(See letter 1908/11/08)

Sense and Nonsense

Since there have been cases of mental illness recently for which speaking in tongues has been blamed, it became necessary to say something about this issue.

People should not be too quick to blame the gift of tongues for a person losing their mind, since the root cause is likely something quite different. Paul, who everyone regards as being extremely sound-minded, and who most definitely was of a sound mind, spoke in tongues more than them all. 1 Cor. 14:18. Not only that, but he wished that they all spoke in tongues. 1 Cor. 14:5. We can be quite certain that it wasn’t Paul’s intention for them all to lose their minds since he exhorted them time and again to be of a sound mind. He even refers to the Corinthians, who spoke much in tongues, as being wise men [sound-minded, Norw.]. 1 Cor. 10:15. So there is a difference between having the gift of tongues and being out of your mind. The fact is that when a person speaks in tongues, their understanding (mind) is completely disengaged, because it is the Spirit who is praying. The understanding is unfruitful (without exertion). 1 Cor. 14:14.

Nevertheless, when people have lost their minds due to this “movement,” as they refer to it, we need to examine the cause more closely. They should not just superficially blame the first thing that comes along (which might sound a bit strange to their ears) without a conscious awareness of the work of God—which in this case is speaking in tongues. They have no right to tarnish God’s glorious gift in this way.

The issue has more to do with the fact that people hold meetings in small, crowded rooms late into the night, evening after evening, with one person attempting to outdo the other in trembling, shaking, falling on the ground, and working themselves up into a state of euphoria, etc., in order to convince themselves and others that they are unusually spiritual and have been abundantly filled with the Holy Spirit. They have forgotten the exhortation to watch and be sober (1 Thess. 5:6) and that such behavior will not go unpunished.

It is understandable that people can fall on the ground when they receive the Spirit for the first time. That is what happened to Saul of Tarsus. Acts 9:4. However, when they continue to fall on the ground, meeting after meeting, shaking and flailing around and putting on a sensational performance by attempting to either summon the Spirit or to demonstrate how Spirit-filled they are, then it doesn’t surprise me in the least that they can lose their minds.

One big mistake people have made during this “movement” is placing far too much emphasis on feelings. They use one meeting after another to work up people’s feelings to a euphoric level, and in order to help them get there quickly, they have come up with the most outrageous things, which can only come from spiritual intoxication. And naturally it is the gift of tongues that gets blamed. Instruction, exhortation, and sober-minded examination of the Scriptures have all been despised, which is also the reason for these tragic outcomes. Paul had an urgency in his heart that those who had received the Spirit of God should also receive wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him (Eph. 1, from verse 15, and Col. 2, from verse 1). But can we say that this “movement” has been characterized by a longing for the knowledge of God? No. People have sought to receive the gift of tongues, which is well and good; but then they have continued by seeking to tremble, shake, and flail around, and to do many other things that shouldn’t even be mentioned here, in order to have abundant evidence that they are something special—that they are more Spirit-filled than everyone else.

I was recently in a village where I met a few older people and a younger man who were shaking as they sat together speaking about God. The older man told me that he had noticed that everyone else who was Spirit-filled had so many quirky behaviors, so he also prayed for such a sign—which he received; so now he was also able to shake along with the others.

People are blaming Br. Barratt for all this commotion; but just as Luther can’t be blamed for the fact that most Lutherans live an ungodly life and that many of them today are confined within insane asylums, in the same way Barratt can’t be blamed because so many people are behaving insanely. Barratt is basically an evangelist, and in that respect he has his great commission to tend to; so of course he can’t be held responsible for everything that happens. Nevertheless, I think it would be very helpful if he could write in Byposten and warn against the excesses which he personally has seen and heard.

When I write about this issue, it is not as an opposer of the work of God, because I thank God for the gift of tongues and the prophetic gift which I have personally received. However, it is not right to tarnish the gifts of the Spirit. We are to esteem them highly because God has given them to the church. 1 Cor. 12:10, 28. Let us rather despise those things which ought to be despised—namely, those things which are of our own invention.

Horten, November 4, 1908