition there is no separation of the two requiring a reunification of any kind- certainly not in a public dramatic way. To me this type of display is a detachment of the brain from an animalistic sensory experience and is thus grounded purely in physical expression. When the politics of initiation and social status are layered on top of that issue then the "authenticity" comes into real question. My former Ph.D. dissertation adviser, Dr. Elaine Lawless, writes
"Specialized language serves further to mark the group to outsiders, to delineate boundaries that keep groups distinct, and to intensify group cohesion and solidarity. A special language must be close enough to the mother language to make sense to the members of the group and simple enough for the novice to pick up fairly quickly. No tome is set aside for the teaching of this specialized language, but its constant and repetitive use in the verbal messages of the group members serves to teach the newcomer what the words mean and where and how it is appropriate to employ them" ("The Special Language of Pentecostalism" in God's Peculiar People, University of Kentucky Press, 1988).
For me, too many levels of questions lead to avoidance.
"Specialized language serves further to mark the group to outsiders, to delineate boundaries that keep groups distinct, and to intensify group cohesion and solidarity. A special language must be close enough to the mother language to make sense to the members of the group and simple enough for the novice to pick up fairly quickly. No tome is set aside for the teaching of this specialized language, but its constant and repetitive use in the verbal messages of the group members serves to teach the newcomer what the words mean and where and how it is appropriate to employ them" ("The Special Language of Pentecostalism" in God's Peculiar People, University of Kentucky Press, 1988).
For me, too many levels of questions lead to avoidance.
Dr. Sherpherd's Questions:
- What is “speaking in tongues”? See above.
- Have you done it? No.
- Do you do it now? No.
- Would you be comfortable with it during your Sunday morning services? Absolutely not.
2 comments:
An interesting article in which people's brains were imaged while speaking in tongues: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/07/health/07brain.html?_r=1
Anthony,
I have often wondered about the authenticity of glossolalia. I’ve imagined that the people make it up as they go along in an effort to fit into the culture, or acceptance of their faith. I recently had the pleasure of speaking with someone that grew up in the Pentecostal faith. The young man told me that the languages they speak are sometimes recognized by people that speak the same language. He gave me an example, but I can’t recall it presently. I asked if he had spoken in tongues, and he affirmed that he had. I was intrigued by his story of the faith. He explained to me how he became a true believer. He was spiritually led to speak one day but was embarrassed to speak up. He felt the inner nudge twice more, yet he sat silently. A few moments later, a woman in the next pew said the sounds he had been ignoring and his faith was born that it was Spirit talking.
A thought to ponder…
Elise
Post a Comment