Page 230 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

A History of the Church in Africa

Although Simpson closed the door to Pentecostals, other evangelical
leaders were not as charitable as he:

Dr. G. Campbell Morgan, respected Bible expositor, referred to
the Pentecostal Movement as “the last vomit of Satan,” and Dr.
Reuben A. Torrey, a leading evangelist of the times, claimed
it was “emphatically not of God, and founded by a Sodomite.”
(Menzies, 72–73)

One wonders what these scholars and Christian leaders would say
today. Some of those who criticized the Pentecostal movement knew
little about the movement and allowed hearsay and rumors to influence
them. Even in my day, some of the people in my home town called us
“Holy Rollers” because they had heard that Pentecostals roll on the floor.

Most of the criticism came from those who had never attended a
Pentecostal worship service. A common charge was that the teaching
of Pentecost was “of the devil.” The Apostolic Faith newsletter of
September 1907 reported that one sister who listened from outside the
Azusa Mission said, “‘So, that is the devil. Well, the devil has some sweet
singers.’… She went to the altar and received the Baptism with the Holy
Ghost.” Although some critics labeled the movement as “a religion of
the poor,” Hollenweger countered “The religion of the poor is not a poor
religion” (as quoted in Jones, 23). David Barrett adds: “No movement
in the 20 century was more harassed, tormented, persecuted, and
th
martyred for its faith than the Pentecostals” (quoted in Synan, 97).

There was some justification for the negative reactions. At times, the
movement lacked adequate leadership to provide teaching and guidance.
There were those who placed too much emphasis on the signs and
wonders and not enough on personal discipline. Some refused to listen
to counsel and thought education was “leaning on the flesh” rather than
on the Spirit. As we will see in the next chapter, the Pentecostal river
needed some adequate banks to prevent an overflow of destruction.
Some organization was needed and it was on the horizon.

Doctrinal Issues

Not only did the Pentecostal movement suffer criticism from those
outside the movement, but there were also some doctrinal issues that

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