Evidential Tongues

Abstract

"The Pentecostal movement is facing an identity crisis. Any discussion of the doctrine of evidential tongues, if it is to be meaningful, must face this fact. This crisis is the product of an historical process which has been at work since the middle part of this century: the assimilation of the Pentecostal movement into mainstream Evangelicalism. This process of assimilation, although gradual and unobtrusive, has significantly impacted the theology and practice of both the Evangelical and Pentecostal movements. And, while it is the Pentecostal movement, which now finds itself at a strategic crossroads of self-definition, the direction it takes will inevitably impact the broader Evangelical world. The following essay will seek to describe the origin and nature of this self-identity crisis, outline the central questions which have emerged, particularly as they relate to evidential tongues, and suggest how Pentecostals might constructively face these challenges."