Nicholas Harkness
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- January 2022
- ISBN:
- 9780226749389
- eISBN:
- 9780226749556
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226749556.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Asian Cultural Anthropology
Speaking in tongues is a worldwide phenomenon that dates back to the early Christian church. Commonly referred to as “glossolalia,” it has been the subject of curiosity and vigorous debate for the ...
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Speaking in tongues is a worldwide phenomenon that dates back to the early Christian church. Commonly referred to as “glossolalia,” it has been the subject of curiosity and vigorous debate for the past two centuries. Glossolalia is both celebrated as supernatural gift and condemned as semiotic alchemy. For some it is mystical speech that exceeds what words can do, and for others it is mere gibberish, empty of meaning. At the heart of these differences is glossolalia’s puzzling relationship to language. Glossolalia and the Problem of Language investigates speaking in tongues in South Korea, where it is practiced widely across denominations and congregations. Nicholas Harkness shows how the popularity of glossolalia in Korea lies at the intersection of numerous, often competing social forces, interwoven religious legacies, and spiritual desires that have been amplified by Christianity’s massive institutionalization. As evangelicalism continues to spread worldwide, Glossolalia and the Problem of Language analyzes one of its most enigmatic practices while marking a major advancement in our understanding of the power of language and its limitsLess
Speaking in tongues is a worldwide phenomenon that dates back to the early Christian church. Commonly referred to as “glossolalia,” it has been the subject of curiosity and vigorous debate for the past two centuries. Glossolalia is both celebrated as supernatural gift and condemned as semiotic alchemy. For some it is mystical speech that exceeds what words can do, and for others it is mere gibberish, empty of meaning. At the heart of these differences is glossolalia’s puzzling relationship to language. Glossolalia and the Problem of Language investigates speaking in tongues in South Korea, where it is practiced widely across denominations and congregations. Nicholas Harkness shows how the popularity of glossolalia in Korea lies at the intersection of numerous, often competing social forces, interwoven religious legacies, and spiritual desires that have been amplified by Christianity’s massive institutionalization. As evangelicalism continues to spread worldwide, Glossolalia and the Problem of Language analyzes one of its most enigmatic practices while marking a major advancement in our understanding of the power of language and its limits
David W. Kling
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195130089
- eISBN:
- 9780199835393
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195130081.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter focuses on the origins of Pentecostalism, giving special attention to its early twentieth-century historical and theological roots and its biblical basis in the Book of Acts.
This chapter focuses on the origins of Pentecostalism, giving special attention to its early twentieth-century historical and theological roots and its biblical basis in the Book of Acts.
Roger Glenn Robins
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195165913
- eISBN:
- 9780199835454
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195165918.003.0015
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
On January 11, 1907, the General Assembly of Tomlinson’s Union Grove congregation decided to call themselves the “Church of God”. By this time, Tomlinson had accepted the principle of Pentecostal ...
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On January 11, 1907, the General Assembly of Tomlinson’s Union Grove congregation decided to call themselves the “Church of God”. By this time, Tomlinson had accepted the principle of Pentecostal baptism and began orienting his services more specifically along “pentecostal lines”. Pentecostalism had only begun to coalesce, evolving from an amorphous subculture within holiness into a nascent movement of its own distinguished by speaking in other tongues and the meaning it attributed to that experience. Glossolalia had become the catalyst and differentiating feature of an aggressive new force in American life.Less
On January 11, 1907, the General Assembly of Tomlinson’s Union Grove congregation decided to call themselves the “Church of God”. By this time, Tomlinson had accepted the principle of Pentecostal baptism and began orienting his services more specifically along “pentecostal lines”. Pentecostalism had only begun to coalesce, evolving from an amorphous subculture within holiness into a nascent movement of its own distinguished by speaking in other tongues and the meaning it attributed to that experience. Glossolalia had become the catalyst and differentiating feature of an aggressive new force in American life.
Michel de Certeau, Luce Giard, and Michael B. Smith
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226209135
- eISBN:
- 9780226209272
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226209272.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
Setting out from two definitions of glossolalia, Certeau radicalizes that concept by contrast with statements of meaning. “Noises,” sounds themselves, detached from meaning, characterize glossolalia. ...
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Setting out from two definitions of glossolalia, Certeau radicalizes that concept by contrast with statements of meaning. “Noises,” sounds themselves, detached from meaning, characterize glossolalia. It is an “atopia” of language, outside the walls of language, a saying that is not a saying of anything. Is it the voice of the spirit? John of the Cross calls the spirit “el que habla,” that which speaks. Certeau distinguishes two glossolalic types: a primary type (religious) that moves from a not-being-able-to-say to a being-able-to-say via a being-able-not-to-say; and a secondary type (poetic, playful, sometimes pathological) that deconstructs articulate speech in favor of a sonorous freedom. The former type has a kinship with tears, a non-discursive expressivity; the latter with laughter. Pfister’s psychoanalytic and Saussure’s linguistic approach both take the bait of glossolalia: luring reason into its own mania of “making sense.” Glossolalia is origin and end, a before and an after discourse.Less
Setting out from two definitions of glossolalia, Certeau radicalizes that concept by contrast with statements of meaning. “Noises,” sounds themselves, detached from meaning, characterize glossolalia. It is an “atopia” of language, outside the walls of language, a saying that is not a saying of anything. Is it the voice of the spirit? John of the Cross calls the spirit “el que habla,” that which speaks. Certeau distinguishes two glossolalic types: a primary type (religious) that moves from a not-being-able-to-say to a being-able-to-say via a being-able-not-to-say; and a secondary type (poetic, playful, sometimes pathological) that deconstructs articulate speech in favor of a sonorous freedom. The former type has a kinship with tears, a non-discursive expressivity; the latter with laughter. Pfister’s psychoanalytic and Saussure’s linguistic approach both take the bait of glossolalia: luring reason into its own mania of “making sense.” Glossolalia is origin and end, a before and an after discourse.
James Grande
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780226670188
- eISBN:
- 9780226670218
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226670218.003.0008
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
In accounts of voice and vocality in early nineteenth-century London, two dominant narratives emerge. If one concerns political representation—having, or finding, a voice, in an age of petitions, ...
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In accounts of voice and vocality in early nineteenth-century London, two dominant narratives emerge. If one concerns political representation—having, or finding, a voice, in an age of petitions, protests, and parliamentary reform—the other revolves around a new set of claims that were being made for the idealized voices of high art. This chapter, however, focuses on some alternative accounts of listening and speaking, which disrupt the narratives of Romanticism and reform and challenge our sense of London’s nineteenth-century modernity. It takes its cue from Charles Lamb’s 1821 essay “A Chapter on Ears,” an anguished response to new attitudes towards musical listening which reflects Lamb’s background in the culture of Protestant dissent. It then turns to the 1822 arrival of the celebrity preacher Edward Irving, who quickly became one of the most talked about, listened to, captivating voices in London. The two are linked through the figure of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, a submerged presence in Lamb’s essay and a close friend and mentor to Irving. These heterodox histories, of frustrated listening, charismatic oratory, and—finally—of inspired speech, or glossolalia, suggest the persistence of some residual regimes of voice, which now seem strangely proleptic of our own religious present.Less
In accounts of voice and vocality in early nineteenth-century London, two dominant narratives emerge. If one concerns political representation—having, or finding, a voice, in an age of petitions, protests, and parliamentary reform—the other revolves around a new set of claims that were being made for the idealized voices of high art. This chapter, however, focuses on some alternative accounts of listening and speaking, which disrupt the narratives of Romanticism and reform and challenge our sense of London’s nineteenth-century modernity. It takes its cue from Charles Lamb’s 1821 essay “A Chapter on Ears,” an anguished response to new attitudes towards musical listening which reflects Lamb’s background in the culture of Protestant dissent. It then turns to the 1822 arrival of the celebrity preacher Edward Irving, who quickly became one of the most talked about, listened to, captivating voices in London. The two are linked through the figure of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, a submerged presence in Lamb’s essay and a close friend and mentor to Irving. These heterodox histories, of frustrated listening, charismatic oratory, and—finally—of inspired speech, or glossolalia, suggest the persistence of some residual regimes of voice, which now seem strangely proleptic of our own religious present.
Lionel Laborie
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780719089886
- eISBN:
- 9781526104007
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719089886.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
Chapter 3 explores the French Prophets’ system of beliefs against the backdrop of contemporary denominations in an attempt to understand their spiritual appeal to an English audience. It explores ...
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Chapter 3 explores the French Prophets’ system of beliefs against the backdrop of contemporary denominations in an attempt to understand their spiritual appeal to an English audience. It explores England’s long millenarian tradition before the Camisards found refuge in London. Their emphasis on religious experience (spirit possession, prophecy, gift of tongues, miracles, dreams and visions) over doctrinal boundaries enabled the French Prophets, and enthusiasts more generally, to appeal to all denominations alike. Their ecumenical ambition to reconcile Judaeo-Christian denominations into a Universal Church has been misunderstood as a form of sectarianism. This chapter argues on the contrary, that enthusiasm, as a religious experience, was ecumenical and irenic, that is the opposite of religious dissent.Less
Chapter 3 explores the French Prophets’ system of beliefs against the backdrop of contemporary denominations in an attempt to understand their spiritual appeal to an English audience. It explores England’s long millenarian tradition before the Camisards found refuge in London. Their emphasis on religious experience (spirit possession, prophecy, gift of tongues, miracles, dreams and visions) over doctrinal boundaries enabled the French Prophets, and enthusiasts more generally, to appeal to all denominations alike. Their ecumenical ambition to reconcile Judaeo-Christian denominations into a Universal Church has been misunderstood as a form of sectarianism. This chapter argues on the contrary, that enthusiasm, as a religious experience, was ecumenical and irenic, that is the opposite of religious dissent.
Nicholas Harkness
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- January 2022
- ISBN:
- 9780226749389
- eISBN:
- 9780226749556
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226749556.003.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Asian Cultural Anthropology
This book is a study of glossolalia and its problematic relation to language. Using ethnographic data from South Korea, where Christians across Protestant denominations regularly speak in tongues, ...
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This book is a study of glossolalia and its problematic relation to language. Using ethnographic data from South Korea, where Christians across Protestant denominations regularly speak in tongues, the author aims to explain how and why an experience of language is produced through processes of its own negation. In contemporary Christian traditions of speaking in tongues, glossolalia is an explicitly linguistic type of involvement with the deity. Glossolalia is culturally intelligible as a kind of speech because its speech forms are unintelligible—denotationally unintelligible. Christian speech behavior becomes glossolalia when it suppresses the denotational function of language, targeting and rupturing the semantico-referential processes that link linguistic forms to denotata. The causes of glossolalia are complex, but its most obvious effect can be put simply. While many recognize glossolalia as an act of saying, few can answer the question, “What is being said?”Less
This book is a study of glossolalia and its problematic relation to language. Using ethnographic data from South Korea, where Christians across Protestant denominations regularly speak in tongues, the author aims to explain how and why an experience of language is produced through processes of its own negation. In contemporary Christian traditions of speaking in tongues, glossolalia is an explicitly linguistic type of involvement with the deity. Glossolalia is culturally intelligible as a kind of speech because its speech forms are unintelligible—denotationally unintelligible. Christian speech behavior becomes glossolalia when it suppresses the denotational function of language, targeting and rupturing the semantico-referential processes that link linguistic forms to denotata. The causes of glossolalia are complex, but its most obvious effect can be put simply. While many recognize glossolalia as an act of saying, few can answer the question, “What is being said?”
Edward Scheer
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748635030
- eISBN:
- 9780748652587
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748635030.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
This chapter focuses on Gilles Deleuze's concept of body without organs (BWO), the Deleuzian idea which resonates most powerfully as a concept for and of performance. It provides a detailed retelling ...
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This chapter focuses on Gilles Deleuze's concept of body without organs (BWO), the Deleuzian idea which resonates most powerfully as a concept for and of performance. It provides a detailed retelling of the radio program To have done with the judgement of God, from which Deleuze borrowed the notion of BWO, and suggests that this work and Antonin Artaud's oeuvre as a whole, should not be interpreted as merely symptomatic of schizophrenic experience. It contends that Artaud actively develops a glossolalia beyond everyday language in order to destratify the bodies of his listeners.Less
This chapter focuses on Gilles Deleuze's concept of body without organs (BWO), the Deleuzian idea which resonates most powerfully as a concept for and of performance. It provides a detailed retelling of the radio program To have done with the judgement of God, from which Deleuze borrowed the notion of BWO, and suggests that this work and Antonin Artaud's oeuvre as a whole, should not be interpreted as merely symptomatic of schizophrenic experience. It contends that Artaud actively develops a glossolalia beyond everyday language in order to destratify the bodies of his listeners.
Ralph W. Hood Jr. and W. Paul Williamson
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520231474
- eISBN:
- 9780520942714
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520231474.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies
This chapter focuses on the socio psychological dynamics of trance states that have been long associated with the practice of various Pentecostal signs—including glossolalia and serpent handling. ...
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This chapter focuses on the socio psychological dynamics of trance states that have been long associated with the practice of various Pentecostal signs—including glossolalia and serpent handling. Trance states are necessary for those who handle either by “faith” or by “anointing.” The major efforts to explain trance states have been physiological. Trance states were found to involve an increased heart rate lowered levels of adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol; and higher levels of beta-endorphins that persisted even after the trance experience ended. Studies focusing on trance states among serpent-handling churches have been limited; there is an abundance of research on Pentecostal groups that link trance with tongues speaking. The combination of contextual cues and physiological dissociation that is likely to interact to explain tongues speaking is also likely to interact to explain handlingLess
This chapter focuses on the socio psychological dynamics of trance states that have been long associated with the practice of various Pentecostal signs—including glossolalia and serpent handling. Trance states are necessary for those who handle either by “faith” or by “anointing.” The major efforts to explain trance states have been physiological. Trance states were found to involve an increased heart rate lowered levels of adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol; and higher levels of beta-endorphins that persisted even after the trance experience ended. Studies focusing on trance states among serpent-handling churches have been limited; there is an abundance of research on Pentecostal groups that link trance with tongues speaking. The combination of contextual cues and physiological dissociation that is likely to interact to explain tongues speaking is also likely to interact to explain handling
Quincy D. Newell
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- March 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780199338665
- eISBN:
- 9780190932176
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199338665.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Jane Manning experienced the gift of tongues shortly after her conversion, an event she took as a confirmation of her decision to join the Mormons. The rest of the Manning family appears to have ...
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Jane Manning experienced the gift of tongues shortly after her conversion, an event she took as a confirmation of her decision to join the Mormons. The rest of the Manning family appears to have converted to Mormonism after her and, together with white converts from the area, they all left Connecticut for Nauvoo, Illinois, under the direction of LDS missionary Charles Wesley Wandell. The practice of racial segregation on boats and railways meant that for much, if not all, of their journey from Connecticut to New York City and then up the Hudson River and west on the Erie Canal, the black and white members of the group were separated from one another. At some point during the trip, the black members of the group were refused further passage, so the Mannings walked the rest of the way. Jane’s memory of this portion of the journey emphasized God’s providence. When they arrived in Nauvoo, they found a bustling city that was struggling to accommodate newly arrived converts, many of whom were poor and vulnerable to the diseases that plagued the city.Less
Jane Manning experienced the gift of tongues shortly after her conversion, an event she took as a confirmation of her decision to join the Mormons. The rest of the Manning family appears to have converted to Mormonism after her and, together with white converts from the area, they all left Connecticut for Nauvoo, Illinois, under the direction of LDS missionary Charles Wesley Wandell. The practice of racial segregation on boats and railways meant that for much, if not all, of their journey from Connecticut to New York City and then up the Hudson River and west on the Erie Canal, the black and white members of the group were separated from one another. At some point during the trip, the black members of the group were refused further passage, so the Mannings walked the rest of the way. Jane’s memory of this portion of the journey emphasized God’s providence. When they arrived in Nauvoo, they found a bustling city that was struggling to accommodate newly arrived converts, many of whom were poor and vulnerable to the diseases that plagued the city.
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226306629
- eISBN:
- 9780226306759
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226306759.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
There are many different varieties of Conservative Christians, some of them often locked in combat with others. Perhaps the largest of the subgroups are the Pentecostals whose distinguishing ...
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There are many different varieties of Conservative Christians, some of them often locked in combat with others. Perhaps the largest of the subgroups are the Pentecostals whose distinguishing characteristic is their emphasis on direct contact with the Holy Spirit and resulting glossolalia—speaking in tongues often in a state of trance or quasi trance. This chapter examines whether the charismatic experience itself or the greater belief in the Bible among the Pentecostals—or perhaps some combination thereof—will explain why the Pentecostals seem to be the super-Conservative Christians.Less
There are many different varieties of Conservative Christians, some of them often locked in combat with others. Perhaps the largest of the subgroups are the Pentecostals whose distinguishing characteristic is their emphasis on direct contact with the Holy Spirit and resulting glossolalia—speaking in tongues often in a state of trance or quasi trance. This chapter examines whether the charismatic experience itself or the greater belief in the Bible among the Pentecostals—or perhaps some combination thereof—will explain why the Pentecostals seem to be the super-Conservative Christians.
Ashon T. Crawley
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780823274543
- eISBN:
- 9780823274598
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823274543.003.0005
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sociology of Religion
This chapter analyses a distinction within theological studies between xenolalia and glossolalia. The distinction is important to consider because one—xenolalia—operates through settler colonial ...
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This chapter analyses a distinction within theological studies between xenolalia and glossolalia. The distinction is important to consider because one—xenolalia—operates through settler colonial logics, discarding the noise of the Other. Written in the service of privileging glossolalia, the chapter explicates how the university—a space of pedagogy—needs to radically reorient itself in terms of relations to objects of knowledge.Less
This chapter analyses a distinction within theological studies between xenolalia and glossolalia. The distinction is important to consider because one—xenolalia—operates through settler colonial logics, discarding the noise of the Other. Written in the service of privileging glossolalia, the chapter explicates how the university—a space of pedagogy—needs to radically reorient itself in terms of relations to objects of knowledge.
Laurence A. Rickels
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780816675951
- eISBN:
- 9781452947167
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Minnesota Press
- DOI:
- 10.5749/minnesota/9780816675951.003.0005
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
This chapter discusses Antonin Artaud’s idea of modern hieroglyphics. For Artaud, the object of departure of the whole magical and philosophical system of ancient Egypt, on which he bases his ...
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This chapter discusses Antonin Artaud’s idea of modern hieroglyphics. For Artaud, the object of departure of the whole magical and philosophical system of ancient Egypt, on which he bases his conception of a new, hieroglyphic theater of cruelty, was that niche in which the pharaoh’s corpse rested, just as the very condition for this entire system was the corpse itself. The global system of waste products to which Artaud succumbed was for him a vast hieroglyphic system in which he was the cornerstone corpse whose antechamber was the asylum. Artaud’s own late poetry is inscribed within a syllabic sign system he identifies as hieroglyphics. He introduced a language of sheer stammer, a language of invented words, which was actually recognizable only as the product of glossolalia.Less
This chapter discusses Antonin Artaud’s idea of modern hieroglyphics. For Artaud, the object of departure of the whole magical and philosophical system of ancient Egypt, on which he bases his conception of a new, hieroglyphic theater of cruelty, was that niche in which the pharaoh’s corpse rested, just as the very condition for this entire system was the corpse itself. The global system of waste products to which Artaud succumbed was for him a vast hieroglyphic system in which he was the cornerstone corpse whose antechamber was the asylum. Artaud’s own late poetry is inscribed within a syllabic sign system he identifies as hieroglyphics. He introduced a language of sheer stammer, a language of invented words, which was actually recognizable only as the product of glossolalia.
Jon Bialecki
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520294202
- eISBN:
- 9780520967410
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520294202.003.0007
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Anthropology, Religion
This chapter transitions from language to concerns about embodiment and bodily boundaries, as it ethnographically depicts and addresses speaking in tongues (also known as glossolalia), healing, and ...
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This chapter transitions from language to concerns about embodiment and bodily boundaries, as it ethnographically depicts and addresses speaking in tongues (also known as glossolalia), healing, and demonic attack as instances of the diagrammatic miraculous. It concludes by arguing that demonic attack is a potential involution of the charismatic diagram, where the relation between constituent elements of the diagram become indistinct, and where the force of surprised becomes associated with willful or unwilling forces, instead of catalyzing willing forces.Less
This chapter transitions from language to concerns about embodiment and bodily boundaries, as it ethnographically depicts and addresses speaking in tongues (also known as glossolalia), healing, and demonic attack as instances of the diagrammatic miraculous. It concludes by arguing that demonic attack is a potential involution of the charismatic diagram, where the relation between constituent elements of the diagram become indistinct, and where the force of surprised becomes associated with willful or unwilling forces, instead of catalyzing willing forces.
Colby Dickinson
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780823272839
- eISBN:
- 9780823272884
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823272839.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
The third chapter, in many ways, extends this trajectory of thought into a dialogue with the work of the Italian theorist Giorgio Agamben. Beginning with his characterization of a “scission” within ...
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The third chapter, in many ways, extends this trajectory of thought into a dialogue with the work of the Italian theorist Giorgio Agamben. Beginning with his characterization of a “scission” within language that posits philosophy as that which can know its object without possessing it and poetry as that which can possess it without knowing it, this chapter demonstrates how his earlier work on poetry maintains a necessary correlation with his later philosophical and theo-political writings. In this context, I explore his development of a poetic “atheology” that is a sort of materialist metaphysics, the potential last refuge of meaning in an otherwise nihilistic world—one that contains dire implications for the fields of poetry, philosophy, and theology. The establishment of poetry as a last refuge of meaning over and against the “destruction of experience” in the modern era is a bold claim to be sure, expressing Agamben’s attempt to reformulate the possibility for meaning to emerge beyond its inscription in language, as well as the conditions under which theology could be understood as a profane endeavor that tries to speak to this situation of human existence.Less
The third chapter, in many ways, extends this trajectory of thought into a dialogue with the work of the Italian theorist Giorgio Agamben. Beginning with his characterization of a “scission” within language that posits philosophy as that which can know its object without possessing it and poetry as that which can possess it without knowing it, this chapter demonstrates how his earlier work on poetry maintains a necessary correlation with his later philosophical and theo-political writings. In this context, I explore his development of a poetic “atheology” that is a sort of materialist metaphysics, the potential last refuge of meaning in an otherwise nihilistic world—one that contains dire implications for the fields of poetry, philosophy, and theology. The establishment of poetry as a last refuge of meaning over and against the “destruction of experience” in the modern era is a bold claim to be sure, expressing Agamben’s attempt to reformulate the possibility for meaning to emerge beyond its inscription in language, as well as the conditions under which theology could be understood as a profane endeavor that tries to speak to this situation of human existence.
Margaret M. Poloma and John C. Green
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814767832
- eISBN:
- 9780814768396
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814767832.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter discusses Pentecostal spiritual transformation with a focus on Spirit baptism and speaking/praying in tongues. In the Assemblies of God (AG), Spirit baptism with the initial physical ...
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This chapter discusses Pentecostal spiritual transformation with a focus on Spirit baptism and speaking/praying in tongues. In the Assemblies of God (AG), Spirit baptism with the initial physical evidence of speaking in tongues, is the key transformative experience and is central to Pentecostal identity. Scholarly research on glossolalia and AG congregational data are used to explore the meaning and practice of speaking in tongues for congregants and its relationship to other embodied religious experiences found in revivals. Of particular significance is the relationship of embodied experiences, including glossolalia, and the experience of Godly Love. It is shown that Spirit baptism is more than simply a one-time experience of speaking in tongues. Rather it is an ongoing process of spiritual transformation intertwined with other charismata.Less
This chapter discusses Pentecostal spiritual transformation with a focus on Spirit baptism and speaking/praying in tongues. In the Assemblies of God (AG), Spirit baptism with the initial physical evidence of speaking in tongues, is the key transformative experience and is central to Pentecostal identity. Scholarly research on glossolalia and AG congregational data are used to explore the meaning and practice of speaking in tongues for congregants and its relationship to other embodied religious experiences found in revivals. Of particular significance is the relationship of embodied experiences, including glossolalia, and the experience of Godly Love. It is shown that Spirit baptism is more than simply a one-time experience of speaking in tongues. Rather it is an ongoing process of spiritual transformation intertwined with other charismata.
Mae G. Henderson
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- August 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780195116595
- eISBN:
- 9780199375219
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195116595.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, African-American Literature, Women's Literature
To overcome the assumption of internal identity(homogeneity) and repression of internal differences (heterogeneity) in reading black women’s literature, this chapter proposes a theory of ...
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To overcome the assumption of internal identity(homogeneity) and repression of internal differences (heterogeneity) in reading black women’s literature, this chapter proposes a theory of interpretation based on the “simultaneity of discourse” and “discursive diversity”— signifying the unique ability of black women writers to enter into contestorial and testimonial and discourse with black men, white women, white men, and black women. This tradition is dialogic and interlocutory in that it privileges “otherness” by giving voice to the Other(s) within the Self. Drawing on Bakhtin and Gadamer, the chapter develops the notions of discursive difference (heteroglossia) and identity (glossolalia) while reconstructing the scriptural notion of “speaking in tongues,” a term specifically linked with the practices of the black Holiness Sanctified Church, as a theoretical concept that is culturally specific to a black and female literary tradition. The chapter concludes by proposing that black feminist critics are charged with the hermeneutical task of interpreting tongues.Less
To overcome the assumption of internal identity(homogeneity) and repression of internal differences (heterogeneity) in reading black women’s literature, this chapter proposes a theory of interpretation based on the “simultaneity of discourse” and “discursive diversity”— signifying the unique ability of black women writers to enter into contestorial and testimonial and discourse with black men, white women, white men, and black women. This tradition is dialogic and interlocutory in that it privileges “otherness” by giving voice to the Other(s) within the Self. Drawing on Bakhtin and Gadamer, the chapter develops the notions of discursive difference (heteroglossia) and identity (glossolalia) while reconstructing the scriptural notion of “speaking in tongues,” a term specifically linked with the practices of the black Holiness Sanctified Church, as a theoretical concept that is culturally specific to a black and female literary tradition. The chapter concludes by proposing that black feminist critics are charged with the hermeneutical task of interpreting tongues.
Savio Abreu
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780190120696
- eISBN:
- 9780199099863
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190120696.003.0006
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sociology of Religion
This chapter analyses life-cycle rituals of the neo-Pentecostals such as birth, marriage, priesthood, and death in the light of notions of the Born-Again Christian community being elevated to a ...
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This chapter analyses life-cycle rituals of the neo-Pentecostals such as birth, marriage, priesthood, and death in the light of notions of the Born-Again Christian community being elevated to a spiritual community of believers, elevated from its biological and kinship moorings. The creation of a distinct Charismatic habitus has led to the life-cycle rituals differing from the biological clock and from other religious traditions. The rite of baptism that includes water baptism, baptism in the Spirit, and the practice of glossolalia is explained as a bridge-burning act for the new convert, who severs all ties with his or her old community and publicly declares allegiance to the new faith. The neo-Pentecostals connect birth with death through the notion of baptism being a funeral service. Priesthood in both the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) and neo-Pentecostalism is based on the patriarchal notion of only men becoming pastors and is supported with scriptural sanction.Less
This chapter analyses life-cycle rituals of the neo-Pentecostals such as birth, marriage, priesthood, and death in the light of notions of the Born-Again Christian community being elevated to a spiritual community of believers, elevated from its biological and kinship moorings. The creation of a distinct Charismatic habitus has led to the life-cycle rituals differing from the biological clock and from other religious traditions. The rite of baptism that includes water baptism, baptism in the Spirit, and the practice of glossolalia is explained as a bridge-burning act for the new convert, who severs all ties with his or her old community and publicly declares allegiance to the new faith. The neo-Pentecostals connect birth with death through the notion of baptism being a funeral service. Priesthood in both the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) and neo-Pentecostalism is based on the patriarchal notion of only men becoming pastors and is supported with scriptural sanction.
Samuel Morris Brown
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- June 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780190054236
- eISBN:
- 9780190054267
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190054236.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
The Latter-day Saint Book of Abraham is an excellent test case for understanding Smith’s complementary modes of translation. Both insiders and outsiders have used a narrow linguistic model to ...
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The Latter-day Saint Book of Abraham is an excellent test case for understanding Smith’s complementary modes of translation. Both insiders and outsiders have used a narrow linguistic model to understand Smith’s encounter with ancient Egyptian papyri he purchased in Ohio in 1835. But, according to the logic of early Mormon thought, the translation problems at hand were metaphysical as well as linguistic. The written texts of Smith’s Egyptian project were a subset of the spiritual gift of glossolalia, in this case graphic glossolalia. This spiritual gift generated an Egyptian Bible that became central to the Nauvoo temple liturgy, which served as the ritual infrastructure of Smith’s Chain of Belonging (his recasting of the traditional Chain of Being). The Egyptian Bible was thus an important example of the metaphysics of translation and the connective tissue between Smith’s early scriptures and the ultimate ritual system that merged humans and texts.Less
The Latter-day Saint Book of Abraham is an excellent test case for understanding Smith’s complementary modes of translation. Both insiders and outsiders have used a narrow linguistic model to understand Smith’s encounter with ancient Egyptian papyri he purchased in Ohio in 1835. But, according to the logic of early Mormon thought, the translation problems at hand were metaphysical as well as linguistic. The written texts of Smith’s Egyptian project were a subset of the spiritual gift of glossolalia, in this case graphic glossolalia. This spiritual gift generated an Egyptian Bible that became central to the Nauvoo temple liturgy, which served as the ritual infrastructure of Smith’s Chain of Belonging (his recasting of the traditional Chain of Being). The Egyptian Bible was thus an important example of the metaphysics of translation and the connective tissue between Smith’s early scriptures and the ultimate ritual system that merged humans and texts.
Terryl L. Givens
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- June 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199794935
- eISBN:
- 9780190657864
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199794935.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
Mormons believe that spiritual gifts must be in evidence in the true church and cited them frequently as evidence of a divinely sanctioned “restoration” of the gospel. Even many contemporary ...
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Mormons believe that spiritual gifts must be in evidence in the true church and cited them frequently as evidence of a divinely sanctioned “restoration” of the gospel. Even many contemporary Restorationists broke with Mormons on the question of cessationism. Early Mormon charismata were tamed by revelation urging rational standards. Mormons continue to hold revelation—direct communication from God—as a fundamental tenet, with the institutional and the personal sometimes in tension. Visions and prophecies are affirmed in principle but less frequent in the modern church. Healing has largely been relegated to a priesthood ordinance. Speaking in unknown tongues (glossolalia) is almost unheard of today, and xenoglossia is interpreted as a spiritual assist to missionaries in foreign lands. Discernment is similarly understood in non-charismatic ways, and exorcism has largely faded.Less
Mormons believe that spiritual gifts must be in evidence in the true church and cited them frequently as evidence of a divinely sanctioned “restoration” of the gospel. Even many contemporary Restorationists broke with Mormons on the question of cessationism. Early Mormon charismata were tamed by revelation urging rational standards. Mormons continue to hold revelation—direct communication from God—as a fundamental tenet, with the institutional and the personal sometimes in tension. Visions and prophecies are affirmed in principle but less frequent in the modern church. Healing has largely been relegated to a priesthood ordinance. Speaking in unknown tongues (glossolalia) is almost unheard of today, and xenoglossia is interpreted as a spiritual assist to missionaries in foreign lands. Discernment is similarly understood in non-charismatic ways, and exorcism has largely faded.