Speaking in Tongues: A Critical Historical Examination
Volume 1: The Modern Redefinition of Tongues
by Philip E. Blosser and Charles A. Sullivan
Foreword by Dale M. Coulter and James Likoudis
Imprint: Pickwick Publications
260 Pages, 6.00 x 9.00 x 0.52 in
- Paperback
- 9781666737776
- Published: September 2022
$35.00 / £30.00 / AU$53.00
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- 9781666797626
- Published: September 2022
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In three carefully researched volumes, this ground-breaking study examines the gift of tongues through 2,000 years of church history. Starting in the present and working back in time, these volumes consider (1) the modern redefinition of "tongues" as a private prayer language; (2) the church's perennial understanding of "tongues" as ordinary human languages; and (3) the Corinthian "tongues," which, in light of Jewish liturgical tradition, turn out to have been a foreign liturgical language (Hebrew or Aramaic) requiring bilingual interpreters.
In the first volume, the authors establish that modern glossolalia, far from being a supernatural gift enjoyed by certain believers since the time of Pentecost and undergoing a resurgence in modern times, has no precedent in church life prior to the nineteenth century. They discuss why German theologians, responding to the Irvingite revival, coined the term "glossolalia" in the 1830s; why Pentecostals between 1906-8 quietly began redefining "tongues" to mean a heavenly language unintelligible to human beings but pleasing to God, instead of foreign languages useful for evangelism; why Protestant cessationists believed miraculous tongues had ceased; and why interpolated idioms like "unknown tongues" in Protestant Bibles were aimed originally at Rome's use of Latin.
Philip Blosser is professor of philosophy at Sacred Heart Major Seminary (Detroit).
Charles A. Sullivan is an independent scholar and linguist with interests in church history.
“This most interesting and highly scholarly treatment of glossolalia provides essential historical and theological elements of the phenomenon. At the same time, it reflects a proper respect for those who, in good faith, have understood the gift of the Holy Spirit in a way which is not coherent with its proper historical and theological elements. The fruits of this study are a great gift to the church and an excellent help to anyone who seeks a deep understanding of the gift of speaking in tongues.”
—Raymond Leo Burke, Prefect emeritus of the Apostolic Signatura
“Pentecostals and charismatic scholars should welcome the challenge that Blosser and Sullivan bring. After all, as they make clear, it is not a challenge made out of animus but an effort to get greater historical clarity on the role of tongues within Christian tradition. I am convinced that these kinds of historical-depth soundings into the great river of Christian tradition are crucial for our common mission.”
—Dale M. Coulter, Pentecostal Theological Seminary
“This very careful, scholarly, and balanced investigation into various biblical and historical phenomena that bear upon the gift of ‘speaking in tongues,’ as well as theological considerations, is a tremendous and invaluable contribution to the attempt to understand the phenomenon precisely.”
—Janet E. Smith, retired moral theologian
“It is with pleasure that I give my endorsement to Speaking in Tongues, which I have read with great interest. Both Philip E. Blosser and Charles A. Sullivan have done a great service for the church universally and for theologians in particular. This study is so rich with references, cross references, and biblical quotations it may take some time to fully grasp the development and uses of glossolalia.”
—William A. Thomas, Pontifical Marian Academy
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