hearing

A History of Pentecost as One Sound and Many Languages Heard

A history of Pentecost being the miracle of one voice emitted and the sounds converted into a relevant human language while in the air or in the minds of the hearers.

This theory was a part of the christian doctrine of tongues that existed at least in the third century, worked its way into the seventh, and has a spotty appearance after this time.

The following is the result of collating, compiling, examining, researching and comparing a wide-range of Patristic authors, a sampling of Jewish literature, and a small dose of classical Greek writings found on the topic.

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Early Pentecostal Tongues in Crisis

Two missionaries speaking in tongues to two Japenese people who do not understand them

An indepth look at the development, expansion, and failure of Pentecostal missionary tongues and a critical public that called it gibberish.

Early Pentecostalism and especially the Azusa Street outbreak of tongues in 1906 caused a revival in the practice of speaking in tongues. The outbreak initially continued a traditional one that parallels Christian history for over 2000 years. The early Pentecostals understood that certain individuals were inspired by the Holy Spirit to miraculously speak a foreign language. When this occurred, there was some perceived divine revelation on what language the person spoke. They understood this knowledge as a sign for the person to go to the people group or nation to tell the Good News. Unfortunately, this fervor was badly hit by a dose of reality. These Pentecostal missionaries arrived at their destinations and found that they did not have this ability.

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Vincent Ferrer and the Gift of Tongues

Vincent Ferrer was a Dominican missionary in the 14th century (1350 to 1419 AD). Legend has it that his native tongue was Valencian, a dialect of Catalan spoken in Spain. He didn’t know any other language. This did not stop his audience from miraculously hearing him in their language. This is a historic variant of …

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Nazianzus' Tongues of Pentecost Paradox

Nazianzus’ two choices on understanding the tongues of Pentecost, and how this debate continued for almost a millennium.

Augustine on the Tongues of Pentecost in English

An English translation of the texts relating to the Christian doctrine of tongues by Augustine, Bishop of Hippo.

Table of Contents

  • Sermons transcribed into writing attributed to Augustine
  • References Untranslated

    • Introduction

    Augustine was one of the most prolific writers on the gift of tongues. This fact is largely due to his attack on the Donatists–a rival and popular African group who felt themselves superior because they remained pure during the Diocletian persecution. Augustine posits that one of their distinctions was speaking in tongues–a sign that they were the true church.

    For more information, go to Augustine on the Tongues of Pentecost.

    The following are English translations of Augustine’s Homilies and texts that relate to speaking in tongues.

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    Augustine on the Tongues of Pentecost

    Augustine 354 — 430 AD.

    An analysis of Augustine’s writings on speaking in tongues.

    Augustine was one of the most prolific writers on the doctrine of tongues. He understood the complexity and varied definitions that surrounded the christian doctrine of tongues. Unfortunately, he did not attempt to simplify the matrix of explanations. Nor does he outrightly endorse a specific position. Regardless of this problem, his writings reveal vital clues about the christian doctrine of tongues and its progression.

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