Date: 24-Sep-1994 08:13am EST
Subject: Misc. Topics
Through a variety of circumstances I had to take a brief brief break from reading messages that I have received by E-mail, from noon Thursday until 5:00 Friday, eastern time. It is astonishing how much happens in the period of about 29 hours! I came back to about fifty messages, and there were many discussions that I could have contributed to, but they were over already! Truly amazing!
Here are a few brief comments on some of the things that have transpired during that time:
Jon posted a brochure describing a VCF conference in Valparaiso, IN, which stated that "Christian leaders in the USA have documented well over 1000 significant 'hot spots' that are experiencing an unprecedented outpouring right now--today!"
I have a few questions on this: (1) Who wrote the brochure? (2) Which Christian leaders have documented this? (3) Where have they made a statement to this effect? (4) Is there a listing somewhere of these 1000 significant "hot spots"? If so, where?
Don Wilkerson made reference to an article, "An Investigation Into the Experience Known as 'Slain In the Spirit' by Alan Morrison. Where was this article published, and/or where is it available? Don noted that the article's author stated that the falling experience originated with Maria Woodworth-Etter, who "falsely prophesied that San Francisco would be destroyed by an earthquake in 1890."
It is not true that this experience originated with Maria Beulah Woodworth-Etter. I'll elaborate on this point in a moment, but first, I'd like to mention that, in the Zondervan Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, p. 896, it is stated of sister Woodworth-Etter that "in 1890 she was thought to have incorrectly predicted an earthquake in San Francisco, and her ministry went into relative obscurity until April 18, 1906, when San Francisco received one of the worst earthquakes in reecorded history just a few days after the initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Los Angeles. During these sixteen years there had been continued manifestations of unusual power at her meetings."
Maria B. Woodworth-Etter had one of the most powerful ministries we've ever seen on this contintent. But the phenomenon of people falling under the power of Spirit certainly did not originate with her. It happened during the Evangelical Awakening in England in the 1700s, and it happened extensively during the second awakening in the United States. It also happened quite a bit under the ministry of Charles Finney during the early nineteenth century. In his Memoirs, for example, he wrote, "The congregation began to fall from their seats in every direction, and cried for mercy. If I had had a sword in each hand, I could not have cut them off their seats as fast as they fell" (p. 103). Elsewhere, he writes, "Before the week was out I learned that some of them, when they would attempt to observe this season of prayer, would lose all of their strength and be unable to rise to their feet, or even stand upon their knees in their closets" (pp. 44-45).
When I read Catharine C. Cleveland's book, THE GREAT REVIVAL IN THE WEST, 1797-1805 (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1916), I found thirty-four references to people falling under the power of the spirit (pp. 59, 60, 63, 65, 66, 67, 68, 72, 73, 74, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 84, 88, 89, 90, 92, 93, 94, 97, 107, 109, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 174, 179, 195).
In one post, Daniel Dick mentioned that he would like to see various things, including stories of revival. I'll see what I can do along these lines, time permitting.
I'd like to make one other comment, and that has to do with the nature of revival. Traditionally, revival has been understood to involve a reawakening of faith in the church. If we are seeing that now, then we are in the midst of revival now. Webster's dictionary doesn't say anything about mass conversions with respect to revival, although such things sometimes do happen as a result of revival. The relevant dictionary definitions of revival are as follows: "restoration to life, consciousness, vigor, strength, etc.," and "an awakening of interest in religion." Another use of the word, not directly relevant here, is "an evangelistic service for the purpose of effecting a religious awakening." Really, though, historians have traditionally referred to revivals as outpourings of the Holy Spirit, times of refreshing, and times of divine visitation. Revivals can be localized, or than can cover a broad area, and in such cases, are often known as awakenings.
It confuses people to say that we are not in revival, but that we are in the midst of something that can become revival. A few weeks ago, I sent a copy of Bill Jackson's paper to John Stackhouse, professor of Religion at the University of Manitoba, and he was trying to figure out why Bill was saying that this is a renewal but not yet a revival. He feels, as I do, that this is a false distinction.
In closing, I'd like to thank you all for all of those wonderful posts! Keep them coming. I believe that the body of Christ is really being blessed through what you are all saying through the medium of this list. Praise God!
Richard M. Riss RRISS@DREW.EDU