What do you think?
Rate this book
Aglow With the Spirit
Romans 12:11 tells us the early church was "Aglow with the Spirit," serving the Lord. Know Him as they did! Find out why God chose tongues!
- GenresChristianity
Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
1 person is currently reading
67 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 28, 2013
***WARNING: If you want to keep your unbelief regarding the wonderful gift of tongues, stay away from this book.
"By faith we are surrendering our most unruly member, these fleshly tongues of ours, to the purifying flame of God's Holy Spirit. Whatever sounds and syllables come streaming or even stammering forth have been prompted by the Spirit even though it is very much our voice, our lips, and our tongue which He is using." - Robert C. Frost
"By faith we are surrendering our most unruly member, these fleshly tongues of ours, to the purifying flame of God's Holy Spirit. Whatever sounds and syllables come streaming or even stammering forth have been prompted by the Spirit even though it is very much our voice, our lips, and our tongue which He is using." - Robert C. Frost
December 22, 2022
A classic book that was very popular in the Charismatic Renewal of the 1970's Robert C. Frost had a delightfully engaging and humble speaking style. i read many of his books noted for their simple, direct, and humble prose. I found his work easy to understand as well as inspiring. I heard him speak a few time sat the Melodyland Christian Center of Anaheim. California in 1975. He taught a class in spiritual foundations at the Melodyland School of Theology in the Fall of 1974. He was a man of faith (Assembly of God) as well as a man of science (biologist). A delightful and articulate speaker with a gentle spirit, he spoke with expressive and graceful hand gestures.
November 13, 2014
Aglow with the Spirit is for committed Christians who have not yet spoken in tongues: it is a series of arguments and personal testimonies geared to getting them started and knocking down any barriers that might prevent them. Being an atheist, I am obviously not the target demographic, but it's fascinating to read how the "gift of tongues" was promoted to the faithful by its author in 1971 (the date of the reprinted edition I read - the original was published in 1965).
Now, these aren't any old tongues we're talking about. For the uninitiated, one of the purported gifts of the Holy Spirit (one third of the Godhead/Trinity who arrived after Jesus departed) is the ability to speak in tongues - not necessarily any recognized languages, but rather a "heavenly language" (this phrase is oft repeated in the book) that sounds like rapid babbling. Also referred to as glossolalia. The Bible does mention this practice a few times in the New Testament, primarily in Acts and 1 Corinthians, and distinguishes it from a similar-but-different gift of speaking in foreign tongues one has not learned. The author of this book claims to have done this once, as well, having rebuked Satan inadvertently in Spanish. As for the babbling version, many have undertaken to decipher some sort of syntax or language. These efforts have been frustrated by the simple fact that everyone's own speaking-in-tongues is distinct from that of others. It really does seem to be babbling.
I have very limited, but memorable, experience of speaking in tongues. At the age of 11 at a camp revival meeting I joined dozens of other people in an altar call to be slain in the Spirit and to speak in tongues. The evangelist and Radical Reality leader Donnie Moore was headlining the session, and encouraged us all to come up and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Numerous people did this instantly, but I and a few others were having a hard time getting the "heavenly language" to flow. Eventually it was just me and a few other individuals who were still standing, and I was encouraged to chant a phrase over and over. I repeated, "I love you Jesus" rapidly, and was getting light-headed, but still to no avail. Eventually Donnie Moore himself came by and pushed me backward by the forehead. People caught me as I started speaking in tongues. It was a euphoric experience.
The experiences that Robert C. Frost (PhD) recounts in this small book are perhaps less dramatic. He talks about numerous people he's encountered and encouraged to speak in tongues. He shares numerous scripture (mostly out of context - some are a bit of a stretch, especially passages in the Old Testament that are co-opted for a theological message that is anachronistic to their date of composition). He also recounts various mental blocks and sinful pasts that may prevent someone from experiencing this gift, which he considers to be vital to a full expression of God's "indwelling".
Speaking of indwelling, the language feels not only dated, but full of Christian jargon. There is a good deal of infilling and indwelling and deliverance to be had, run-on sentences and odd sentence constructions that clearly take their cue from the King James Version of the Bible. Here's a representative sample: "She immediately lifted her voice in fervent praise, but she repeatedly expressed only one little syllable. It must have sounded like stammering. As he watched amazed at such a childlike expression of faith, the Lord gave him a vision of a little stalklike shoot which was inching its way upward every time she would toss back to heaven her one God-given syllable." The rest of the book is similarly precious.
This book was lent to me by a very sweet relative who felt this book had been a great influence. This relative wanted to share it with me because, "You said you'd only read books by Christian authors who are scientists." Of course I never said any such thing, but sure enough... the jacket proclaims, "Aglow with the Spirit is one of the most popular books on the baptism in the Holy Spirit written by a scientist. [There's a narrow category for you] Dr. Frost is an educator. In simple lay terms, by example and word, he explains the purpose and life in the Holy Spirit." If you'd expect from that description to hear a scientific treatment of speaking in tongues, you'd be sorely disappointed. The closest he gets is to say that many of his Life Science students ask why we're here, what our purpose in... a segue which leads him to describe our purpose in life as being the relationship of God with His Son. (Nope, I'm not kidding.) So, if it's science you're looking for, you've come to the wrong book.
Some of the situations Dr. Frost describes sound quite uncomfortable. One man is talked into speaking in tongues in the process of a job interview! Can you imagine trying to impress your future boss and being coached to produce unintelligible babbling? Frost conveys numerous stories where someone is ready to give up and move on, but he persists and convinces his subject to keep trying new angles. One woman is held back by her former association with the occult, and a thorough rebuking of her past is all that stands in the way. He also refers to many students coming to his house to have late night conversations and praise sessions, in one case a young woman stayed the night. I guess these were very different times.
Now, these aren't any old tongues we're talking about. For the uninitiated, one of the purported gifts of the Holy Spirit (one third of the Godhead/Trinity who arrived after Jesus departed) is the ability to speak in tongues - not necessarily any recognized languages, but rather a "heavenly language" (this phrase is oft repeated in the book) that sounds like rapid babbling. Also referred to as glossolalia. The Bible does mention this practice a few times in the New Testament, primarily in Acts and 1 Corinthians, and distinguishes it from a similar-but-different gift of speaking in foreign tongues one has not learned. The author of this book claims to have done this once, as well, having rebuked Satan inadvertently in Spanish. As for the babbling version, many have undertaken to decipher some sort of syntax or language. These efforts have been frustrated by the simple fact that everyone's own speaking-in-tongues is distinct from that of others. It really does seem to be babbling.
I have very limited, but memorable, experience of speaking in tongues. At the age of 11 at a camp revival meeting I joined dozens of other people in an altar call to be slain in the Spirit and to speak in tongues. The evangelist and Radical Reality leader Donnie Moore was headlining the session, and encouraged us all to come up and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Numerous people did this instantly, but I and a few others were having a hard time getting the "heavenly language" to flow. Eventually it was just me and a few other individuals who were still standing, and I was encouraged to chant a phrase over and over. I repeated, "I love you Jesus" rapidly, and was getting light-headed, but still to no avail. Eventually Donnie Moore himself came by and pushed me backward by the forehead. People caught me as I started speaking in tongues. It was a euphoric experience.
The experiences that Robert C. Frost (PhD) recounts in this small book are perhaps less dramatic. He talks about numerous people he's encountered and encouraged to speak in tongues. He shares numerous scripture (mostly out of context - some are a bit of a stretch, especially passages in the Old Testament that are co-opted for a theological message that is anachronistic to their date of composition). He also recounts various mental blocks and sinful pasts that may prevent someone from experiencing this gift, which he considers to be vital to a full expression of God's "indwelling".
Speaking of indwelling, the language feels not only dated, but full of Christian jargon. There is a good deal of infilling and indwelling and deliverance to be had, run-on sentences and odd sentence constructions that clearly take their cue from the King James Version of the Bible. Here's a representative sample: "She immediately lifted her voice in fervent praise, but she repeatedly expressed only one little syllable. It must have sounded like stammering. As he watched amazed at such a childlike expression of faith, the Lord gave him a vision of a little stalklike shoot which was inching its way upward every time she would toss back to heaven her one God-given syllable." The rest of the book is similarly precious.
This book was lent to me by a very sweet relative who felt this book had been a great influence. This relative wanted to share it with me because, "You said you'd only read books by Christian authors who are scientists." Of course I never said any such thing, but sure enough... the jacket proclaims, "Aglow with the Spirit is one of the most popular books on the baptism in the Holy Spirit written by a scientist. [There's a narrow category for you] Dr. Frost is an educator. In simple lay terms, by example and word, he explains the purpose and life in the Holy Spirit." If you'd expect from that description to hear a scientific treatment of speaking in tongues, you'd be sorely disappointed. The closest he gets is to say that many of his Life Science students ask why we're here, what our purpose in... a segue which leads him to describe our purpose in life as being the relationship of God with His Son. (Nope, I'm not kidding.) So, if it's science you're looking for, you've come to the wrong book.
Some of the situations Dr. Frost describes sound quite uncomfortable. One man is talked into speaking in tongues in the process of a job interview! Can you imagine trying to impress your future boss and being coached to produce unintelligible babbling? Frost conveys numerous stories where someone is ready to give up and move on, but he persists and convinces his subject to keep trying new angles. One woman is held back by her former association with the occult, and a thorough rebuking of her past is all that stands in the way. He also refers to many students coming to his house to have late night conversations and praise sessions, in one case a young woman stayed the night. I guess these were very different times.
April 22, 2011
I only made it about 30 pages in to this one, so my review may not qualify as completely valid. I just don't like cookie-cutter presentations like this, where you have one example after another of people doing or experiencing the miraculous simply because they believed, once they became Christians, that they hadn't yet done enough and needed to experience this rite of passage. I personally believe we have the Holy Spirit and all the fruits and gifts that come with Him when we accept Christ. I believe He's what brings us to repentance and He's the one who ministers to us thereafter of God's goodness in a life that steadily reveals all His wonders. I've seen too many people beat themselves up because they "can't speak in tongues" and get really, really sad, and I don't think the Holy Spirit means for us ever to be sad, especially if we're truly seeking Him. Frost's book is an endless series of examples to demonstrate how right this belief is and how wrong most people are getting it because they don't believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, followed by exclamation point upon exclamation point. Books like this oversimplify Christian living and deintellectualize it as well, and I've just moved on from that. Give me Piper and Lewis. They know how tough it can all be and what it really means to enjoy God, even when we're suffering (and especially when we're suffering). We can't always just speak in tongues and expect that's going to lift us right up. Sometimes we have to trust God in and through the fire.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews