Pentecost: Language Speaks to Spirituality

Post Author: Rune Marie Nielsen

I’ve always felt closer to God when reading the Bible in Danish. However, I’m not a native speaker; I was born in the US to a family from Denmark and Norway. After my grandparents passed away, some of my relatives were baffled about why I would continue learning Danish. After all, there are only 11 million Danish speakers worldwide, which is 2 million less than the population of New York City, London, or Hong Kong. Furthermore, by the time most Danes graduate from high school, they are completely fluent in English, eliminating the need for Danish-English translators. 

So, why is learning Danish a lifetime endeavor for me? To me, it is more than an academic practice. It’s a spiritual connection to my Danish culture, both past and present. I imagine what it must have been like for my ancestors long ago when they first read the words of a Bible in their own language. Suddenly, the Bible was not a foreign book to them but a revelation they could claim for their own culture.

Each year on Pentecost, I am reminded that a spiritual attachment to language is actually a persistent theme in our Christian faith. Amazingly, Pentecost has roots in a sacred tale from a time even more ancient than the eras we know of in history books. The story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) is a very sad one; humanity has selfish ambitions to build a great tower for their own glory. To teach them a lesson, God makes all of the people unable to understand each other. But all is not lost for communication among different groups of people. Over a thousand years later, God reversed that separation between diverse ethnicities at Pentecost, temporarily enabling the individuals present to understand foreign words in their own languages. A total of 16 different ethnicities are mentioned as being among the “devout Jews from every people under heaven living in Jerusalem” who were participating (Acts 2:5-13).

It should come as no surprise that the Bible, the most translated book in all of history, shows that scripture is intended for every language and culture. Pentecost breaks the prejudiced belief that one language and culture is more important than others. Instead of forcing all people present to speak and understand one language, the Holy Spirit translates messages from other languages for each person. They can then communicate as friends who understand each other. As the scholar Catherine Gonzalez writes, “whereas in Babel unity gave way to confusion, in Pentecost that confusion was overcome by unity.” Furthermore, “What is new about Pentecost is that God blesses every language on earth as a means for divine revelation, and makes communication possible even while preserving the integrity of languages and cultures.”

Pentecost teaches us that every culture is treasured in God’s kingdom. I’ve seen this truth myself. In a Hong Kong bookstore, I was surprised to find a New Testament book that had every page in both the Bokmål and Nynorsk languages. Traditionally, these two Norwegian languages represent two opposing cultures: a rural one that values Norwegian language from before Danish rule and an urban one that claims modern day Norwegian is preferable for its academic structure and depth of expression. Across Norway, speakers of each language still argue about which language is more legitimate, and sometimes those conversations even turn into heated debates. The two Norwegian tongues have represented opposing groups for a long time, and yet I found these languages side by side in one New Testament book. The Bible truly speaks to every culture and can even bring them together.

Whatever language you value, hold it close and feel the words of Holy Scripture. Claim your language and let the words of the Bible claim your heart.

For more about the Babel and Pentecost connection see:

González, Catherine Gunsalus, and Justo L González. “Babel and Empire: Pentecost and Empire: Preaching on Genesis 11:1-9 and Acts 2:1-12.” Journal For Preachers 16, no. 4 (1993 1993): 22-26. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed January 21, 2016).