Forerunner to Charismatics: Edward Irving

Thesis

• A promising start with plentiful gifts is not sufficient to protect from false doctrine and foolish practices.

A review and summary of Arnold Dallimore’s The Life of Edward Irving, 1983, 188 pages.

1. Edward Irving had a promising beginning.

1. 1792 Born on August 4.
2. 1806 Went to the University of Edinburgh at 13.
3. 1810 Graduated at 17 and then entered ministerial training until 23.
4. Physical description: 6’ 4”, strong, handsome face, thick black hair, powerful and pleasing voice, usually dressed in fashionable clothes.
5. Personality and intellect: Quick mind, independent, unflinching, masculine, generous, sensational, and spectacular.

2. He enters the ministry and rises to fame.

6. 1819 Teaches school until he is 27 when he is hired by Dr. Thomas Chalmers as an assistant.
7. While serving with Chalmers, the church is divided over him.
8. 1822 He is called to be pastor in London.
9. The church had about 50 each Sunday when Irving arrived, but within months, 500-1,500 were packing the church.
10. He labored to make his sermons always exciting and pleasing.
11. 1822 He publishes his first book on preaching at 30 years old in his first year as a senior pastor.
12. 1823 Irving finally marries Isabella after leading on Jane Welsh.
13. Jane turned away from Christianity, so Irving sadly took Isabella.
14. 1823 He becomes close friends with the famous poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge who was a Unitarian.
15. 1824 Iriving preaches for the London Missionary Society and rebukes the presence of mission boards as a sign of apostasy.
16. Further, he published his address. Still further, he added a dedication to the published work promoting Coleridge as an orthodox Christian.
17. After six years of ministry in London, massive crowds were listening to him, he had built a new church building, famous people would listen to his preaching, and his books were being circulated.

3. Doctrinal errors and novelties creep into Irving’s ministry.

18. Several volumes of Irving’s works remain and there is no evidence of expository preaching in any of them.
19. A lawyer who was also a church member said of Irving, he seemed to “scorn precision of ideas, and his views will thus continuously vary, without himself being aware of it. His energy and activity… leave him peculiarly open to error.” Dallimore, 60
20. 1824-1828 Most of his study and preaching are focused on prophecy.
21. He made his ministry emphasis exciting, religious ideas rather than the Gospel of Jesus Christ seen from all its angles and connections and texts.
22. 1825 He preaches again for a missions society and again causes controversy.
23. He argued that all the churches were corrupt and missions had no hope of success.
24. Then he published this address as well!
25. He later found a Spanish book on the Second Coming by a Catholic Priest, added a 203 page preface, and published that work as well.
26. Irving’s study of prophecy led him to believe that miracles and signs would be restored before the Second Coming.
27. 1825 His baby son dies, and he takes the position that sickness always comes from sin and is controlled by Satan. “No Christian ought ever to be overcome by sickness.” Dallimore, 160
28. He also began teaching something like baptismal regeneration to comfort himself that his little boy was converted.
29. 1827 When the new church building opened, Irving invited Dr. Chalmers to preach.
30. But then Irving read Psalm 119, prayed for 40 minutes and took up another 30 minutes before asking Dr. Chalmers to speak.
31. Irving preached the false teaching of “Christ’s sinful flesh”, and when he tried to explain himself in print, he contradicts and obscures the whole matter.
32. He taught that the atonement was accomplished during Christ’s life, not His death.
33. He made numerous false steps on the person of Christ and the way of salvation.
34. Then when he was pressed, he would try to explain by contradicting or stating things in unclear terms.
35. He loved oratory, but he had not disciplined himself to careful, precise theology.
36. Irving became friends with McLeod Campbell and A. J. Scott who had left the WCF that they had been ordained under.
37. Eventually, Irving rejected total depravity and divine election along with the Confession through the influence of these friends.

4. Tongues is first seen in Scotland.

38. Mary Campbell was a young girl who had lost her father years earlier and her fiancé recently.
39. When she heard of Irving’s teachings, she decided that her own sickness was from Satan.
40. Further, there was a distinction between regeneration and Spirit baptism.
41. Mary also wanted to be involved in missions.
42. In order to do so, she believed that she would be healed and given the ability to speak other languages.
43. She declared that training for the ministry was from Satan since God could give the right words directly to preachers.
44. 1830 March Mary began to speak incomprehensible sounds.
45. Mary was convinced that she was speaking the language of an island in the South Seas.
46. During the months of visitors coming to the Campbell home where Mary’s sister Isabella had died, her brother Samuel was now sick.
47. Though he urged them not to have such loud and late prayer meetings they continued.
48. When Samuel died Mary told the people who came that God would raise him up and so they waited to bury the corpse.
49. Finally, Mary moved from Scotland to London to attend Irving’s church.

5. The “gifts” arrive in England.

50. 1831 Irving is now 38 and a woman who had been attending his church now speaks with unknown sounds in London.
51. She then interpreted what she had said, “The Lord will speak to His people! The hastens His coming! The Lord comes!”
52. Just after that another young lady from Irving’s church does the same thing.
53. By the end of that year, six of the members received the title “The Gifted Ones.”
54. Four of the six were women, and they were given a special pew in church.
55. Then the Mormons and Shakers in America professed to speak in other languages.
56. Everyone at that time believed these words were languages spoken by some people on earth.
57. Fighting breaks out among the members over interpretations and one of them eventually writes a pamphlet against his old church.
58. 1831 On a Sunday morning in Irving’s 39^th year, two women stand up during the service and began to make sounds in front of 2,000.
59. Irving approves of this.
60. It happens again and again, usually by women.

6. Irving’s life and ministry unravels as the “gifts” increase.

61. A church member, Robert Baxter, believes he has received a prophecy to leave his wife and family because they refuse to believe in tongues.
62. Irving consistently taught the people that whenever they had any doubt, they must immediately count it as the voice of Satan.
63. Eventually, Baxter received such strange revelations that failed so often, he concluded that all these “gifts” were not from God.
64. 1832 The Presbyterian Church rebukes and removes Irving from his church and from the entire denomination.
65. Though he was not a Presbyterian anymore, 800 people followed him in continued charismatic teaching.
66. They renovated a new building with six galleries: first apostles, second prophets, third elders, fourth evangelists, fifth deacons, and sixth Edward Irving, the mere messenger.
67. About this time, different members of the “Gifted Ones” begin to give up their views on the gifts.
68. Miss Hall declared that she practiced at home to “speak in tongues” in public.
69. Baxter wrote a book confessing his error and the errors of the church.
70. Pilkington who had been an unbeliever wrote a book denouncing the church.
71. On receiving these defections, Irving wrote, “Keep your conscience unfettered by your understanding.”
72. When Irving’s assistant pastor left the church, Irving replied, “Your intellect has destroyed you.” To which the man replied, “Yes, Sir, I confess it. My intellect has done the deed. … I am responsible for the use of my intellect and I have used it.”
73. When some said there were both true and false prophecies, Irving answered that the true were from God and the false were from Satan.
74. Eventually, the prophets and apostles told Irving what to do.
75. He wasted away with tuberculosis even while telling himself that he was being healed. He believed that he would be healed right until he died.

7. The descendants of Irving’s theology still live on.

76. The Pentecostal Movement 1901
    1. Baptism in the Spirit as a second work of grace
    2. Marked by speaking in tongues, Agnes Ozman first.
77. The Charismatic Movement 1960
    1. Ecumenism
    2. “gifts” in all denominations
78. The Signs and Wonders Movement 1985
    1. Third Wave of the Spirit
    2. John Wimber’s Power Evangelism
79. The Word Faith Movement
    1. Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, Trinity Broadcasting Network, Joyce Meyers, etc.
    2. Prosperity Gospel

8. Lessons from Irving’s life
   1. A ministry uncontrolled by a confession of faith is in great danger of false doctrine.
   2. An impulse to sensationalism, entertainment, or fame has nothing to do with the Christian ministry, the gospel of Jesus Christ, or the power of the Spirit.
   3. Our lives and ministries must be strictly Biblical.
   4. Biblical theology requires careful precision.
   5. A mind that is not tightly tethered to the words of Scripture will be open to every silly or passing wind.
   6. Perhaps the best defense against false doctrine is a life and ministry relentlessly focused on the gospel of Jesus Christ.