A Critical Review of the Gift of Tongues from 1501-1800

De: Samuel L. Preston

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

It is truly amazing to study the gift of tongues throughout church history. This is because of the great emphasis tongues speaking has in the modern charismatic movement. It is central to their theology, and the centerpiece of their experience. Carl Brumback, a Pentecostal author, says, "It has been through the grace of God alone that we have discovered the truth regarding tongues, and crossed the threshold into this marvelous Pentecostal experience." But have Christians throughout the ages been partakers of this "marvelous Pentecostal experience?" The answer to that question seems to depend on whether or not one views the modern tongues movement as Biblical. Obviously, those who have experienced tongues, and wish to defend it historically, see the gift as present in almost every age, and in many individuals and movements. On the other hand, those who question the validity of modern tongues see the phenomenon as being barely present in church history. The struggle then for any student of church history, especially the history of the gift of tongues, is to be as objective as possible when studying and presenting the evidence. Objectivity does not mean taking every reported incident of tongues over the past two thousand years at face value without questioning either its authenticity or appropriateness. Nor does objectivity require that one's theology not govern the discernment process. Rather, theology must be the standard by which all reported incidents are measured. If they match up with Biblical teaching, they must be accepted, but if they do not, then they must be rejected. It is the theological position of this book that tongues ended with the death of the Apostle John. With that in mind, this book will attempt to analyze the supposed instances of tongues from A.D. 1501 to 1800 in the most objective way possible.