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THE KING’S BUSINESS
first chapter of Romans. Another of the most prominent, perhaps the most promi nent, leader in the State of Ohio, was con victed of crime with a young woman, though he himself was a married man. In a number of instances men and women leaders in'the movement have been proven guilty of the vilest relations to one another. In many instances the movement has seethed with immorality of the grossest character. This is not to say for a_ mo ment that there are no clean-minded and well-meaning men and women in the Move ment, but the Movement as a whole has ap parently developed more immorality than any other modern movement except spir itism, to which it is closely allied in many ways. Two of the leaders of the Movement went from this country to India and for a while had a following among some of the most prominent Christian, workers tjiere. but some of those who went into it were so shocked by the indecencies that devel oped in connection with it that they came out. 5. In numerous instances as the “Ton gues Movement’’ developed it became evi dent that it was demoniacal. There seemed to be evidence that those claiming to speak with tongues really did speak with tongues other than those which they understood, but what they said was vile and bad, show ing that the spirit -that moved them was not the Holy Spirit but a demon. There were manifestations irj Macao, China, precisely the same as those described by “the Society for Psychical Research” as occurring in spiritualistic gatherings. Some that have spoken with tongues have afterwards dis covered that they were demon-possessed in stead of being baptized with the Holy Spirit. There have been remarkable and startling and appalling developments along this line in Germany. The truth is that many peo ple are so anxious to be governed by some supernatural spirit th^t they are not care
ful to distinguish as to whether this super natural being that controls them is the Holy Spirit or a demon, and the “Tongues Move ment” has had most startling developments along this line. 6. The “Tongues Movement” in all its' essential features is nothing modern. The same thing developed between 1830 and 1840 in the unfortunate Irvingite Movement in England. There was a most marvelous manifestation of “speaking with tongues” in that movement that led away for a time some clear-minded men and women who afterwards had unmistakable evidence that the spirit who controlled the speakers was not the Holy Spirit at all but an evil spirit. Speaking with tongues has been practiced among the Mormons for many years. Throughout its history in Mormon gather ings in Utah oftentimes men and women have claimed to speak with tongues. ,To sum it all up, the “Tongues Move ment” is a movement upon which God has set the stamp of His disapproval in a most unmistakable way in His Word, and also, in what He has permitted to develop in con nection with it. It is a movement that every one who believes and obeys the Word of God should leave severely alone except to expose, as there may be occasion, the gross errors and evils connected with it. We do not deny the possibility of God’s giving a man in our day the gift of tongues. If God sees fit to, do it, He can do it and will do it, but the “Gift of Tongues” evidently was so abused in the early church in lines very similar to the present abuse in the “Tongues Movement” that it was necessary even in Paul’s time to warn peo ple about the errors connected with the gift of tongues, and God, in His wisdom and love for a time withdrew this gift from the Church and there is no good reason for supposing that He has. restored it at the present time, and certainly the so-called “Tongues Movement” is not of God.
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