Szczerbiński, Marek (Polskie Towarzystwo Teologiczne, 2013)
The author presents and argues for his view that the source of the kerygma of Pentecost (“tongues as of fire”) may be the phenomenon of an electrical storm. Since the author of the text is a scientist, the approach to the subject is natural, not theological. Natural phenomena in the Bible are divided into four groups. “Tongues as of fire” (Acts 2:3) belong to the last group: rare but natural phenomena are dislocated by the authors of the saint books from everyday life into the time and place where the sign is needed. The concept is justified with the descriptions of this phenomenon in ancient literature. The borrowing is not necessarily a direct one, but may have reached the Acts as a result of everyday thoughts and conversations in the Hellenic world.
