The Earlier Years of the Modern Tongues Movement
In this 90 page soft cover book, G.H. Lang studies the testimonies in books written by the earliest founders and leaders of the modern tongues movement. He points out that the New Testament has many warnings for the church to prudently judge itself (1 Cor. 10:15), and to test every spirit (1 John 4:1). Yet, he says, these representatives’ writings display an almost childlike acceptance that their experiences were given by God.
Lang also quotes descriptions of the phenomenon themselves, things such as:
-Sudden outbursts of deafening screaming and shrieking,
-Tongues which did not resemble any known languages,
-Uncontrollable intoxicating laughter and rolling on the floor,
none of which are found in the New Testament. These were also always disorderly, in contrast to Paul’s direction concerning the exercise of the gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor. 14:26-33). The emphasis that the baptism of the Spirit should be marked by speaking in tongues is also contrary to God distributing the many different gifts to each member “as He wills” (12:11).
Lang recognizes that these were the experiences of genuine, God-seeking believers, and that in fact their work brought the true gospel to more pagans than the large established evangelistic missions of the period. He concludes that the movement may be of God, however, he warns that much of the phenomena assumed to be gifts of the Holy Spirit appear to be false, soulish, or perhaps even from evil spirits. The Pentecostal believer ought to at least be willing to examine carefully his experiences, and retain only what conforms to Scripture.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- Introduction
- The Church of God
- "How Pentecost Came to Los Angeles"
- The Case of T. B. Barratt
- William Booth-Clibborn
- India and London
- Testing the Spirits
- False Doctrine
- Special Features
- Later Conditions
- Conclusion