PART TWO OF FOUR-PART SERIES OF REV HOWARD C BURNHAM’S DEBATE AGAINST REV E PARKER BUCK’S POSITON BOOKLET “THE UNKNOWN TONGUE THEORY.”
THESE NOTES WERE RECENTLY FOUND IN A BOX WHEN NOLAN’S MOTHER MOVED OUT OF THEIR FAMILY HOME.
It is with great enthusiasm and excitement that I prayerfully decided to take my grandfather’s notes and put them into a four-part series for hopefully the illumination of thousands of readers around the world.
It was my grandfather’s experience that he spoke about to my parents when I was a young boy that allowed my heart to be open to this powerful truth when a young woman in Jacksonville Florida, began to tell me about this glorious experience in God.
There are millions in this world that like Acts chapter 18 says “knowing only the baptism of John“. I was one of those believers. I desired more of God in my life, and because of my grandfather‘s pioneering efforts and bold decision to leave behind what for so many was a “good enough Christianity“ to embrace the “MORE” that God has for every disciple of Jesus Christ who wants to be empowered by the Spirit of God in a way that’s more wonderful than they could’ve ever imagined.
It’s for that purpose that I gladly took on the responsibility of transcribing my grandfather‘s notes and making them available as an author to the world at large who may by God’s design have the opportunity to read them”
TO GOD BE THE GLORY!
Author/ Journalist Nolan J Harkness
Grandson of Rev. Howard C Burnham
www.verticalsound.org
Then what happened really shook up those Jews, proselytes, and Gentiles and paved the way for Peter’s sermon and further conviction. They were dumbfounded and wanted to know what was going on.
Please remember that Judea was among the other nations represented. This word “Judea” furnishes another key problem at hand. The theologians and commentators are stumped when they come to that word. They know perfectly well that they didn’t need to speak in tongues for the Judeans to understand them, so they know that there is something wrong here, but they don’t know what. They apparently didn’t even see that piece “Judea”. It just doesn’t fit because they have their wrong mental picture-propagating the gospel. When we pick up 2 or three pieces that don’t fit into our mental picture, we had better think about changing our picture. Now since they were speaking in the native tongues of the various nations, they were also speaking in the native Hebrew tongue of Judea. No, they didn’t have to speak in foreign tongues to make them understand. It was to edify, convict, and serve as a pattern. The Greek tongue was universal and no doubt the Aramaic was quite intensive. We never hear of the apostles needing an interpreter throughout the Empire.
Now remember that the 120 were speaking in every tongue, involved, but their own which were Greek and Aramaic. Most people knew from 2 to 4 tongues. (Referring here to languages) Some said they were drunk. Here is where the unknown tongue comes in, and another key as to what happened at Pentecost. Certainly, the ones that heard
them speak in their native tongues would not have said they were drunk then who was it? Remember that they’re speaking in every tongue, involved, but their own which was Greek and Aramaic. The Aramaic tongue comes from Syria, consequently, the people of Greece and Syria hearing them speak might think that they were drunk because they couldn’t understand them. This is further substantiated by the fact that Greece and Syria were not mentioned along with the other nations. Not just a coincidence, for Greece, was one of the most important of them all, and Syria, being the home of the Aramaic language, would be very important also. Now I am sure that unknown tongues were involved right on the day of Pentecost, because the Apostles and the people of Greece and Syria had a common tongue, therefore the Greeks and Syrians could not understand them, because they spoke in the other native tongues. Every piece of the puzzle picture that I have presented you to fits right into place. Here at Pentecost, you have an example of known and unknown tongues at the same time. So you see it depends upon the listeners as to whether it is understood or not understood. Of course, the Pentecostal people may claim That there is such a thing as an unknown tongue, that is that there is an angelic tongue or a “new tongue” that does not exist in the world. If so, I don’t think that would alter the picture any, except no one could understand them without an interpreter.
Known tongues at Pentecost edified the speakers, served as a pattern and convicted the listeners. Unknown tongues caused some to say they were drunk and perhaps mad.
In the Corinthian Church, it edified the speakers and also the listeners if interpreted, but if not interpreted they should keep still in the church because it only caused confusion. If the unknown tongue was interpreted, it was equal to one who prophesied.
But at the house of Cornelius and at the scene of the 12 men at Ephesus we have something different. Here it was the (listeners) (underline listeners) who spoke in tongues and were edified and glorified God, and for no other apparent reason except to serve as a pattern, which Peter mentioned. Their tongues were probably unknown to Peter but Paul, knowing more tongues than he, may have understood some of the tongues spoken by the 12. In either case, there is no mention of their going on to the streets to speak in tongues but rather they were soon engaged in water baptism in the case of Cornelius and his company, but the 12 were baptized before
They spoke in tongues. The supernatural gift of tongues is always unknown to someone, either to the speaker or to the hearer or both. In the latter case, if in a church service, it must be interpreted, otherwise he should keep still and exercise the unknown tongue to himself and God. The gift of tongues, on the day of Pentecost, house of Cornelius and a Ephesus, were unknown to the speakers, if not unknown then they were speaking in their conventional tongue.
Now for direct comments on your booklet, first the five by Rev. Nicholson he states: “That some argue that unknown tongues are an infallible proof of the baptism with the Holy Ghost. He should have included just plain tongues also as a proof. But of course, as stated above I do not agree with their teaching on this point. While perhaps, Rev. Buch is speaking primarily of unknown tongues, yet he also deals with known tongues.
*Side note. Howard C Burnham seemed to address a Rev. Buch in his notes, but his handwriting is not clear enough to discern if he was going to a third person reference to Rev Buck again or this was a different person with a similar name.
So, I shall include both in this discussion and I assume that Rev. Nicholson does too when he speaks of “this modernism.”
Speaking in tongues is not modernism, it has been manifested off and on her since the day of Pentecost. I have quoted from Chrysostom and Augustine on this subject, and I could quote many others since the day of the Apostles. In the diary of Thomas Walsh, one of Wesley’s foremost preachers, on March 8th, 1750, the record states “This morning the Lord gave me a language that I knew not of raising my soul to Him in a wonderful manner.” In the “History of the Christian Church” by Phillip Schaff, Volume 1 page 237 of the edition of 1882, he speaks of tongues among the Camisards prophets of the Cevennes in France, early Quakers and Methodist, Readers in Sweden 1841-1843, Irish revival in 1859, Catholic Apostolic Church 1831-1833. Etc.
Side notes not by Howard. See the history of the Camisards online Wikipedia notes
See St John Chrysostom Archbishop of Constantinople 347-407 AD
SEE ARTICLES NUMBER ONE, THREE, AND FOUR FOR A COMPLETE TRANSCRIPTION OF HOWARD C BURNHAM’S NOTES AN ORIGINAL COPY OF HIS HANDWRITTEN NOTES ARE AVAILABLE ON REQUEST.
Rev. Howard C Burnham was born in 1898 in Bentley Creek Pennsylvania. He lived out his faith in a loving and very practical way touching countless people in his lifetime. He was best known for his love for nature and was very much a naturalist and a sportsman. He grew a large portion of the produce that became much of his family’s food source. He remained a picture of health until a rare blood disease took him at 81 years old.
He was so loved that everyone in his hometown area had stories to tell of his many acts of kindness that he showed through the years.
He spent much of his latter years telling of his Pentecostal experiences to his family and acquaintances. Sadly the telling of his experiences were not well received.
He went to be with his Savior in 1979 people agreed at his funeral that they never remember him saying a bad word personally about anyone his whole life.
A large stone in his memory is engraved on the wall of Bentley Creek Wesleyan Church. Rev Howard C Burnham who would never had used his rightful title, was truly a man of God who was dearly loved by untold people throughout his lifetime!