The Pentecostal religion is based on the very erroneous assumption that what happened 3 times in the first 30 years of church history (Acts 2, Acts 10, Acts 19) should apply to all Christians everywhere for all time. Namely, that one should "speak in tongues" (ecstatic speech). The beliefs range from speaking in tongues helps you feel closer to God, to, you aren't saved unless you speak in tongues.
The problem being that the Biblical instances were real languages, whereas what happens today in Pentecostal assemblies is not.
Although there are traces of it once in a while over the first two millenniums among heretical groups, the modern-day U.S. version of Pentecostalism was founded in 1901 by Charles Fox Parham, but made famous in 1906 by the Azusa Street Revival with William Seymour.
Those who descended from that revival went to foreign countries in hopes of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ (what the original gift of tongues was/is meant for). However, when they got there and displayed their gift, the natives didn't understand them. And rather than use The Bible to check their experience, they used the Bible to justify their experience, and created the modern day error that there were two types of tongues- the known languages (Acts 2, 10, 19), and "prayer language" (1 Corinthians 12, 14).
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