Ambrosiaster on the Tongues of Corinth

The Ambrosiaster Latin text with its beginnings in the fourth-century gives insight and much-needed clues on the mystery tongues of Corinth.

The Ambrosiaster author(s) believed Paul was describing the adoption of a synagogue rite. It consequently led to the misuse of Hebrew and Aramaic to an audience that did not understand these languages. There was no awareness of ancient Pythian prophetesses, ecstasy, Montanists, or glossolalia. Nor was there an association with speaking in tongues as a sign of a true believer.

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Gregory of Nazianzus’ Analysis of Acts 2:6

Gregory of Nazianzus has much to offer with his insights on the original Pentecost. His thoughts on Acts 2:6 opens up different possibilities than what we commonly conclude today.

This revered fourth-century leader stands out as one of the most influential on the subject.

The Gift of Tongues Project has previously traced the influence of Gregory of Nazianzus’ thought on the christian doctrine of tongues in the Latin and Eastern Church.1 His influence has spanned over millennia. However, the GOT Project never explored a detailed analysis of Acts 2:6 from Nazianzus’ perspective until now.

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A History of Charisma in the Church

Graphic of charisma and various interpretations

A history of the word gift, as in gift of tongues, throughout christian history.

How the perceptions of this word has changed over eighteen centuries and shaped our contemporary understanding.

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The Structure of the Psalms

A 3000-year general history on the Book of Psalms numbering and divisional systems.
The structural development of the Book of Psalms has an interesting and complex history.
The results are the examination of documents spanning a 3000 year time period. The reader will be journeying through Hebrew, Greek, Syriac, Latin and English texts. Don’t worry. You don’t need to know the languages itself to join in this expedition. This work is designed for both the researcher and the passionate lay reader. Many pictures will be provided that will assist. One can marvel at the beauty of the handwritten text without understanding it.

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Delphi Prophetesses and Christian Tongues

Did the ancient Greek prophetesses, especially the Pythian priestesses in Delphi, speak in tongues and the Christians later adapted it?

The alleged connection between the two is an important one in the speaking in tongues debate. A dispute which this article seeks to look deeper into.

The approach used to find an answer is to locate the primary Hellenistic texts that make this connection and evaluate them. The article provides English translations along with the majority having Greek or Latin sources. Each reference contains a brief analysis. The reader is not required to know either one of these languages to examine the works and can easily skip over these foreign texts.

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Gregory of Nyssa on speaking in tongues — source texts

Pertinent source texts on the meanings of Pentecost and Babel by the fourth-century Bishop, Gregory of Nyssa. The Greek text of Gregorii Nysseni’s, Oratio de Spiritu Sancto Sive in Pentecosten, relating to Pentecost As found in Migne Patrologia Graeca, Vol. 46. Col. 697 – 699 Σήμερον γὰρ κατὰ τὴν ἑτήσιον τοῦ ἔτους περίοδον τῆς πεντηκοστῆς …

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Technical Notes on Francis Xavier speaking in tongues

The following are quotes from the principal sources on the real Francis Xavier and the legend of his speaking in tongues. This is a quotes only document — a comparative analysis of all this information is in the final stages and will be posted as a separate article.

The debate and controversy that surrounded St. Francis Xavier’s alleged speaking in tongues was a source of internal friction within Catholicism, especially the among the Jesuits themselves, and a rallying point for Protestants. The real Francis Xavier did not speak in tongues, but the legend of Francis did.

How this legend began and grew is an interesting and complex story.

This leads into a journey about how Medieval Catholics viewed speaking in tongues; what it meant to them, how it was applied, and the politics that surrounded this practice.

The legend of Francis Xavier speaking in tongues ranks within the top five themes throughout the two-thousand-year history of the christian doctrine of tongues. There is no doubt that this legend is the most complex one out of any documents in the Gift of Tongues Project. There are numerous reasons why the mystery of Francis Xavier is difficult. The original documentation is multilingual; spanning Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Latin, and French. The subject is wrapped in Medieval Catholicism, which has its own unique history, customs, personalities and procedures that outsiders such as myself have a difficult time to grasp. Xavier’s gift of tongues is deeply embedded with international and national politics. The topic is shrouded in religious symbols and shifts into the Protestant realm where Rationalists especially took critical aim. It spans across continents and new worlds that most Europeans hardly knew at the time. The maps, names and locations mentioned in the texts are far from the modern English mind.

This article is produced to meet a requirement of the Gift of Tongues Project which is the digital capturing of source texts. The following are actual quotes from testimonies, writers, and publications that highly influenced and perpetuated this myth. These are actual quotes with little or no commentary from myself relating to Xavier speaking in tongues. They are organized according to date; from the earliest publications shortly after Xavier’s death, all the way into the twentieth-century. The Italian, Spanish and Portuguese originals are not digitally captured because I have no knowledge of these languages or the ability to do data-entry in them. However, links to the original text along with an English translation is supplied where appropriate.

This file is designed for the researcher, not for the casual reader. This is the longest article found in the Gift of Tongues Project because of the amount of source material. It may take a few moments to load the full contents into the browser, please be patient.

TOC

  • Pedro de Ribadeneira
  • Giovanni Pietro Maffei
  • Horatius Tursellinus
  • João de Lucena
  • The Book Monumenta Xaveriana:
    • Emanuel Fernandez
    • Thomas Vaz
    • Antonio Peirera
    • Pope Urban VIII
  • Daniello Bartoli
  • Dominique Bouhours
  • Pope Benedict XIV
  • John Douglas
  • Hugh Farmer
  • Charles Butler
  • Henry James Coleridge
  • Andrew Dickson White
  • A Jesuit response to Andrew Dickson White
  • Edith Anne Steward
  • James Brodrick
  • Georg Schurhammer
    • Volume II
    • Volume IV

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St. Norbert of Xanten Speaking in Tongues

Translation and analysis of St. Norbert of Xanten. A 12th-century Christian who is claimed to have spoken in tongues. The medieval biography of the Saints called Acta Sanctorum only includes a brief reference to him and it is not clear whether it was a miraculous act. Perhaps it was a description of St. Norbert as …

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St. Patiens Speaking in Tongues

St. Patiens was on a missionary trip to Metz and was supernaturally able to speak their language upon arrival – but there is a twist to this story.

St. Matthew Speaking in Tongues

A Medieval account on the apostle Matthew speaking in tongues. The following is a modified version of William Caxton’s 1483 English translation of the Latin work, Legendae Aurea, commonly known in English as the Golden Legend. A highly popular book during the Medieval era. The text as it is found in the Golden Legend Matthew …

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