Smith Wigglesworth

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Smith Wigglesworth (born June 8, 1859 in Menston , Yorkshire , England , † March 12, 1947 ) was a British evangelist , Pentecostal preacher , spiritual healer and author . With his sermons and healing meetings, he had a great influence on the Pentecostal movement and its growth in the 20th century.

Life

Wigglesworth grew up in a poor family as one of four children of craftsmen John and Martha. He had two brothers and a sister. As a child, he had to work both at home and in textile factories so that he could not go to school. At his father's request, he attended the Anglican Church , and he and his brother sang in the choir. In 1872, when he was 13 years old, the family moved to Bradford town . He and his grandmother attended the meetings of the Methodist Church here . When he was 16, he was volunteering with the Salvation Army that had come to Bradford. A craftsman of the Plymouth Brethren he worked with also taught him Bible teaching. At 18 he moved to Liverpool , where he continued to work as a plumber and volunteer for the Salvation Army. At the age of 23 he moved back to Bradford and met the Salvationist Mary Jane, called Polly , Featherstone, whom he married on May 2, 1882. They had a daughter, Alice, and four sons named Seth, Harold, Ernest and George. They volunteered together on a mission on Bowland Street. He learned to read the Bible through his wife Polly, who knew the Bible well and was able to teach. But she died in 1913.

In 1893 Wigglesworth attended a conference in Keswick , where he was baptized in the Spirit . In 1907 he visited the Anglican pastor Alexander Boddy and his wife Mary in Sunderland during the revival time there . He gave up his plumbing job to start preaching. Wigglesworth believed in miracles and healings through faith and prayer, since he accepted Satan as the origin, sin and lack of faith and trust in God for many diseases .

In 1914 Wigglesworth traveled to the United States where he conducted healing meetings. In 1920, 1925 and 1926 he traveled to Switzerland, where he held conferences in Bern , Burgdorf , Thun , Zurich , Winterthur and St. Gallen , which contributed to the significant development and growth of the Swiss Pentecostal Mission (SPM). He was also involved in sending the first SPM missionary, Joseph Reinhard Gschwend, to Lesotho . In 1921 he went to Norway , Sweden and Denmark . He worked there with Pastor Thomas Ball Barratt and gathered many people around him; in Oslo , for example, 5,000 people gathered to hear Wigglesworth.

In 1922 he visited Australia , New Zealand and again the USA. In 1926 and 1927 he stayed again in Australia and the USA in the British colony of India and Sri Lanka . Even in the 1930s he was still on the road as an evangelist and preacher, again in Scandinavia, in the USA and for the first time in South Africa . In December 1936 he is said to have prophesied to the Pentecostal preacher David du Plessis ( Mr. Pentecost ) in South Africa that he would play an important role in a non-denominational spiritual renewal.

Reception and criticism

Many of Wigglesworth's sermons were written down, published in Pentecostal magazines, and later published as books. After his death into the 21st century, his sermons were translated into several languages, reprinted and recommended.

But there are also critics who question his healings or their type and number, mostly assuming suggestion and placebo effects . They also miss objective witnesses and evidence, which was difficult to achieve in view of the limited resources of the time, the ignoring and marginalization by the established church circles.

Other Christians criticize his one-sidedness in matters of illness. Wigglesworth tended to be against medical treatment, he thought medicine was only something of a weak faith. Those who have not been healed are guilty of lack of faith, because illness is the result of personal sin. In some cases he also used physical violence when praying for the sick by hitting the person on the corresponding part of the sick body. He himself wore glasses because of poor eyesight, and he could not cure his daughter's illness.

Fonts

During his lifetime

After his death

  • The Anointing of His Spirit , Wayne Warner (ed.), Regal Books, Gospel Light Publications, Ventura 1994
  • Only Believe - 180 daily devotional readings , Wayne Warner (ed.), Servant Publications, Ann Arbor 1996 (new edition: Bridge-Logos, Gainesville 2005)
  • Smith Wigglesworth - the complete collection of his life teachings , Albury Publishing, Tulsa 1997 (New edition: Whitaker House, 2008, ISBN 978-1-60374-083-8 )
  • Smith Wigglesworth Devotional , Whitaker House, 1999, ISBN 978-0-88368-574-7
  • On Healing , Whitaker House, 1999, ISBN 978-0-88368-426-9
  • On the Holy Spirit , Whitaker House, 1999, ISBN 978-0-88368-544-0
  • On Spirt-filled living , Whitaker House, 1999, ISBN 978-0-88368-534-1
  • On Heaven - God's great plan for your life , Whitaker House, 2003, ISBN 978-0-88368-954-7
  • On Prayer, Power an Miracles , Destiny Image Publishers, 2006, ISBN 978-0-76842-315-0
  • On the Power of Scripture , Whitaker House, 2009, ISBN 978-1-60374-094-4
  • On manifesting the Power of God , Destiny Image Publishers, 2016, ISBN 978-0-76840-861-4

German translations

literature

reference books

English

  • Stanley H. Frodsham: With Signs following - the story of the latter day pentecostal revival , Gospel Publishing House, Springfield 1926
  • Stanley Frodsham: Smith Wigglesworth - Apostle of Faith , Gospel Publishing House, Springfield, 1948 (AoG England 1949)
  • Harry V. Roberts: New Zealand's greatest revival under Smith Wigglesworth , Pelorus Press, Auckland 1951 (New edition: Wigglesworth down under - the visit of Smith Wigglesworth to Wellington in 1922 - New Zealand's greatest revival under Smith Wigglesworth by an eyewitness , Jubilee, Wellington 2002 )
  • A man called Mr Pentecost - David du Plessis as told to Bob Slosser . Logos International, Plainfield NJ 1977
  • William Hacking: Smith Wigglesworth remembered , Harrison House, Tulsa 1981 (new editions with new titles: Smith Wigglesworth - A life ablaze with the power of God , 1995; Secrects of Smith Wigglesworth - Personal insights into the miracle life of God's General , 2002)
  • Albert Hibbert: Smith Wigglesworth - the secret of his power , Harrison House, Tulsa 1982 (new edition by Sovereign World, Tonbridge 1986), ISBN 1-85240-004-8
  • Walter J. Hollenweger, Charismatic-Pentecostal Christianity: Origin, Situation, Ecumenical Opportunities , Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1997
  • Barry Chant: Heart of Fire , The House of Tabor, Unley Park 1984
  • Jack Hywel-Davies: Baptized by fire - The Story of Smith Wigglesworth , Hodder and Stoughton, London 1987; (USA: The Life of Smith Wigglesworth , Servant Publications, Ann Arbor 1987; reprint 2001)
  • George Stormont: Wigglesworth - a man who walked with God , Harrison, Tulsa 1989 (New editions: Sovereign World, Tonbridge 1990; Harrison, Tulsa 2009, ISBN 978-1-57794-975-6 )
  • David W. Dorries: The Making of Smith Wigglesworth ; Part 1: The Making of the Man ; Part 2: The Making of His Message , AOG Heritage Magazine, Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center, Springfield 1992–1993 Missouri, USA.
  • Roberts Liardon: God's Generals - why they succeeded and why some failed , Albury Publishing, Tulsa 1996
  • Roberts Liardon: Smith Wigglesworth - The complete Collection of his Life Techings , Albury Publishing, Tulsa 1997
  • Desmond Cartwright: The real Smith Wigglesworth - The man, the myth, the message, Sovereign World, Tonbridge 2000
  • Julian Wilson: Smith Wigglesworth - the complete story , Authentic Publishing, Milton Keynes
  • William Counsell: Fire beneath the clock , New Life Publishing, Nottingham 2003
  • The Smith Wigglesworth Prophecy and the greatest Revival of all time , Wilmington Group Publishers, Fort Lauderdale 2005
  • Philip Taylor: In the Stepps of Smith Wigglesworth - Exploring key locations in the life of the legendary healing evangelist , Oxford 2007
  • Michael H. Yeager: The Miracles of Smith Wigglesworth , 2015, ISBN 978-1506188034

German translations

  • Stanley H. Frodsham: Smith Wigglesworth - Apostles of the Faith , Asaph 1974, 13th edition, ISBN 978-3-94018-831-1
  • William Hacking: What Was His Secret? Private Glimpses into the Life of a General of God , Adullam, 2005, ISBN 978-3-93148-446-0

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Markus Koch: Wigglesworth, Smith. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  2. ↑ http://www.smithwigglesworth.com/life/birth.htm
  3. ↑ http://www.smithwigglesworth.com/life/bits.htm
  4. ↑ http://www.smithwigglesworth.com/index.php/smith-wigglesworth-life/1914-usa
  5. ↑ Markus Koch: Wigglesworth, Smith. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  6. ↑ http://www.smithwigglesworth.com/index.php/smith-wigglesworth-life/1920-switzerland
  7. ↑ http://www.smithwigglesworth.com/index.php/smith-wigglesworth-life/1921-scandinavia
  8. ↑ http://www.smithwigglesworth.com/index.php/smith-wigglesworth-life/1922-australia-and-new-zealand
  9. ↑ http://smithwigglesworth.com/index.php/smith-wigglesworth-life/1922-usa
  10. ↑ http://smithwigglesworth.com/index.php/smith-wigglesworth-life/1926-india-and-ceylon
  11. ↑ http://smithwigglesworth.com/index.php/smith-wigglesworth-life/1930-s-40-s-world-travels
  12. ^ Stanley H. Frodsham: Smith Wigglesworth - Apostles of the Faith , Asaph 1974, 13th edition, ISBN 978-3-94018-831-1
  13. ↑ Biography of Smith Wigglesworth on the healingandrevival website
  14. ↑ Gary B. McGee: The Revival Legacy of Smith Wigglesworth, article on the Assemblies of God’s Enrichment Journal website  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / enrichmentjournal.ag.org  
  15. ^ Walter J. Hollenweger, Charismatic-Pentecostal Christianity: Origin, Situation, Ecumenical Opportunities , Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1997, p. 387
  16. ↑ Erik Shilling: The Unverifiable Legend of the Early 20th-Century Preacher Who Raised 14 People from the Dead. Meet Smith Wigglesworth . October 13, 2016
  17. ↑ Patrick Tschui: Smith Wigglesworth (1859-1947) , March 2000
personal data
SURNAME Wigglesworth, Smith
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British artisan, evangelist, Pentecostal preacher and author
DATE OF BIRTH June 8, 1859
PLACE OF BIRTH Menston , Yorkshire , England
DATE OF DEATH March 12, 1947