Speaking in Tongues Part 2

In the first part we looked at the history of Pentecostalism in Protestantism as well as the Charismatic Renewal within the Church. We also talked about the scriptural perspective on the “Sign Gifts” and the types of “tongues” shown in Acts and in 1 Corinthians. There are two diametrically opposed errors that are prevalent in the Protestant sects today. These are “Cessationism” and “Initial Evidence”.

Cessationism

This is the belief that the “Gifts of the Spirit” (specifically the “sign gifts”) basically ceased with the death of Saint John. This doctrine is most common among Fundamentalist Protestants such as most sects of Baptist, but did not originate with the Protestant Revolt. There were some Fathers of the Church who subscribed to it such as Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Augustine. But overall, the Church has no such doctrine. Those Protestants who hold to Cessationism generally consider those who exercise the “sign gifts” to be “of the devil”.

They draw upon 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 to support this notion. In verse 8 it says that the ‘sign gifts” will pass away. Verse 10 says that this will occur “when that which is perfect will come”. As is the case so many time with Sola Scriptura adherents they stop reading at this point and say “See??” It kind of reminds me of a prosecutor in a TV drama who only wants the witness to say just enough to support their version, but not enough for “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”.

They read a definition into verse 10 that says that “the perfect” referred to there is the Bible. But Saint Paul isn’t finished speaking at verse 10, and in verse 12 he clarifies what he means by “the perfect”: “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” Given the panoply of New Testament Scripture on the subject there is no doubt that “the perfect” to which he refers is our existence after the Second Coming, when we will be capable of grasping the eternal (which we only glimpse now “as through a glass, darkly).

Furthermore, this is another area where one error in doctrine leads to another. The Sola Scriptura error that holds that the New Testament was “complete” at the end of the Saint John’s lifetime and clearly defined as canon leads to this faulty assumption. The New Testament was not defined as canon until the late 4th Century, and the only completely defined canon until then was the Old Testament. For more on this see the article, “What is Scripture?” that preceded this article.

Yes, the time will come when these Gifts will no longer be needed. That time will be when we receive our new minds and new bodies at the Second Coming. Until then they are fully operational and available to all believers.

Initial Evidence

The opposite extreme from Cessationism is the belief that one must speak in “tongues” to have received the Holy Spirit. This is the “sacred tradition” common to nearly all Pentecostal Protestant denominations and sects (there are certain offshoot sects of Pentecostalism that teach that if you haven’t spoken in tongues you aren’t a Christian). Unlike Catholic tradition, however, there is no scriptural basis for this doctrine. They draw upon the accounts of Acts 2 and 10 and believe that such experiences are normal for all believers in ever era. However, as we saw earlier in examining those texts, there is nothing in Saint Luke’s account of those events that indicate that this experience is to be present every time that people receive the Holy Spirit.

Saint Paul makes it quite clear in 1 Corinthians 12:29-30 that just the opposite is true. The expected answer to each of those questions is “No”. Not everyone has the same Gift and no one Gift is the evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit. On the contrary, Scripture makes it clear that it is the Fruit of the Spirit (listed in Galatians 5:22-23) and not the Sign Gifts that are the evidence of God working in our lives. The Lord said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:35). Not by signs and wonders but by love… the first of the Fruit of the Spirit.

This misplaced focus on the Gift of Tongues has produced a form of peer pressure and heightened expectations among those who adhere to it. That causes those who have not yet spoken in tongues to seek to force the manifestation in order to “fit in” or not to appear “less spiritual”. One of the things that motivated me to write this article was an article written by one of our authors here that talked not only how the person forced themselves to speak in tongues but suggested how you could do it too. It is exactly that “peer pressure” produced by this error that causes someone to do that.

1 Corinthians 12:11 says that the Holy Spirit distributes the Gifts of the Spirit as HE wills… not as WE wish. In every mention of tongues in the Scripture, it’s made clear that it operates “as the Spirit gives utterance” and not our own heart’s desire to be a part of the group.

A Concluding Word from Saint Paul

“Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently and in order.” (1 Corinthians 14:39-40)

All the Gifts, Fruits and Operations of the Holy Spirit are still fully operative in the Church today. Several Popes and many Cardinals of the Church have spoken in support of the Charismatic Catholic. But we should not make emotional experience the primary focus of our lives. They are the icing on the cake, but not the whole cake. They are embellishments on the true center of our spiritual life: our relationship with God through His Church that we experience in the Sacraments