The Nature and Function of New Testament Glossolalia

Abstract

Questions concerning the nature and function of contemporary charismatic glossolalia abound. One of the main questions which Christian interpreters have, even if it is not articulated, concerns whether con temporary and New Testament glossolalia are one and the same. This paper does not answer this question directly, but it does enable the reader to be familiar with the New Testament side of the question. It does this by providing a detailed survey of the main views within New Testament scholarship. The present author is of the opinion that glossolalia within the narrative of Acts 2, and probably the remainder of Acts, is understood by Luke to be xenolalia. Following M. Turner and C. Forbes, it is argued that Paul in I Corinthians understood glossolalia in this way, but also with the additional category of ‘angelic language’.