Troy L. M. Denson
(Please share your opinion after reading this.)
The argument of "speaking in tongues" dates back to the first centuries (1AD) following their first occurrence documented in the Holy Bible's NT book called the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:1-3). The Apostle Paul referred to "tongues" in comparison to other "Spiritual gifts", in which he concluded "love" (charity) as his preferred "gift" (1st Corinthians 14:4-5). Scholars such as Mae Henderson, in her book titled "Speaking in Tongues and Dancing Diaspora: Black Women Writing and Performing", she asserts that "...The oral tradition has always played an important role in African American literature, ranging from works such as Zora Neale Hurston's 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' to 'Toni Morrison's Beloved'. These and countless other novels affirm the power of sonance and sound in the African American literary canon. Considering the wide swath of work in this powerful lineage -- in addition to its shared heritage with performance -- Mae G. Henderson deploys her trope of "speaking in tongues" to theorize the preeminence of voice and narration in black women's literary performance through her reconstruction of a fundamentally spiritual practice as a critical concept for reading black women's writing dialogically and intertextually" (2014).
Similarly, Mark J. Carthelege, in his book, "Speaking in Tongues: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives", identify spiritual tongue-talking as "gosolalia", and contributes to the dialogue from various point-of-views: "Speaking in tongues (glossolalia) is a common spiritual phenomenon in the Pentecostal and Charismatic streams of the Christian church. Such Christians believe that when they speak in tongues they are communicating with God in a language that they have never learned--spiritual prayer language given to them by the Holy Spirit. This innovative volume seeks to enhance our understanding and appreciation of glossolalia by examining it from a range of different angles. Christian scholars from diverse academic disciplines bring to bear the insights of their own specialist areas to shed new light on the practice of speaking in tongues" (2012).
Personally, regarding "Speaking in Tongues", I neither promote "tongue talking" nor criticize or ostracize it... I simply wait on the "fruit" of those who do such. Why?, because I believe that "Love" is the assessment, outcome, proof, litmus test, or validity of all religious actions... whether I understand them or not. That said, if one visits a Pentecostal, Holiness, or Church of God in Christ church, which makes up an estimated 279 million people, (4% of the world population and 12.8% of the world's Christian population)... one should expect to hear some "tongue talking", whether understood or not, because it's neither the words nor language that one should seek, it would be the "fruit of the spirit" that one should assess. To those who publicly criticize 12% of the Christian population because they "speak in tongues", one could make a special case for likewise neither visiting the "tongue opposer churches" nor listening to their sermons, because they display very little love for their fellow Christians. The question of this discussion is, "In our present-day, 21st Century contexts in the U.S., whereas there exists many cultures, many religions, as well as diverse sects who claim Christianity or Christ-likeness, or Jewish heritage, and there exists many "tongues"... i.e. languages, can the argument opposing "tongue talking" yet hold water amidst such diversity? (Click the comment link below to leave your thoughts on my blog. Thanks).
Similarly, Mark J. Carthelege, in his book, "Speaking in Tongues: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives", identify spiritual tongue-talking as "gosolalia", and contributes to the dialogue from various point-of-views: "Speaking in tongues (glossolalia) is a common spiritual phenomenon in the Pentecostal and Charismatic streams of the Christian church. Such Christians believe that when they speak in tongues they are communicating with God in a language that they have never learned--spiritual prayer language given to them by the Holy Spirit. This innovative volume seeks to enhance our understanding and appreciation of glossolalia by examining it from a range of different angles. Christian scholars from diverse academic disciplines bring to bear the insights of their own specialist areas to shed new light on the practice of speaking in tongues" (2012).
Personally, regarding "Speaking in Tongues", I neither promote "tongue talking" nor criticize or ostracize it... I simply wait on the "fruit" of those who do such. Why?, because I believe that "Love" is the assessment, outcome, proof, litmus test, or validity of all religious actions... whether I understand them or not. That said, if one visits a Pentecostal, Holiness, or Church of God in Christ church, which makes up an estimated 279 million people, (4% of the world population and 12.8% of the world's Christian population)... one should expect to hear some "tongue talking", whether understood or not, because it's neither the words nor language that one should seek, it would be the "fruit of the spirit" that one should assess. To those who publicly criticize 12% of the Christian population because they "speak in tongues", one could make a special case for likewise neither visiting the "tongue opposer churches" nor listening to their sermons, because they display very little love for their fellow Christians. The question of this discussion is, "In our present-day, 21st Century contexts in the U.S., whereas there exists many cultures, many religions, as well as diverse sects who claim Christianity or Christ-likeness, or Jewish heritage, and there exists many "tongues"... i.e. languages, can the argument opposing "tongue talking" yet hold water amidst such diversity? (Click the comment link below to leave your thoughts on my blog. Thanks).
No comments:
Post a Comment