What are you talking about? What I know of Driscoll is that he has a reputation for preaching on sex, preaching in detail against sexual immorality, and in favor of marital sex. Do include preaching on sex in your definition of 'sexual immorality.' Maybe you know about something I don't. I haven't heard of any scandals apart from things he's said. If there hasn't been a scandal, you shouldn't post things like this and make people think there has been.
Churches that Don't Allow Tongues and Prophecy in Meetings disobey Bible
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I never mentioned anything about the Holy Spirit contradicting the Father nor the Son. Where do you folks come up with such things? The problem that many of you have is with the leading of the Spirit in an individual's life or in a given ministry in terms of their work. Would one who is led by the Spirit be rejected as evil if they were led of God to do a specific work that is contrary to what you believe the scriptures teach? The disciples forbid a man for casting out devils in Jesus name and when they told the Lord what they had done, the Lord said to not forbid him. Perhaps you are wrong in your evaluation like those disciples and as some have been wrong about the kingdom of God presently reigning upon the earth. If God was to give a gift of a national tongue to a believer so that others could hear a message from God to give needed assurance and to overcome the unbelief of some, would that be evil in your eyes because you believe that gift of national tongues has ceased? If a man laid his hands on a sick person and prayed by faith believing and that man was healed, would that make his healing of the devil? If a man gave a word of prophecy and gave warnings as to certain specifics, would he be out of line with the scriptures and should he be rejected as a false brethren? Some of you should reconsider what you believe is of God and what is of the devil. If we consider something or a specific work that is of God and of his Spirit to be that of the devil, what have we done?
I didn't say Parham or Seymour claimed to be,what I said was some who founded the movement did claim to be. See the thing is Parham had ties with a man by the name of Frank Sanford,Sanford did claim this was a restoration of the gifts and even claimed to be the prophet Elijah. Sanford himself ties him with Parham.
WHAT SPIRIT? - PART SIX
FRANK SANDFORD AND "SHILOH"
Frank Sandford’s cult like commune near Durham, Maine, known as Shiloh, was to be the location where divergent trends in the Holiness movement were to have their confluence, and thus prepare the movement for its birth, growth and expansion. Sandford was an ex-professional baseball player and Holiness preacher who happened to fall under three important and needless to say, heterodox influences in his spiritual life- one of which being the "restorationism" of John Alexander Dowie, who, as we know, preached that all the extraordinary powers which Christ had granted to His apostles would be restored to the Church immediately preceding His second coming. There was, as we have noted, throughout a general sense of the imminence of the second coming of the Lord in Protestant America during the nineteenth century. This was no doubt due in part to the influence of Holiness pre-millenialism and in part to the Millerite and Russelite Biblical prophecy movements. Since Dowie did apparently have some degree of healing power, and claimed to possess the fullness of the Apostolic gifts (this was before Dowie’s claiming to be Elijah), it was not unnatural that a religious innovator such as Sandford, certainly not deeply attached to any particular dogma or theology, would be influenced by his teachings. Sandford had witnessed Dowie’s preaching during his visits to the Midwest and accepted Dowie’s powers as miraculous- as is witnessed by a quotation in Sandford’s Journal (entitled:
Tongues of Fire) in March of 1897:
"Dr. Dowie of Chicago prays with or for as many as 70,000 sick people a year, and thousands of the most astounding and remarkable miracles have taken place."
Therefore, it is only reasonable to suppose that a man like Sandford would emulate Dowie, and even develop his teachings, eventually developing a body of teaching which go far beyond even the latter’s wild and distorted deviations from orthodox Christianity.
Sandford was also intimately familiar with the writings of A.B. Simpson, the founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, which no doubt led to his radical pre-millenialist views:
But in spite of such respected defenders as Steele, by the end of the century postmillennialism began to give way to premillennialism…The influence of A.B. Simpson, founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, is very obvious here in that his "Fourfold Gospel" of salvation, sanctification, healing, and the second coming eventually became the doctrinal standard for many of the organized groups which later consolidated into holiness churches.
(Dieter, op. Cit, pge 178)
CONT
WHAT SPIRIT? - PART SIX
FRANK SANDFORD AND "SHILOH"
Frank Sandford’s cult like commune near Durham, Maine, known as Shiloh, was to be the location where divergent trends in the Holiness movement were to have their confluence, and thus prepare the movement for its birth, growth and expansion. Sandford was an ex-professional baseball player and Holiness preacher who happened to fall under three important and needless to say, heterodox influences in his spiritual life- one of which being the "restorationism" of John Alexander Dowie, who, as we know, preached that all the extraordinary powers which Christ had granted to His apostles would be restored to the Church immediately preceding His second coming. There was, as we have noted, throughout a general sense of the imminence of the second coming of the Lord in Protestant America during the nineteenth century. This was no doubt due in part to the influence of Holiness pre-millenialism and in part to the Millerite and Russelite Biblical prophecy movements. Since Dowie did apparently have some degree of healing power, and claimed to possess the fullness of the Apostolic gifts (this was before Dowie’s claiming to be Elijah), it was not unnatural that a religious innovator such as Sandford, certainly not deeply attached to any particular dogma or theology, would be influenced by his teachings. Sandford had witnessed Dowie’s preaching during his visits to the Midwest and accepted Dowie’s powers as miraculous- as is witnessed by a quotation in Sandford’s Journal (entitled:
Tongues of Fire) in March of 1897:
"Dr. Dowie of Chicago prays with or for as many as 70,000 sick people a year, and thousands of the most astounding and remarkable miracles have taken place."
Therefore, it is only reasonable to suppose that a man like Sandford would emulate Dowie, and even develop his teachings, eventually developing a body of teaching which go far beyond even the latter’s wild and distorted deviations from orthodox Christianity.
Sandford was also intimately familiar with the writings of A.B. Simpson, the founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, which no doubt led to his radical pre-millenialist views:
But in spite of such respected defenders as Steele, by the end of the century postmillennialism began to give way to premillennialism…The influence of A.B. Simpson, founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, is very obvious here in that his "Fourfold Gospel" of salvation, sanctification, healing, and the second coming eventually became the doctrinal standard for many of the organized groups which later consolidated into holiness churches.
(Dieter, op. Cit, pge 178)
CONT
Simpson’s group also believed in universal healing, adopting the heterodox ideas of Blumhardt, Boardman and Cullis, etc.
Another formative influence on Sandford were the writings of Charles Totten, a "bible scholar" and professor at Yale, who fervently taught the racist doctrine of British Israelitism (which we are familiar with today through the ravings of the late Herbert W. Armstrong), the belief that the modern day Anglo-Saxons were in reality the "ten lost tribes of Israel" who were subsequently scattered when the Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians (IV Kings 17). This teaching may have influenced racist philosophers like Josiah Strong, who considered that it was the destiny of the Anglo-Saxons (as the "stronger race") to subdue the other peoples of the earth and to exercise over them something like a paternalistic "benign slavery". In other words, it was the "anglo-saxon’s burden", as the chosen race of Jehovah, to lay even heavier burdens upon the non-chosen of the earth. This was only for the latter’s betterment, of course. By "Anglo-Saxons" were meant, no doubt, the British Empire and its’ allies among the Yankee imperialists, who could now possess their empire under the aegis of "Biblical Christianity". The looting of their "racially inferior" brethren could now be carried out with a clear conscience, thanks in part to theorists like Totten. Although some will object that this is a reach, to equate colonial exploitation with religious British Israelitism, it would appear that such theories were amenable to such paladins of British world empire as the arch-exploiter and monopolist Cecil Rhodes. These ideas certainly attracted Sandford, and the fact that he hailed from one of the old, moneyed families of the New England "aristocracy" may also have helped him to adopt such ideas. That particular social class is well known for its elitism, its anglophilia, its deviation from religious orthodoxy, as well as its role in colonial exploitation of the "colored peoples of the earth"-whether yellow, brown or black. It is interesting to note here that Totten had a rather syncretistic religious past, before his conversion to so called "British Israelite" Christianity. He was by turns, an Adventist, and a Zionist, which is undoubtedly where one of the inspirations for his lost tribes theory was to originate. He was also apparently a Swedenborgian, a follower of the Swedish spirit- channeler Emmanuel Swedenborg, who, despite his apostasy, probably possessed one of the greatest intellects of all time. Swedenborg was at first an orthodox Lutheran, but he later became a spirit medium, and channeled information from the "angelic spirits" who communicated with him, which he recorded voluminously in numerous books, wherein he described "heaven", the afterlife, the "true nature of Christianity", etc according to the messages of the spirits. It is no surprise, therefore, that Totten also dabbled in the nascent spiritualism of his time, reborn only recently in the United States with the table rapping Fox sisters. But it was the pseudo-scientific pyramidology of Piazzi Smith that would lead Totten to his theories on Bible prophecy and the lost tribes. Though this is a totally unchristian and superstitious act of divination, pyramid sortilege was found to be a fascinating way for individuals such as Totten to justify their speculations on the "lost tribes", and the end times. Much the same thing is happening now, with so much pseudo-scientific speculation being accorded the so -called "Bible codes". Popular in "word of faith" circles, these are supposed to reveal, via the application of arcane decoding, the dates for the Second Coming of Our Lord, the rapture, etc.
Totten’s theories were apparently so attractive to Sandford that the latter took them to heart and greatly magnified their implications. When on a trip to Jerusalem in 1898, Sandford made a declaration of his Anglo-Israel convictions. Such doctrines which were at considerable variance with the doctrines of much of the Wesleyan Holiness movement, as it had been in the forefront of the fight against slavery. Not surprisingly, those who most influenced Sandford in the Holiness movement were affiliated with the "Higher Life" or "Higher Lines" segment-individuals such as Hannah Whitehall Smith those most preoccupied with signs and wonders rather than with the Wesleyan concepts of sanctification; and it was within these groups that Sandford’s grafting of Anglo-Israelitism would find the greatest acceptance:
"To be sure, with the ideas and doctrines from so many sources, he bridged some substantial theological chasms…since the millenarians were looking for a worldwide catastrophe, they generally did not approve of the notion of American or English manifest destiny which appealed to optimistic millennialists; Sandford would successfully merge the two doctrines by viewing Anglo-America as the "lost tribes of Israel," stiff-necked, rebellious, deserving of God’s punishment, yet still God’s chosen people and rod for the nations." (…Hiss…. p.77)
cont
Another formative influence on Sandford were the writings of Charles Totten, a "bible scholar" and professor at Yale, who fervently taught the racist doctrine of British Israelitism (which we are familiar with today through the ravings of the late Herbert W. Armstrong), the belief that the modern day Anglo-Saxons were in reality the "ten lost tribes of Israel" who were subsequently scattered when the Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians (IV Kings 17). This teaching may have influenced racist philosophers like Josiah Strong, who considered that it was the destiny of the Anglo-Saxons (as the "stronger race") to subdue the other peoples of the earth and to exercise over them something like a paternalistic "benign slavery". In other words, it was the "anglo-saxon’s burden", as the chosen race of Jehovah, to lay even heavier burdens upon the non-chosen of the earth. This was only for the latter’s betterment, of course. By "Anglo-Saxons" were meant, no doubt, the British Empire and its’ allies among the Yankee imperialists, who could now possess their empire under the aegis of "Biblical Christianity". The looting of their "racially inferior" brethren could now be carried out with a clear conscience, thanks in part to theorists like Totten. Although some will object that this is a reach, to equate colonial exploitation with religious British Israelitism, it would appear that such theories were amenable to such paladins of British world empire as the arch-exploiter and monopolist Cecil Rhodes. These ideas certainly attracted Sandford, and the fact that he hailed from one of the old, moneyed families of the New England "aristocracy" may also have helped him to adopt such ideas. That particular social class is well known for its elitism, its anglophilia, its deviation from religious orthodoxy, as well as its role in colonial exploitation of the "colored peoples of the earth"-whether yellow, brown or black. It is interesting to note here that Totten had a rather syncretistic religious past, before his conversion to so called "British Israelite" Christianity. He was by turns, an Adventist, and a Zionist, which is undoubtedly where one of the inspirations for his lost tribes theory was to originate. He was also apparently a Swedenborgian, a follower of the Swedish spirit- channeler Emmanuel Swedenborg, who, despite his apostasy, probably possessed one of the greatest intellects of all time. Swedenborg was at first an orthodox Lutheran, but he later became a spirit medium, and channeled information from the "angelic spirits" who communicated with him, which he recorded voluminously in numerous books, wherein he described "heaven", the afterlife, the "true nature of Christianity", etc according to the messages of the spirits. It is no surprise, therefore, that Totten also dabbled in the nascent spiritualism of his time, reborn only recently in the United States with the table rapping Fox sisters. But it was the pseudo-scientific pyramidology of Piazzi Smith that would lead Totten to his theories on Bible prophecy and the lost tribes. Though this is a totally unchristian and superstitious act of divination, pyramid sortilege was found to be a fascinating way for individuals such as Totten to justify their speculations on the "lost tribes", and the end times. Much the same thing is happening now, with so much pseudo-scientific speculation being accorded the so -called "Bible codes". Popular in "word of faith" circles, these are supposed to reveal, via the application of arcane decoding, the dates for the Second Coming of Our Lord, the rapture, etc.
Totten’s theories were apparently so attractive to Sandford that the latter took them to heart and greatly magnified their implications. When on a trip to Jerusalem in 1898, Sandford made a declaration of his Anglo-Israel convictions. Such doctrines which were at considerable variance with the doctrines of much of the Wesleyan Holiness movement, as it had been in the forefront of the fight against slavery. Not surprisingly, those who most influenced Sandford in the Holiness movement were affiliated with the "Higher Life" or "Higher Lines" segment-individuals such as Hannah Whitehall Smith those most preoccupied with signs and wonders rather than with the Wesleyan concepts of sanctification; and it was within these groups that Sandford’s grafting of Anglo-Israelitism would find the greatest acceptance:
"To be sure, with the ideas and doctrines from so many sources, he bridged some substantial theological chasms…since the millenarians were looking for a worldwide catastrophe, they generally did not approve of the notion of American or English manifest destiny which appealed to optimistic millennialists; Sandford would successfully merge the two doctrines by viewing Anglo-America as the "lost tribes of Israel," stiff-necked, rebellious, deserving of God’s punishment, yet still God’s chosen people and rod for the nations." (…Hiss…. p.77)
cont
Sandford had accepted the imminent pre-millenialism of Darby, (which he no doubt imbibed via influence of A.B. Simpson) and, by inclusion, its occult inspired Irvingite doctrine of the rapture. He thus took considerable pains to develop his theological synthesis which would combine Dowie’s end times restorationism, the Holiness movement’s emphasis on experiential sanctification and Spirit Baptism. The resurgence of speaking in tongues, and his own strict authoritarianism, were also major factors in his movment.
His conviction that the end of the world was near, and the fact that he considered himself come in the spirit and power of Elijah, led him to establish Shiloh in 1897. To the contemporary reader, the doomsday orientation of the group sounds strikingly familiar, in light of many such present day cults; the scenario which was played out in Mr. Sandford’s case turned deadly. A newspaper in upper state New York, in the immediate wake of the Jonestown massacre in 1978, draws parallels with Jim Jones’ People’s Temple commune and Sandford’s group:
"… few may remember the religious cult, "The Holy Ghost and Us," in the early
1900s at Ridge Mills. This story also is almost unbelievable. The "Holy Ghost Station" was established in 1901 by a Rev. Frank W. Sandford, later was to be convicted and sentenced for the death of six persons, one of Ridge Mills. He had founded the cult nine years before in eastern New York… Sandford and his followers declared they had found the path to salvation, and that there was to be an end of the world in the near future and that only those on their side would survive in the "life hereafter…In April of 1905, some of the 'saints,' as they called themselves, left Ridge Mills for Shiloh, Maine, many of them selling the property and giving most of it to Sandford. Twenty two persons left Ridge Mills in a body, 'to wait the end of the world.' In all, 25 of the Rome area, 14 of them children, 'answered the call.' Meetings at Ridge Mills continued, with leaders exhorting others to join those in Maine.
.........
..........
Then Sandford was charged with manslaughter in causing the death of a boy by refusing to permit administration of medicine while the boy was suffering from diphtheria. A jury disagreed in the first trial, he was convicted in the second but the verdict was set aside on the grounds that public opinion was unfriendly to him. Meanwhile, another refugee from Shiloh, a Ridge Mills man, declared they had been permitted only one meal a day, usually mush and milk, and that sickness was ravaging the disciples. A state investigation uncovered what were called cases of cruelty to children, it being declared that Sandford was, "ruling his people with fear, they following his merest suggestions implicitly." Sandford was called "insane."
Cont
His conviction that the end of the world was near, and the fact that he considered himself come in the spirit and power of Elijah, led him to establish Shiloh in 1897. To the contemporary reader, the doomsday orientation of the group sounds strikingly familiar, in light of many such present day cults; the scenario which was played out in Mr. Sandford’s case turned deadly. A newspaper in upper state New York, in the immediate wake of the Jonestown massacre in 1978, draws parallels with Jim Jones’ People’s Temple commune and Sandford’s group:
"… few may remember the religious cult, "The Holy Ghost and Us," in the early
1900s at Ridge Mills. This story also is almost unbelievable. The "Holy Ghost Station" was established in 1901 by a Rev. Frank W. Sandford, later was to be convicted and sentenced for the death of six persons, one of Ridge Mills. He had founded the cult nine years before in eastern New York… Sandford and his followers declared they had found the path to salvation, and that there was to be an end of the world in the near future and that only those on their side would survive in the "life hereafter…In April of 1905, some of the 'saints,' as they called themselves, left Ridge Mills for Shiloh, Maine, many of them selling the property and giving most of it to Sandford. Twenty two persons left Ridge Mills in a body, 'to wait the end of the world.' In all, 25 of the Rome area, 14 of them children, 'answered the call.' Meetings at Ridge Mills continued, with leaders exhorting others to join those in Maine.
.........
..........
Then Sandford was charged with manslaughter in causing the death of a boy by refusing to permit administration of medicine while the boy was suffering from diphtheria. A jury disagreed in the first trial, he was convicted in the second but the verdict was set aside on the grounds that public opinion was unfriendly to him. Meanwhile, another refugee from Shiloh, a Ridge Mills man, declared they had been permitted only one meal a day, usually mush and milk, and that sickness was ravaging the disciples. A state investigation uncovered what were called cases of cruelty to children, it being declared that Sandford was, "ruling his people with fear, they following his merest suggestions implicitly." Sandford was called "insane."
Cont
Sandford was to preach many cultish doctrines; one of the most remarkable was that he claimed to be the chosen vessel of the "restored" baptism of the "latter days", having come in the spirit and power of Elijah. (Thereby aping one of his mentors, Alexander Dowie.) The reader is invited to consider the diabolically manipulative language that Sandford employs while making his claims. He first makes the case to his readers that the true, valid sacramental baptism, using the trinitarian formula of either immersion, aspersion or infusion, was a false baptism. He thereby negates the constant usage of every historical Christian denomination from the time of the Apostles to his own:
.........
.....
Next Sandford was to propose himself, a la Dowie, as a new Elijah, specially chosen to restore the true Baptism to the divided Christian world, and in essence save the Church from the strife of "denominationalism." Modern day Charismatics should compare their own language about a "new Pentecost" with the unfettered dawnism of Sandford:
During the first year of the twentieth century a voice was heard saying "The mantle of Elijah is fallen upon thee" - a little later in the year - "Wash My lambs" - and September 30th in the evening, ''Be ready against tomorrow," a message indicating that the time for a "special baptism" had come and that it was to be held on the date signified - October 1, 1901. (Ibid, pge 8)
In language that is more reminiscent of a possessing demon than of the usual rhetoric of Protestant fundamentalism, Sandford employs twisted and cult like language to indict the Catholic Church (also known as "the Dark Ages") for "perverting the true baptism"; at the same time he virtually presents himself as the prophet Elijah, the great restorer:
Elijah’s is the washing of Christendom from its denominational schisms and errors to prepare His people for the One "coming in power and greate glory" in a word, it is the restoration of the Master’s baptism which has been perverted through the Dark Ages and which is now restored by a prophet sent of God "to make ready for a people prepared for the Lord."
You, like "the eunuch of Ethiopia," may be on your way to another continent. Yet this is your opportunity. Be loyal to the kingdom of God in its formative period. Join that which is based upon the Word of God, with the authority of the ME behind it; it its days of weakness rather than in its day of strength, in its days of humiliation rather than in its day of worldwide and glorious triumph. I would advise every honest soul who desires the real thing on this earth to "Press" forward here and now into these waters - these waters of the greatest opportunity man ever knew or ever will know. (Ibid, pp. 9, 13)
Anyone who has studied cults to any considerable degree will note that the founders of such groups-like Sandford- will not go very far in increasing their membership by making ordinary or everyday claims - they must promise something extraordinary. Seeing as Sandford was promising the "greatest opportunity man ever knew or ever will know", it is not surprising that he attracted a considerable following.
Cont
.........
.....
Next Sandford was to propose himself, a la Dowie, as a new Elijah, specially chosen to restore the true Baptism to the divided Christian world, and in essence save the Church from the strife of "denominationalism." Modern day Charismatics should compare their own language about a "new Pentecost" with the unfettered dawnism of Sandford:
During the first year of the twentieth century a voice was heard saying "The mantle of Elijah is fallen upon thee" - a little later in the year - "Wash My lambs" - and September 30th in the evening, ''Be ready against tomorrow," a message indicating that the time for a "special baptism" had come and that it was to be held on the date signified - October 1, 1901. (Ibid, pge 8)
In language that is more reminiscent of a possessing demon than of the usual rhetoric of Protestant fundamentalism, Sandford employs twisted and cult like language to indict the Catholic Church (also known as "the Dark Ages") for "perverting the true baptism"; at the same time he virtually presents himself as the prophet Elijah, the great restorer:
Elijah’s is the washing of Christendom from its denominational schisms and errors to prepare His people for the One "coming in power and greate glory" in a word, it is the restoration of the Master’s baptism which has been perverted through the Dark Ages and which is now restored by a prophet sent of God "to make ready for a people prepared for the Lord."
You, like "the eunuch of Ethiopia," may be on your way to another continent. Yet this is your opportunity. Be loyal to the kingdom of God in its formative period. Join that which is based upon the Word of God, with the authority of the ME behind it; it its days of weakness rather than in its day of strength, in its days of humiliation rather than in its day of worldwide and glorious triumph. I would advise every honest soul who desires the real thing on this earth to "Press" forward here and now into these waters - these waters of the greatest opportunity man ever knew or ever will know. (Ibid, pp. 9, 13)
Anyone who has studied cults to any considerable degree will note that the founders of such groups-like Sandford- will not go very far in increasing their membership by making ordinary or everyday claims - they must promise something extraordinary. Seeing as Sandford was promising the "greatest opportunity man ever knew or ever will know", it is not surprising that he attracted a considerable following.
Cont
The question remains, as to whether, on the matter of a restored baptism, Sandford influenced Charles F. Parham, who was certainly well acquainted (professionally as well as personally) with Sandford, or vice versa. Since the so called "voices" which announced a "new restoration of the true baptism" were not heard by Sandford until October of 1901, whereas the Topeka outpouring, presided over by Parham occurred on January 1 of that same year, this is certainly an open question. Unlike the Catholic Church of antiquity, founded by Jesus Christ Himself explicitly on Peter and the twelve Apostles, the early history of Pentecostalism was not overshadowed by one dominant individual, but was characterized by a complex intermingling of new spiritualities, theological concepts and religious novelties. On the other hand, the movement in its formative stage can be said to be highly incestuous, as one constantly observed the same small group of individuals (with a select and expanding group of new devotees) interact with one another, exchange ideas and support, and finally diverge into well defined, competing sects. For example, both Parham and Sandford were influenced by Dowie, A.B. Simpson, and Anna Whitehall Smith. Both in turn exercised influence over people like A.J. Tomlinson and Charles Lake. It would not be surprising if both influenced one another. However, there is no question that at first it was Sandford who was the prophet to be looked up to and admired by Parham and the others. The direct links between Sandford and the founders of Pentecostalism will be documented further on in this chapter.
Restoration of healing was also one of the cardinal tenets of Sandford’s new sect, and as has been observed, his gross fanaticism with regards to the miraculous was to result in his (just like Dowie!) being tried for manslaughter. Sandford apparently believed that in these final days before the parousia and the millenium, healing would be open to all-all that is, who lived a holy life, in accord with Sandford’s idea of holiness. In other words, if someone in Sandford’s commune was not healed by his or his lieutenant’s prayers, then something was obviously amiss with the individual’s life. This was a ruse which was very convenient for Sandford, as it could explain any failure’s on his part to obtain the "throne of God" to the sinfulness of the individual who has not been healed; however it was to backfire on Sandford, just as was the case with Dowie. Like Dowie, he forbade his followers to make use of medicine or seek the care of a physician. This led to cruel and morally repulsive incidents like this one:
"…Albert Field, the jeweler from Brunswick, disappeared from the hill with his family. The decisive element in Field's defection, as he finally told the newspapers, was an episode earlier that winter, while Frank Sandford was still at Shiloh. Sandford's sister Annie and her second husband, Nat Brown, had lost their one-year old son to what was thought to be cholera-infantum, a digestive problem not uncommon among infants. Sandford apparently tried to revive the baby, remembering perhaps that the Elijah of the Old Testament had brought to life the young son of the widow Zerephath. But the baby named Brown did not revive. Its body was taken to one of the cold turrets and kept there for sixty days, while the Browns and Sandford and the ministers continued to pray for its restoration to life. One night the child was finally buried, the funeral held in the dark. The incident was kept a secret at Shiloh with only partial success ... If the resurrection of Olive Mills had been claimed as the seal of apostleship, did this failure then mean the unsealing? Or did it throw the miracle of Olive Mills into the shadow (or light) of a completely natural event, without extraordinary overtones?" (extracted from Fair Clear and Terrible by Shirley Nelson, an unpublished account of Shiloh, p. 277)
It should be obvious to any sincere and sound Christian that if Sandford had any true contact with "voices" extraneous to those emanating from his own boundless megalomania, then the voices emanated from hell and not heaven. These types of incidents are the hallmark of dangerous cults the world over, and the truly tragic thing aspect with regards to them is that the true believers in such individuals cannot be swayed even in the face of such obviously sadistic, cruel and deceptive behavior. Unfortunately, individuals like Sandford are not the exception among the founders of Pentecostalism, they are the rule. There is absolutely no possible scenario in which the Holy Spirit could be invoked to bear witness to such manifestly false convictions. Accordingly, Sandford the person and ministry of Sandford remain in relative ignominy among the overwhelming majority of Charismatics today, having been condemned to oblivion in the movement’s collective memory. His preeminence and influence at the birth of the "New Pentecost" represent an uncomfortable reality which is difficult for the Charismatic movement to justify, it being the direct lineal descendant of Pentecostalism. One of those who fell under the direct influence of Sandford was an early, prominent Pentecostal leader, A.J. Tomlinson:
Cont
Restoration of healing was also one of the cardinal tenets of Sandford’s new sect, and as has been observed, his gross fanaticism with regards to the miraculous was to result in his (just like Dowie!) being tried for manslaughter. Sandford apparently believed that in these final days before the parousia and the millenium, healing would be open to all-all that is, who lived a holy life, in accord with Sandford’s idea of holiness. In other words, if someone in Sandford’s commune was not healed by his or his lieutenant’s prayers, then something was obviously amiss with the individual’s life. This was a ruse which was very convenient for Sandford, as it could explain any failure’s on his part to obtain the "throne of God" to the sinfulness of the individual who has not been healed; however it was to backfire on Sandford, just as was the case with Dowie. Like Dowie, he forbade his followers to make use of medicine or seek the care of a physician. This led to cruel and morally repulsive incidents like this one:
"…Albert Field, the jeweler from Brunswick, disappeared from the hill with his family. The decisive element in Field's defection, as he finally told the newspapers, was an episode earlier that winter, while Frank Sandford was still at Shiloh. Sandford's sister Annie and her second husband, Nat Brown, had lost their one-year old son to what was thought to be cholera-infantum, a digestive problem not uncommon among infants. Sandford apparently tried to revive the baby, remembering perhaps that the Elijah of the Old Testament had brought to life the young son of the widow Zerephath. But the baby named Brown did not revive. Its body was taken to one of the cold turrets and kept there for sixty days, while the Browns and Sandford and the ministers continued to pray for its restoration to life. One night the child was finally buried, the funeral held in the dark. The incident was kept a secret at Shiloh with only partial success ... If the resurrection of Olive Mills had been claimed as the seal of apostleship, did this failure then mean the unsealing? Or did it throw the miracle of Olive Mills into the shadow (or light) of a completely natural event, without extraordinary overtones?" (extracted from Fair Clear and Terrible by Shirley Nelson, an unpublished account of Shiloh, p. 277)
It should be obvious to any sincere and sound Christian that if Sandford had any true contact with "voices" extraneous to those emanating from his own boundless megalomania, then the voices emanated from hell and not heaven. These types of incidents are the hallmark of dangerous cults the world over, and the truly tragic thing aspect with regards to them is that the true believers in such individuals cannot be swayed even in the face of such obviously sadistic, cruel and deceptive behavior. Unfortunately, individuals like Sandford are not the exception among the founders of Pentecostalism, they are the rule. There is absolutely no possible scenario in which the Holy Spirit could be invoked to bear witness to such manifestly false convictions. Accordingly, Sandford the person and ministry of Sandford remain in relative ignominy among the overwhelming majority of Charismatics today, having been condemned to oblivion in the movement’s collective memory. His preeminence and influence at the birth of the "New Pentecost" represent an uncomfortable reality which is difficult for the Charismatic movement to justify, it being the direct lineal descendant of Pentecostalism. One of those who fell under the direct influence of Sandford was an early, prominent Pentecostal leader, A.J. Tomlinson:
Cont
It is known that Tomlinson spent time at the Mount of Blessings before 1899 and read all these periodicals. An insert on Alvin York in Tomlinson's The Faithful Standard (1922) said:
"Many of the Pentecostal people know the Bible School at Mount of Blessings. They are sanctified people. Many who now have the baptism were once connected with the Mount of Blessings. And about two months ago one of the Church of God preachers stopped over to talk with the leader at that place and that leader said to him, 'After all, I think we all ought to seek the Baptism like you have it…"
(Dr. Harold D. Hunter,"Beniah at the Apostolic Crossroads: " Little Noticed Crosscurrents of B.H. Irwin, Charles Fox Parham, Frank Sandford, A.J. Tomlinson")
Tomlinson represents an important link between B. H. Irwin, of "fire and dynamite" fame, and went on to become general overseer of the Church of God in 1909, and kept that position until his death in the 1940’s. The Church of God is known to this day as one of the most prominent of the Pentecostal denominations.
It was through the medium of tongue speaking or glossolalia, however, that Sandford’s Shiloh was to have its greatest influence on the nascent Pentecostal movement. As will be documented, Shiloh was, during the late 1890’s, host to many past and future leaders of Pentecostal/Fire Baptist circles like Tomlinson, but perhaps his most most significant influence was to be exercised through his association with Charles Fox Parham. This influence on Parham was mainly in the area of tongue-speaking. Tongues were most certainly a part of Sandford’s "restored" world view. However, it would appear that tongue speaking in the manner it was practiced by disciples of Sandford, was understood as miraculously imparted true foreign languages, and this was confirmed by Sandford himself in his book entitled Tongues of Fire, published around 1897. As Sandford was to live until well into the 1950’s, he was later to repudiate the idea of tongues restoration, but the documentation for his sect’s practices before the turn of the century are simply overwhelming:
It was this "outbreak" of foreign tongues which undoubtedly influenced Charles F. Parham, and his subsequent role as the father of Pentecostalism. Parham had been closely associated with Sandford from at least early 1900, as Sandford himself testifies:
"At Kansas City…The services Saturday and Sunday were richly blessed, and Brother Parham, a religious leader who had come from Topeka to attend the services, insisted that we accompany him home. The bond of union Sunday afternoon which had united the the three leaders of three great movements, one in the extreme west, another in the extreme east and the third in the center of our vast country, must have brought rejoicing among the angels…here was my Brother Parham from Topeka, leader of a work similar to our own, divine healing, church, Bible School, and publisher of a paper…" (Tongues of Fire, July 1 & 15, 1900, p.111 and 115)
Indeed, so enthusiastic was Parham about the tongue speaking he witnessed at Shiloh that he actually included an enthusiastic endorsement of such in the first publication of his Holiness oriented journal, The Apostolic Faith. (This is not to be confused with the Azusa Street publication of the same name.)
Charles Parham's first Apostolic Faith (May 3, 1899) drew from Sandford's tract "The Everlasting Gospel" thereby recounting that Jennie Glassey could "read and write, translate and sing" in missionary tongues… The April 1, 1900 edition of Apostolic Faith 2 carried a report about Brother and Sister Hamaker tarrying at Beth-el Healing Home for a "heathen tongue" before they embark on the mission field… The greatest enticement to see Sandford came from ambassadors Edward Doughty and Victor Barton's invasion of Topeka in early 1900… (Hunter, op. Cit.)
cont
"Many of the Pentecostal people know the Bible School at Mount of Blessings. They are sanctified people. Many who now have the baptism were once connected with the Mount of Blessings. And about two months ago one of the Church of God preachers stopped over to talk with the leader at that place and that leader said to him, 'After all, I think we all ought to seek the Baptism like you have it…"
(Dr. Harold D. Hunter,"Beniah at the Apostolic Crossroads: " Little Noticed Crosscurrents of B.H. Irwin, Charles Fox Parham, Frank Sandford, A.J. Tomlinson")
Tomlinson represents an important link between B. H. Irwin, of "fire and dynamite" fame, and went on to become general overseer of the Church of God in 1909, and kept that position until his death in the 1940’s. The Church of God is known to this day as one of the most prominent of the Pentecostal denominations.
It was through the medium of tongue speaking or glossolalia, however, that Sandford’s Shiloh was to have its greatest influence on the nascent Pentecostal movement. As will be documented, Shiloh was, during the late 1890’s, host to many past and future leaders of Pentecostal/Fire Baptist circles like Tomlinson, but perhaps his most most significant influence was to be exercised through his association with Charles Fox Parham. This influence on Parham was mainly in the area of tongue-speaking. Tongues were most certainly a part of Sandford’s "restored" world view. However, it would appear that tongue speaking in the manner it was practiced by disciples of Sandford, was understood as miraculously imparted true foreign languages, and this was confirmed by Sandford himself in his book entitled Tongues of Fire, published around 1897. As Sandford was to live until well into the 1950’s, he was later to repudiate the idea of tongues restoration, but the documentation for his sect’s practices before the turn of the century are simply overwhelming:
It was this "outbreak" of foreign tongues which undoubtedly influenced Charles F. Parham, and his subsequent role as the father of Pentecostalism. Parham had been closely associated with Sandford from at least early 1900, as Sandford himself testifies:
"At Kansas City…The services Saturday and Sunday were richly blessed, and Brother Parham, a religious leader who had come from Topeka to attend the services, insisted that we accompany him home. The bond of union Sunday afternoon which had united the the three leaders of three great movements, one in the extreme west, another in the extreme east and the third in the center of our vast country, must have brought rejoicing among the angels…here was my Brother Parham from Topeka, leader of a work similar to our own, divine healing, church, Bible School, and publisher of a paper…" (Tongues of Fire, July 1 & 15, 1900, p.111 and 115)
Indeed, so enthusiastic was Parham about the tongue speaking he witnessed at Shiloh that he actually included an enthusiastic endorsement of such in the first publication of his Holiness oriented journal, The Apostolic Faith. (This is not to be confused with the Azusa Street publication of the same name.)
Charles Parham's first Apostolic Faith (May 3, 1899) drew from Sandford's tract "The Everlasting Gospel" thereby recounting that Jennie Glassey could "read and write, translate and sing" in missionary tongues… The April 1, 1900 edition of Apostolic Faith 2 carried a report about Brother and Sister Hamaker tarrying at Beth-el Healing Home for a "heathen tongue" before they embark on the mission field… The greatest enticement to see Sandford came from ambassadors Edward Doughty and Victor Barton's invasion of Topeka in early 1900… (Hunter, op. Cit.)
cont
According to the renowned Pentecostal scholar Harold Hunter, it was at Shiloh that Parham first actually witnessed "tongues" being spoken, and this occurred a full six months prior to the "Topeka outpouring", which is considered the true point of origin of the modern Pentecostal movement:
From an interview with Parham conducted by C. W. Shumway, we know that Parham not only studied under Sandford, but was witness to tongues being spoken during that summer of 1900. Parham indicated to Shumway that he first heard tongues being spoken by two male students as they emerged from one of the prayer towers. This chronology would indicate tongues "breaking out" at least six months prior to Agnes Ozman's experience. " (Ibid)
It would appear that Agnes Ozman herself , the first individual to undergo (under the leadership of Parham) what would henceforth be described by Pentecostal theologians as "glossocentric pneumatobaptism"-spirit baptism as evidenced by speaking in tongues- was also familiar with and amenable to the teachings of Sandford:
…Yet to be explored adequately is to what extent Agnes Ozman represents a synthesis of these same influences. Agnes evidenced at least a kinship to Sandford by recounting her time with Dowie, classes at Nyack with Stephen Merritt and an evangelistic excursion into Old Orchard, Maine. This 1890's exposure preceded the rupture between Simpson and Sandford. Menzies argues that Agnes, who affiliated with the Fire-Baptized after Topeka, had Fire-Baptized contact prior to 1900. After her xenolalic pneumabaptism at Bethel Bible College, Agnes was part of a group that started out for Shiloh, but stopped short. (Ibid)
This is especially revealing, as it is obvious that her "Pentecostal experience" of January 1, 1901 in Topeka was virtually identical, in form and content, with that of Jenny Glassey, the student of Sandford described above. From here on in it appears that Parham was to borrow copiously from the message of Sandford, while distancing himself from the messenger. It is important to recognize that there is no evidence that Parham would ever regard the Shiloh manifestations as spurious or demonic; he merely opposed the exclusivism of the Sandfordites, and wished to make their experiences more available to more mainline Protestant denominations:
In September of 1900 Parham returned to Topeka, Kansas, dissatisfied spiritually with what he had seen, and opened the Bethel Healing Home. "I returned home fully convinced that while many had obtained real experience in sanctification and the annointing that abideth, there still remained a great outpouring of power for the Christians who were close to this age."Parham criticized those centers of holiness and healing spirituality on two counts. Not only did they fall short of "the account in Acts" in Parham’s estimation, but they also spawned an offenisve sectarian spirit. He censured those "Bible Schools" (presumably including Simpsons Nyack) "Zions", (and ) "colonies" (Shiloh?) he had toured because they adhered to the doctrines "of one man" which caused them to become narrow, selfish…self advancing; until denouncing and un-Christianizing all others, they came to believe they [were] the only people." (Charles W. Nienkirchen, A.B. Simpson and the Pentecostal Movment.)
FRANK SANDFORD AND
From an interview with Parham conducted by C. W. Shumway, we know that Parham not only studied under Sandford, but was witness to tongues being spoken during that summer of 1900. Parham indicated to Shumway that he first heard tongues being spoken by two male students as they emerged from one of the prayer towers. This chronology would indicate tongues "breaking out" at least six months prior to Agnes Ozman's experience. " (Ibid)
It would appear that Agnes Ozman herself , the first individual to undergo (under the leadership of Parham) what would henceforth be described by Pentecostal theologians as "glossocentric pneumatobaptism"-spirit baptism as evidenced by speaking in tongues- was also familiar with and amenable to the teachings of Sandford:
…Yet to be explored adequately is to what extent Agnes Ozman represents a synthesis of these same influences. Agnes evidenced at least a kinship to Sandford by recounting her time with Dowie, classes at Nyack with Stephen Merritt and an evangelistic excursion into Old Orchard, Maine. This 1890's exposure preceded the rupture between Simpson and Sandford. Menzies argues that Agnes, who affiliated with the Fire-Baptized after Topeka, had Fire-Baptized contact prior to 1900. After her xenolalic pneumabaptism at Bethel Bible College, Agnes was part of a group that started out for Shiloh, but stopped short. (Ibid)
This is especially revealing, as it is obvious that her "Pentecostal experience" of January 1, 1901 in Topeka was virtually identical, in form and content, with that of Jenny Glassey, the student of Sandford described above. From here on in it appears that Parham was to borrow copiously from the message of Sandford, while distancing himself from the messenger. It is important to recognize that there is no evidence that Parham would ever regard the Shiloh manifestations as spurious or demonic; he merely opposed the exclusivism of the Sandfordites, and wished to make their experiences more available to more mainline Protestant denominations:
In September of 1900 Parham returned to Topeka, Kansas, dissatisfied spiritually with what he had seen, and opened the Bethel Healing Home. "I returned home fully convinced that while many had obtained real experience in sanctification and the annointing that abideth, there still remained a great outpouring of power for the Christians who were close to this age."Parham criticized those centers of holiness and healing spirituality on two counts. Not only did they fall short of "the account in Acts" in Parham’s estimation, but they also spawned an offenisve sectarian spirit. He censured those "Bible Schools" (presumably including Simpsons Nyack) "Zions", (and ) "colonies" (Shiloh?) he had toured because they adhered to the doctrines "of one man" which caused them to become narrow, selfish…self advancing; until denouncing and un-Christianizing all others, they came to believe they [were] the only people." (Charles W. Nienkirchen, A.B. Simpson and the Pentecostal Movment.)
FRANK SANDFORD AND
It's a theory, not that they 'ceased' over this, but they were suppressed because of it. If a church doesn't allow the prophets to speak, how would you even know if there were any? Not from going to church, unless the prophet is bold enough just to obey scripture in opposition to the congregation, or the Lord may not move Him to speak in this situation. That's up to the Lord.
The Bible does warn 'quench not the Spirit.' Why would Paul warn the saints who might be tempted to despise prophesying to quench not the Spirit if it were not possible to do so? Paul exhorts believers to desire the better gifts, to covet to prophesy, for the speaker in tongues to pray that he may interpret. Why would he exhort believers in such a way if there were no connection between desiring and praying to be used in spiritual gifts and being able to operate in them?
I Peter 4 shows us that using gifts to minister to one another is a matter of stewardship. We are to use the gifts as 'stewards of the manifold grace of God.' (How does that fit with traditional notions of the sacraments?) What does the Master do with poor stewards? Did the man who buried his one talent get more or lose what he had?
The Bible does warn 'quench not the Spirit.' Why would Paul warn the saints who might be tempted to despise prophesying to quench not the Spirit if it were not possible to do so? Paul exhorts believers to desire the better gifts, to covet to prophesy, for the speaker in tongues to pray that he may interpret. Why would he exhort believers in such a way if there were no connection between desiring and praying to be used in spiritual gifts and being able to operate in them?
I Peter 4 shows us that using gifts to minister to one another is a matter of stewardship. We are to use the gifts as 'stewards of the manifold grace of God.' (How does that fit with traditional notions of the sacraments?) What does the Master do with poor stewards? Did the man who buried his one talent get more or lose what he had?