Why Does God Give the Baptism of the Holy Ghost?

[Sam]

Originally Posted by Edward Anglin

Friend, I have heard estimations of 700 billion people in the world who claim to have received the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues. Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, Lutherans, Presbyterians. Nearly every branch of Christendom is experiencing Holy Ghost baptism so I don't really see your point.

Funny thing is that while many of us are denying the necessity of the experience, others are hungry for it, and laying hold of God's promise. If we are not careful God will bypass us, and raise up a new generation who will preach truth.

I had heard the figure of 500 million people who claim to be Pentecostal or Charismatic. Not all who claim to be Pentecostal or Charismatic have personally spoken with tongues. They consider themselves Pentecostal or Charismatic because they believe in speaking with tongues.

[EA]

Originally Posted by Sam

I had heard the figure of 500 million people who claim to be Pentecostal or Charismatic. Not all who claim to be Pentecostal or Charismatic have personally spoken with tongues. They consider themselves Pentecostal or Charismatic because they believe in speaking with tongues.

No, I remember reading an article on glossolalia, and it claimed 700 billion had experienced it.

[TRFrance]

Originally Posted by MissBrattified

No, nor does it say that he was filled with the Holy Ghost. We don't know what happened to the eunuch, except that he "went on his way rejoicing."

I'm not saying that he didn't receive the Holy Ghost, I'm just saying you can't say that he did, without tongues, because the scripture doesn't say one way or the other. What is silent for me, is just as silent for you.

Well said.

Thank you. We dont know for sure that the eunuch got filled with the Holy Ghost, so we cant say for sure he spoke in tongues or not.

Similarly, the bible discusses Paul's conversion, but it doesnt say he spoke in tongues when he got the holy Ghost, because it doesnt describe the specific moment he got the Holy Ghost -- it just told us Ananaias went over there to pray for him to receive his sight, and receive the Holy Ghost.

Similarly, that same passage doesnt even say that Paul got water- baptized that day, although one might reasonably assume that he probably did. The fact is, much of the details of people receiving the Holy Ghost (or even being baptized) are not described in the book of Acts. So those claiming that "there are instance of people who got the Holy Ghost without speaking in tongues in the book of Acts" are trying ot make an "argument from silence". There are only 4 instances that specifically describle people receiving the Holy Ghost, (in Acts 2,8,19, &19). In three of those instances it specifically said they spoke in tongues, and in one (Acts 8) it seems likely they did, although it's not specifically stated. (It's apparent that Simon saw some kind of sign when the Samaritans received the HG, since Simon offered the apostles money for the ability to reproduce what he had just seen!)

But there are multiple other incidents that speak of people becoming believers, where their infilling of the Holy Ghost is not described in the text (One such instance would be the [Acts 18] example of Apollos being explained the gospel of Jesus, accepting it, and later becoming a strident preacher of this gospel. It's more than reasonable to assume that Apollos received the holy Ghost, but it's not described in this passage. So it would be a false argument to use his case, or similar ones, as evidence to claim that a person might NOT speak in tongues when they get the Holy Ghost. That would be an argument based not on evidence, but on absence of evidence. But absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.