WIGGLESWORTH
The complete story
By Julian Wilson . Authentic. 211 pages. £7.99
ISBN 978 1 860 248 405
Born in Menston near Bradford in 1859, Smith Wigglesworth was hugely influential in the early Pentecostal movement until his death in 1947.
Julian Wilson guides us through his early years, and his ‘faith healing’ ministry which has been influential in a number of countries, including the US, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India.
The author is sympathetic to Wigglesworth, but does not ignore his extreme eccentricities or difficult personality. Even Jack Hywell-Davies in his forward to the book begins: ‘He was gruff, rarely smiling, and somewhat austere. He was not a popular man’. Our excursion takes us through numerous claims of miracles, including raising people from the dead, and the sending out of prayer handkerchiefs, (one to George V). His popularity now appears greater among many who see his work as genuine, than it ever was during his lifetime.
A clearer explanation of how he understood the gospel would have been helpful, especially in the light of some doctrines he held which brought him into controversy. These included his belief in an instant sanctification; a second receiving of the Holy Spirit accompanied by speaking in tongues; and, in his own words, ‘when you are born again the Christ spirit not the Holy Spirit comes and quickens your human spirit’. ‘Faith healing’ meetings were his speciality, and he insisted that a person who was to be healed needed to have faith and, if they weren’t healed, it was their lack of faith that was the problem.
The book ends with a note about Wigglesworth’s legacy, which includes a number of churches planted in New Zealand and Switzerland after his visits, for which we can thank God. We can also gain inspiration from his obvious zeal. It has to be noted, however, that there are also some damaging consequences to his ministry. ‘Faith healers’ are not unique to Christianity, and perhaps we know more now about the placebo effect and alternative explanations as to what happens in ‘healing meetings’ then 100 years ago. It is the acceptance of some of Wigglesworth’s methods and views into mainstream Christianity which is causing much confusion today. I still meet Christians who refuse medical help because it is seen as lack of faith, and meet many people whose idea of evangelical Christianity is a Benny Hinn healing meeting. It is hard not to see Wigglesworth’s influence as paving the way for some of the excesses and the counterfeit Christianity of today. I want to distance myself from our contemporaries who want to fill Wigglesworth’s shoes, not because I don’t believe in miracles, but precisely because I do believe God works miracles.
This is a helpful book for anyone who wants to study Wigglesworth, or have an insight into early Pentecostalism. A read through the Gospels and the Book of Acts to compare what happens in ‘healing meetings’ with the New Testament miracles will, I think, demonstrate the difference between chalk and cheese.
Mick Lockwood,
Hall Green Baptist Church, Haworth, near Bradford
