SPEAKING IN TONGUES AS EMIGRATION: A SOCIAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL UNDERSTANDING OF TONGUE SPEAKING USING MIGRATION THEORY
In this article, I explore the social function of speaking in tongues using migration theory. My point of departure is that language delimits a community and defines its collective identity. The notion of speaking in tongues is a unique activity in that it is a language done in churches and it is as...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2012
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| In: |
Scriptura
Year: 2012, Volume: 110, Pages: 249-258 |
| Further subjects: | B
Space
B Migration B Tongues B Identity B Place |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | In this article, I explore the social function of speaking in tongues using migration theory. My point of departure is that language delimits a community and defines its collective identity. The notion of speaking in tongues is a unique activity in that it is a language done in churches and it is associated with the spiritual world. If the church congregants share a vernacular language outside the church, how do we fathom a phenomenon whereby they speak in a different language when in church? Does not this phenomenon presuppose an inception of a new identity and new space for collective expression? Can we say they are the same people - if not, what has changed? In this article I have developed a hypothesis that speaking in tongues, is at the core of how the church claims an alternative identity different from the larger society. We can describe the mentality as: "we are a heavenly community and we do not belong here on earth." The assumed change of space and identity can be well developed by applying migration theory. |
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| ISSN: | 2305-445X |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Scriptura
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.7833/110-0-114 |