Speaking in Tongues

Definition and Meaning

The Korean term bang-eon (方言) originally means "the speech of a particular region," that is, a dialect. In church usage, it refers to speaking or praying, by the power of the Holy Spirit, in an unlearned foreign language or in unintelligible sounds. The term renders the Greek word glōssa ("tongue, language") in the New Testament, and scholars call the phenomenon "glossolalia." Explaining the meaning of what is spoken in tongues is called "interpretation of tongues."

Biblical and Historical Background

• Acts: Acts 2:1-13 records that on the day of Pentecost the disciples, having received the Holy Spirit, spoke in various languages, and that people who had come from many lands each heard them in their own language. Acts 10:46 and 19:6 also describe those who received the Holy Spirit speaking in tongues.
• 1 Corinthians: In 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul lists tongues as one of several spiritual gifts. He instructs that in public gatherings tongues be spoken in turn and only when an interpreter is present (1 Corinthians 14:27-28), and he states that prophecy is more beneficial for building up the church.
• Modern era: The Pentecostal movement, which began in the United States in the early twentieth century, placed strong emphasis on tongues. The 1906 Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles is widely regarded as its best-known example. From the 1960s onward, the practice spread within established denominations through the charismatic movement.

Theological views on tongues fall broadly into three positions.

• Pentecostal denominations: Traditionally regard tongues as the initial evidence of baptism in the Holy Spirit.
• Continuationism: Holds that the spiritual gifts, including tongues, continue today.
• Cessationism: Holds that sign gifts such as tongues ceased in the apostolic era with the completion of the Bible. Some Reformed theologians hold this position.

For a fuller discussion, see Cessationism and Continuationism.

Practice in the Korean Church

• Full Gospel churches: Full Gospel churches such as the Korea Assemblies of God actively emphasize tongues. Praying in tongues became widely known through the growth of Yoido Full Gospel Church, led by David Yonggi Cho. These churches often teach that tongues are a sign of having received the Holy Spirit.
• Presbyterian, Methodist, Holiness, and other churches: Practice varies considerably from church to church and from pastor to pastor. Many churches permit or encourage tongues in private prayer. Generally, however, they do not regard tongues as necessary evidence of salvation or of having received the Holy Spirit. Some conservative Reformed churches and theologians criticize the emphasis on tongues from a cessationist standpoint.
• Common settings: Praying in tongues often occurs where people pray aloud together, such as in audible corporate prayer, Friday prayer meetings, revival meetings, and retreats. Church members commonly use expressions such as "receiving tongues" and "tongues bursting forth." At the same time, methods that have people imitate or practice tongues are sometimes criticized as artificial.