Heavenly Harmony

While the phenomenon of glossolalia in general has received great attention and various forms of analysis (linguistic, psychological, neurological, and so forth), the practice of corporate singing in tongues, a staple of the Azusa Street Revival, has received little attention or exploration in the literature. This article performs an audio analysis on recorded samples of corporate tongues-singing in order to identify what is happening musically when a group of people sing in tongues together. This analysis reveals several key features that recur across the recordings. Sustained prominent pitches are always present, related in the mathematical ratios of the major scale. In most instances, the pitches form both a tonic chord and dominant chord simultaneously, creating an effect of tension and resolution. These findings point toward the creative possibilities of surrendering autonomy and the deep grounding of the individual within the community and the created order.

“I Will Pour Out of My Spirit Upon All Flesh”

Scholars of Pentecostalism have recently debated pentecostal monogenesis (that is, a single origin) in contrast to polygenesis (or multiple origins). This essay examines contributions to the discussion by Allan Anderson, Michael Bergunder, Cecil Robeck, and Adam Stewart, and argues that polygenetic views find support through new evidence from pre-1900, proto- or paleo-pentecostal movements in diverse localities. Moreover, those who argue today for the importance of the Azusa Street Revival acknowledge this global complexity, and so the mono/polygenesis distinction might now be outmoded. The terminology of “Classical Pentecostalism,” in light of Bergunder’s analysis, confirms a pluralized pentecostal identity. The essay’s second, paradoxical claim is that polygenesis does not diminish the significance of the Azusa Street Revival but enhances it by underscoring the theme of “inclusive origins”—a theme presented here as a theological interpretation of pentecostal origins that builds on Walter Hollenweger’s “black origins” and Allan Anderson’s “global origins”—and yet moves a step further.