Abstract
There are much confusion and controversy in our churches today about the phenomenon known as speaking in tongues. Some claim that the gift of speaking in tongues continues in our time as the Holy Spirit miraculously moves persons to speak in a language they had never learned. Other believers are convinced that the Scriptures leave no room for the continuation of that special gift beyond the founding era of the Apostolic church. To worsen it all pagans abound in such ecstatic utterances and are convinced they are from God. The objective of this paper is to investigate both the use and abuse of speaking in tongues. Historical and exegetical methods were used. Data were gathered through primary and secondary sources. The paper found out that speaking in tongues was miraculously used by God at Pentecost and in the earliest churches in the apostolic era. But there were distinguishing features that marked it out from the psychological phenomenon found among pagans. In our contemporary church in Nigeria, the only way to test the source is by comparison with what God explains in his word about the purpose and occasion for the legitimate manifestation.
Highlights
In the words of Ojo (2018:77), there is no doubt that Pentecostalism has awakened in Nigerians an eagerness for spiritual life in the secular world, and a desire for an experiential communion with God in prayers
There is a noticeable guest for a spirituality based on a personal relationship with the Lord, which for instance in the Catholic Church is manifested in love for private Eucharistic adoration
Preachers have been asked to resign from pulpits because of “speaking in tongues”
Summary
In the words of Ojo (2018:77), there is no doubt that Pentecostalism has awakened in Nigerians an eagerness for spiritual life in the secular world, and a desire for an experiential communion with God in prayers. Most Pentecostals, admit that the events recorded in Acts 10 and 19 are not identical to the situation at Corinth, as described in I Corinthians 12–14 They distinguish between speaking in tongues as a sign of this Spirit, baptism and speaking in tongues as a permanent gift (1 Cor 13:9–13). In light of these controversies, the author considers it necessary to investigate both the use and abuse of this phenomenon that is dividing the church
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