From: WINBROW@aol.com
Date: Mon Oct 09 1995 - 14:34:22 EDT
>I'd have to go along with the interpretation of the phenomenon >involved in
1 Cor 14 as glossolalia in the sense of ecstatic >utterance, and yes, I would
even say that it is similar to the >glossolalia of the Sibyl at Delphi, which
does not, in fact, >appear to have been drug-induced at all, but which does
>appear to have been ecstatic and to have involved babbling >utterances which
the priests of Apollo "interpreted" in Greek >verse form to give to those
consulting the oracle.<
I would agree with Carl, and he makes some telling points in the rest of his
post. He has taken the total context of this verse into consideration.
I would also add that those who compare tongues in I Cor. 14 with Acts 2 need
to take into account the context of Acts 2. It is clear in Acts 2 that Luke
is presenting what happend there as a miracle of language and thus uses the
word DIALECTOS. Those who heard, heard in their own native language without
the need of an interpreter. This a miracle of language and tho it did
involve some ecstasy (a very good word from a psychological perspective),
they were thought by some to be drunk, Luke presents it clearly as a
miraculous short cut to the Berlitz Schule.
Compare that to I Cor. 14 where Paul clearly says that no one understands the
dissociative babel of the tongues speakers without a divinely gifted
interpreter. Clearly we are dealing with two different things. C. Stendahl
wrote an article included in a collections of essays on speaking in tongues
(the title excapes me now) in which he accused Luke of transforming tongues
speaking into a miracle of language. In my mind, Luke really thought a
miracle of language had happened to overcome one of the first obstacles to
the gospel, language. He considers it a miracle as he does with the healing
account at the beginning of chapter 3 that got a hearing for the gospel in
the temple.
Carlton Winbery
Prof. NT & Greek
LA College, Pineville, LA
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