SPEAKING IN TONGUES: PUTTING THE CONTENTIOUS PENTECOSTALS' DOCTRINE IN PERSPECTIVE (original) (raw)
Related papers
2017
The understanding of spiritual gifts (charismata) by the cessationists is that certain spiritual gifts have ceased and that it was confined to the period of the apostles who had worked miracles when the New Testament was being written down. On the other side there are continuationists who say the charismata is even for today and that Christians should seek to be baptized in the Holy Spirit following conversion akin to the experiences in the Acts of the Apostles which would result in a renewal for ministry. There have been myriads of polemics between the two sides. Looking at the arguments from both the sides it seems the Scriptures and history seem to be ambiguous concerning the demand for continuation or cessation of certain gifts. In this light this research would seek to propose a contemporary construal pertaining to the practice of spiritual gifts.
The Purpose of Miraculous Spiritual Gifts
Modern Pentecostalism, in some fashion, appears in almost every denomination. Yet tensions remain between the Pentecostal theology of Continuationism and the Reformed theology of Cessationism. While Pentecostals maintain that the baptism of the Holy Spirit and charismata operate and function in the contemporary church, Cessationists affirm that these miraculous spiritual gifts ceased some time shortly after the apostolic age of the first century. This contention between Continuationists and Cessationists involves more than just exegetical differences on key passages such as 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 or Ephesians 4:11-14. Rather, the very foundation of this disagreement regards the biblical purpose of miraculous spiritual gifts. Every stable structure must be built upon a sure foundation as Jesus illustrated with the wise man who built his house upon the rock (Matt 7:24). Any errors or misapplications in the foundation affect the outcome and finished product of the structure. Thus, doctrine must be built upon a stable foundation. At its foundation, Cessationism connects charismata with divine revelation asserting that these gifts were/are for the purpose of revealing New Testament truth and to enable to write Scripture. In contrast, Continuationists maintain that charismata serve, not as a revelatory means by which doctrine was revealed, but as a manner of spiritual edification not only to the individual believer, but also to the corporate church. As such, Continuations see no conflict between contemporary charismata, such as speaking in tongues, the gift of prophecy, and a word of knowledge and the concept of a closed canon of New Testament Scripture.
Holier Brethren: An Analysis of Charismatic Doctrine in Brazil, 1910- 2010.
This M.Div. thesis, completed in 2010 evaluates the current state of charismatic/neo-Pentecostal doctrine and practice in Brazil. The project seeks to analyse the fruits of the movement, which in 2010 completed its first centennial in Brazil. This author assessed publications by popular neo-Pentecostal pastors in Brazil and in the U.S., and tested their claims against the biblical data.
Thesis: Pentecostal pneumatology allowed the Spirit to fulfill God’s intended role in Christian life by rejecting cessationism.
The Foundational Gifts of Apostle and Prophet in Ephesians
This article examines Paul's use of apostles and prophets in Ephesians (2:20; 3:5; 4:11) and argues that they were foundational spiritually gifted men given to the early church. The views of Grudem and Ruthven on Ephesians 2:20 are presented and critiqued. Since apostles and prophets formed the foundation of the early church these spiritual gifts and offices are no longer needed today for the church. This article was published in The Journal of Ministry and Theology 17.2 (Fall 2013), 5-32.
Misconceptions on speaking in tongues -
There are numerous claims and theories about speaking in tongues. Numerous people do not actually know what to think of speaking in tongues. The main texts regarding speaking in tongues come from Acts 2:1-11 and 1 Corinthians 14:1-25. When one does not know the context behind the two main instances where the ''speaking in tongues'' was mentioned, one could have a biased view of what speaking in tongues actually means. Therefore, this present article will focus on the context behind both stories and how one should view speaking in tongues in the 21 st century. Each text contains several subtopics, which will be discussed in this paper. 1-Terminological introduction The word ''tongues'' in Greek is ''glosses'', which, interestingly, does not only mean tongues but also ''languages'' 1. In other words, when the Bible uses the word ''tongues'' the text refers to ''languages'' as this is the correct use of the definition of ''tongues'' as we will see in later sections. This use of ''glossa'' in this context is also seen in