Glossolalia

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Glossolalia

The term "glossolalia" literally translates from the Greek as "to speak in tongues." It is an ecstatic religious practice found in early Christianity, sporadically throughout the history of Christianity, and in various other religious traditions. Its most significant form in late-twentieth-century America is found in the Protestant Pentecostal and charismatic traditions.

Pentecostalism developed, at the turn of the twentieth century, out of the Wesleyan Holiness tradition. In 1901 Bethel Bible College students of Charles Parham in Topeka, Kansas, spoke in tongues, which Parham interpreted as evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Book of Acts. News spread to William Seymour, a Los Angeles holiness preacher, and a series of revivals began in Seymour's Azusa Street Mission. The ongoing revivals, in which glossolalia was a central practice understood as the evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit (and therefore of sanctification), were marked by distinct racial and gender egalitarianism (Seymour was African American, and there were several women leaders).

Strict Pentecostals believe that glossolalia is the evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian and that, therefore, all true Christians speak in tongues. For this reason they typically belong to specifically Pentecostal denominations, such as the Assemblies of God or the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. Sine the 1970s, however, glossolalia has spread into traditionally non-Pentecostal denominations, such as the Episcopal and Catholic churches. Charismatics regard glossolalia as only one of many "gifts of the Spirit," each of which is evidence of the Holy Spirit's presence in the life of a believer. For this reason they often remain in their non-"spirit-filled" churches and practice the gifts on their own or in smaller cell groups.

Charismatics typically understand two forms of glossolalia as derived from the New Testament: a prophetic form, which can be "translated," in which God communicates directly to his people; and a private devotional form, in which believers commune with God in a mystical way that is thought to transcend both reason and language. St. Paul rebukes Christians who "make a show of their gifts" and commands those with the "gift of tongues" to refrain from public practice of the prophetic form of glossolalia when there is no one present who has been given the "gift of interpretation." The devotional form, however, is commonly practiced in charismatic churches as part of prayer sessions or as part of musical worship of the church service.

The practice of glossolalia is typically combined with the practice of other "gifts of the Holy Spirit." In addition to the "gift of interpretation," there is also the ability to aid in miraculous healing, the gifts of "words of knowledge" and "words of wisdom" (the ability to know hidden things and/or to speak prophetically), and other nonecstatic gifts, such as the "gift of administrations" and the "gift of hospitality." Heavy emphasis is placed on avoiding the sin of pride in regard to having been given the gift of tongues.