On the matter of 'tongues' - Is it a necessary experience? By Rev. Stephen-Claude Hyatt, Contributor Part I FOR MANY centuries now, it has been held that in order to truly state that someone is filled with the Holy Spirit, s/he would have to be heard speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives utterance. Many individuals hold the view that if a Christian does not 'speak in tongues', then s/he is not filled with the Holy Spirit, and this has caused many to be ridiculed and condemned. Still others say that 'tongues' is but one of the gifts of the Spirit, as stated by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians, and should not be held as greater than the other gifts. Many individuals have been condemned, especially in the Pentecostal and Evangelical churches, as not living right, as they have never spoken in tongues; hence, they do not have the Spirit. Many of these individuals eventually condemn themselves, because of the condemnation they feel from the Church. Not to mention the fact that Pentecostal Christians feel others (from the traditional churches) are not filled with the Spirit of God. "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound, like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them." [Acts 2: 1- 4] (NIV). This scripture passage has been referred to a lot by the Christian Church, for several reasons, but mainly to prove the initial evidence of baptism in the Holy Spirit; which is, as they suggest, speaking in tongues (glossolalia). The position of the Church throughout the years is that one has to speak in tongues the moment s/he is filled with the Holy Spirit. I challenge this viewpoint by asking the question - is there need for glossolalia as initial evidence in the Church today? To achieve this goal and answer this question, we will: seek an understanding of the phrase baptism of the Holy Spirit. We will then highlight, in brief, the traditional view and seek to argue against same. Finally, we will conclude by answering the question, is glossolalia necessarily the initial evidence of baptism in the Holy Spirit. The aim of this article is not to advocate a radical change in people's perspective on the subject matter. Rather, its intention is to challenge these traditionalists to being more pragmatic on the issue at hand. I leave a few questions for us to think on until next week. Is it possible for someone to truly be filled with the Spirit of God and hate their brother/sister? Is it true that some people practice speaking in tongues so as to be accepted as spiritual? How can someone be filled with Spirit and hate for his/her brother at the same time, is that possible? Continue reading this column, as we will seek to explore this concept of glossolalia. Is it really the initial evidence of a Christian being filled with the Holy Spirit? What do you think? Rev. Stephen-Claude Hyatt is a guidance counsellor at Jamaica College and can be reached at yahgnosis@hotmail.com.
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