Glossolalia

Glossolalia is a fancy word for speaking in tongues. Most of us probably think of Pentecostal Christians speaking in tongues. This form of Christianity emphasizes the alleged transformative power of the Holy Spirit. They believe that a person can be filled with the Spirit, and this causes them to act out in various ways…ecstatic dancing, prophesizing, healing and speaking in tongues. For most of Christian history, this act of worship has been marginalized, but it was apparently common in the early stages of Christianity. Paul speaks of it in his epistles, and it’s mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. The Acts of the Apostles is a kind of sequel to the Gospel of Luke. It was written by the same author, and it describes what allegedly happened after the death of Jesus. According to this book, the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles and some of the followers of Jesus on the Pentecost, 50 days after Easter Sunday. The book claims that some began speaking in tongues.

Glossolalia is not exclusively Christian. Pagans of the first century also spoke in tongues. As I understand it, glossolalia was part of the worship service of some of the mystery cults. Oracles in ancient Greece spoke in tongues. And shamans from various cultures throughout the world and throughout history are reported to have spoken in tongues.

I think the practice is closely associated with various ecstatic experiences such as bacchanals, bath house orgies, Mardi Gras, Burning Man, frat parties and spring break. Of course, Pentecostal Christians would object to their form of worship being lumped in with practices they would consider sinful. They’d claim their ecstatic gibberish results from them feeling the spirit of God. But maybe this experience can take a variety of forms depending on the cultural context. Maybe the Pentecostal worship service is a way to let go of your rational mind, along with it’s fears and ultimately futile urge to control, and live in the insanity and intensity of the moment. Maybe this is some kind of human need and that’s the reason we see it popping up all over the place and why perfectly ordinary and sensible people occasionally give themselves over to wild partying of one kind or another.