Changes

In Mark 16:17, Christ states that speaking in tongues will be one of the signs marking those who believe in Him. There have been reports of people inexplicably speaking in French or Russian, for example, yet the most common instances of modern tongues-speaking do not consist of words from a foreign but actual language such as would be spoken routinely by other people in other lands. Rather, this kind of tongues-speaking is what proponents call "angelic speech," i.e. sounds uttered while in an altered state that cannot be considered a known, human language. The two sides, therefore debate at length whether the Biblical references refer to actual languages or to ecstatic utterances or both.

In Mark 16:17, Christ states that speaking in tongues will be one of the signs marking those who believe in Him. There have been reports of people inexplicably speaking in French or Russian, for example, yet the most common instances of modern tongues-speaking do not consist of words from a foreign but actual language such as would be spoken routinely by other people in other lands. Rather, this kind of tongues-speaking is what proponents call "angelic speech," i.e. sounds uttered while in an altered state that cannot be considered a known, human language. The two sides, therefore debate at length whether the Biblical references refer to actual languages or to ecstatic utterances or both.

Christians who hold to the Biblical view of [[Cessationism]] believe that the gift of tongues was given only to the early Church, that they ceased once the Church secured a following (generally once those who personally knew the Apostles passed away, and most certainly once the final canon of the New Testament was agreed upon), and that the modern revival associated with the [[Pentecostal]] and Charismatic churches is a misinterpretation of Scripture.<ref>It should be noted that generally, despite their strong differences on the topic, Cessationalists consider Pentecostals and Charismatics to be true Christians, and vice versa.</ref> The latter groups answer that New Testament does not suggest that the gifts were to be only temporary in the life of the Church.

Christians who hold to the Biblical view of [[Cessationism]] believe that the gift of tongues was given only to the early Church, and that they ceased once the Church secured a following (generally once those who personally knew the Apostles passed away, and most certainly once the final canon of the New Testament was agreed upon); the modern revival associated with the [[Pentecostal]] and Charismatic churches is a misinterpretation of Scripture.<ref>It should be noted that generally, despite their strong differences on the topic, Cessationalists consider Pentecostals and Charismatics to be true Christians, and vice versa.</ref> The latter groups answer that New Testament does not suggest that the gifts were to be only temporary in the life of the Church.

==Further reading==

==Further reading==