F.F. Bosworth and R.A. Torrey on The Lord's Supper: Two Opposing Views

By Roscoe Barnes III, PhD

Author, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind "Christ the Healer"
Copyright (c) 2019

#FFBosworth
#RATorrey

R.A. Torrey
(1856 - 1928)

Reminder: "F.F. Bosworth History" is now on Twitter. Follow @bosworth_fred 

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F.F. Bosworth held a view about The Lord’s Supper that did not sit well with R.A. Torrey. Bosworth believed that Christ was the Passover lamb who suffered and died so that we can receive “healing for the soul and healing for the body.” A staunch believer in “healing in the atonement,” he taught the Lord’s Supper serves to remind us of “the two great benefits purchased for us by the death of Jesus.” Those two benefits include divine healing and forgiveness of sin.

While Torrey also believed in “healing in the atonement,” he did not believe that the Lord’s Supper was about divine healing. In his commentary on Matthew 8:16 and 17, he noted: "It is often said that this verse teaches that the atoning death of Jesus Christ avails for our sicknesses as well as for our sins; or, in other words, that 'physical healing is in the atonement.' I think that that is a fair inference from these verses when looked at in their context." Although he embraced the idea of divine healing, he did not believe that every believer could simply claim healing and expect to be healed in the same way that they can "claim immediate pardon for all their sins on the ground of the atoning death of Jesus Christ." Complete healing for all will not happen until Christ returns, Torrey explained.

Torrey was the author of Divine Healing: Does God Perform Miracles Today? (Fleming H. Revell Company, 1924). In the Introduction to his book, he used strong language to criticize the view held by Bosworth and a number of Pentecostals. He did not mention Bosworth by name, but he probably had Bosworth in mind. Torrey wrote:

"We have not gone into a consideration of such weird, fantastic and — to a careful Bible scholar — ludicrously impossible and really blasphemous interpretations as that the bread in the Lord’s Supper is for the healing of the body, and the wine for the healing of the soul. Time would fail us to chase to their lair and decapitate all the monstrous vagaries that have haunted the overwrought imaginations of persons who have become so occupied with the thought of Divine Healing that they fancied they saw it everywhere."

Bosworth expounded on his own view of the Lord’s Supper in the sermon, “Discerning the Lord’s Body: Living Faith Makes Disease Impossible.” The message was delivered at a May 22, 1914 convention in Dallas, Texas, and later published in the June 1914 issue of The Latter Rain Evangel. According to Bosworth, the wine in the Lord’s Supper represents “the blood of Jesus for the remission of sins,” and the bread represents “His body broken for the healing of every man’s body in the world.” Bosworth asserted:

Thousands of Christians today because they have not been taught, are eating the Lord’s supper without discerning the Lord’s body. That is, they eat the bread, not knowing that it is an emblem of the Lord’s body broken for their healing. Paul says: “For this cause (not discerning the Lord’s body) many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.” In other words, because many have not been shown their privilege of being healed, they have remained weak and sickly and many have died. Thousands are in the cemeteries before their time for not discerning the Lord’s body broken for their healing. Thousands of others are sick who can be healed.

Bosworth’s view on the Lord’s Supper is held by many today, including followers in Word of Faith churches. Kenneth Copeland, for example, teaches communion can be taken for financial blessings, as well as bodily healing. He also encourages his followers to take it on a daily basis if necessary. For more information on his position, see “How to Take Communion Over Finances,” available here, and “How to Take Communion for Your Healing,” which can be seen here.

Further reading:

For an excellent article on R.A. Torrey and his views on divine healing, see “R. A. Torrey and the Ministry of Healing” by J.D. King. The article, which is adapted from King’s book, Regeneration: A Complete History of Healing in the Christian Church, can be viewed here or by visiting this link: https://authorjdking.com/blog/post/torrey-healing

For a look at R.A. Torrey’s book, Divine Healing: Does God Perform Miracles Today?, visit here and here.

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Note: My book, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind "Christ the Healer," can be purchased here with a 25% discount. Use the discount code: bosworth25.

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Want to know more

about F.F. Bosworth?

Follow the Bosworth Matters blog!

Start here:

ffbosworth.strikingly.com

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For more information:

Visit the F.F. Bosworth page here. Questions about the research and commentary on F.F. Bosworth may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on F.F. Bosworth history, simply follow this blog or @bosworth_fred and @Roscoebarnes3 on Twitter. #ChristTheHealer #BosworthMention #BosworthMatters

F.F. Bosworth's Family

#FFBosworth

Reminder: "F.F. Bosworth History" is now on Twitter. Follow @bosworth_fred 

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Frederick Francis (“F.F.”) Bosworth (1877 – 1958)

SON of Burton Fredrick Bosworth and Amelia Mellisa (Brydia) Bosworth

BROTHER of Clarence C Bosworth, Bertha Bosworth, Mabel M (Bosworth) Christianson and Burton Brydia Bosworth

Follow these hashtags:

#FFBosworth #ChristTheHealer #BosworthMatters #Pentecostal #AssembliesOfGod #CFNI #ORU #Revival #PublicHistory #ChurchHistory

Source: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bosworth-777

'These Things No One Can Deny': What Oswald J. Smith said About the Healing Ministry of the Bosworth Brothers

By Roscoe Barnes III, PhD
Author, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind "Christ the Healer"
Copyright (c) 2019

#FFBosworth
#OswaldJSmith

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“The lame are walking, the deaf are hearing, the cancers are gone – these things no one can deny.” – Oswald J. Smith’s comment about the healing ministry of F.F. Bosworth and B.B. Bosworth

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To me, this quote by Oswald J. Smith, one of the most highly regarded evangelists of the 20th century, speaks volumes about the incredible healing ministry of F.F. Bosworth and his brother, B.B. Bosworth. Smith was an active participant in the 1921 revival meetings held by the Bosworth brothers in Toronto, Canada. He also was known to defend their ministry. Smith later reported being personally healed of an eye condition.

Smith's comment is especially important when one considers the fact that he was not Pentecostal. According to some historians, he disagreed with some of the core teachings of Pentecostal churches. Still, as a prominent fundamentalist/evangelical, he proudly endorsed the healing ministry of the Bosworth brothers.

The above quote was taken from Lois Neely's book, Fire in His Bones: The Official Biography of Oswald J. Smith (Tyndale House Publishers Inc., 1982). For more information on the Bosworth brothers' impact on Smith's ministry, see “What Oswald J. Smith Discovered in the Revival Meetings of the Bosworth Brothers,” located here.

Reminder: "F.F. Bosworth History" is now on Twitter. Follow @bosworth_fred 

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Note: My book, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind "Christ the Healer," can be purchased here with a 25% discount. Use the discount code: bosworth25.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Want to know more

about F.F. Bosworth?

Follow the Bosworth Matters blog!

Start here:

ffbosworth.strikingly.com

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information:

Visit the F.F. Bosworth page here. Questions about the research and commentary on F.F. Bosworth may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on F.F. Bosworth history, simply follow this blog or @bosworth_fred and @Roscoebarnes3 on Twitter. #ChristTheHealer #BosworthMention #BosworthMatters

What Oswald J. Smith Discovered in the Revival Meetings of the Bosworth Brothers

By Roscoe Barnes III, PhD

Author, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind "Christ the Healer"

Copyright © 2019

#FFBosworth

#BosworthMatters

Oswald Jeffrey Smith
(1889 - 1986)

Reminder: "F.F. Bosworth History" is now on Twitter. Follow @bosworth_fred

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In 1921, the revered Oswald J. Smith attended a divine healing campaign in Toronto, Canada that had a profound impact on his life and ministry. It was an experience that changed the way he saw evangelism and also resulted in his personal healing. The campaign was held by F.F. Bosworth and his brother, B.B. Bosworth. The event was so important that Smith wrote about it in his autobiography, The Story of My Life (Peoples Press, 1950).

According to Kevin Kee, author of Revivalists: Marketing the Gospel in English Canada, 1884-1957 (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2006), it was during the Bosworth meetings that Smith first encountered the miraculous in a revival setting. He wrote:

"Smith's first taste of divine healing had come in the Bosworth Brothers Evangelistic Campaign held in Toronto's Massey Hall in 1921. The Rev. W.A. Roffe, the superintendent for the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, had arranged the visit of Pentecostal evangelist and faith healer "F.F." Bosworth and his brother, "B.B.," an accomplished musician and son leader. Smith threw himself into the campaign with characteristic vigour.”

Biographer Lois Neely said that Smith had never seen anything like the Bosworth meetings, but he concluded the miracles of healing were undeniable. Smith reported: “The lame are walking, the deaf are hearing, the cancers are gone – these things no one can deny.”

Smith was a Canadian pastor and strong proponent of missions. The founder of The People's Church in Toronto, he was a popular speaker and the author of 35 books, many of which were highly regarded. He published over a 1,000 poems and was known as a formidable voice in Fundamentalism in Canada. Kee described him as "one of Canada’s foremost evangelists in the first half of the twentieth century" who lived to be 96. During his distinguished decades of ministry, he reportedly preached over 12,000 sermons in 80 countries. 

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What Billy Graham had to say about Oswald J. Smith

According to Kee, Billy Graham saw Smith as ‘"one of the greatest evangelists of all time." Graham said much more in his Foreword to Fire in His Bones: The Official Biography of Oswald J. Smith by Lois Neely (Tyndale House Publishers Inc., 1982). He began by saying Smith’s name “symbolizes worldwide evangelization.” He suggested Smith’s “evangelistic campaigns at home and abroad have been among the greatest and most successful in the history of the Christian Church.” Graham further stated: “No other man has influenced so many people in so many diverse ways.” In terms of personal influence, Graham described Smith as “the most remarkable man” he had ever met. He said Smith’s books “had a tremendous influence” on his life and ministry. Graham closed with the following statement: “Dr. Smith will go down in history as the greatest combination pastor, hymn writer, missionary statesman, and evangelist of our time.”

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What Oswald J. Smith Discovered 
in F.F. Bosworth's Revival Meetings

Smith was energetic in his efforts to support the ministry of the Bosworth brothers. Moved by what he saw, he embraced a number of theological and practical ideas about divine healing that he believed would enhance his ministry as an evangelist and pastor. The views he came to accept included the following:

1. Miracles of physical healing validated some of the teachings of fundamentalists.

According to Kee, Smith “seized on the miracles of physical healing occurring in Massey Hall as a vindication of fundamentalist beliefs.”

2.  Miracles were proof of God's intervention.

As a direct consequence of working with the Bosworth brothers, Smith came to see that “God’s action on earth was not limited to natural processes, as liberal Protestants argued,” Kee asserted. He added: “The miracles were proof that He intervened directly in the lives of ordinary women and men."

3. Miracles that were confirmed helped to refute the claims of cessationists. 

The physical miracles of healing seen by Smith were likely seen as being similar to the “notable miracle” in the ministry of Peter and John in Acts 4:16: “What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.” No doubt, healing reports that could not be denied carried weight in the argument against cessationism. Smith’s first-hand experience with the miraculous prompted him to answer the critics, according to Kee. In a newspaper article to his readers, Smith wrote:  “Never again will the higher critics and skeptics be able to plead ignorance in this city. They may not believe in the miracles of the Bible, but they are now faced with miracles of an unquestionable character right in their midst.”

4. Miracle of healing on a personal level inspired him to write a book about his experience. 

Smith had suffered from an eye condition that was "exasperated by intense headaches," according to historian Gerald W. King. His vision was sometimes blurry. But in an act of faith, he "stopped wearing his glasses," King  wrote. "His eyesight gradually improved while the headaches dissipated." Eager to share the message of healing, Smith published a small book, The Great Physician in 1927.

5. Miracles of healing may draw people to Christ. 

Smith found that divine healing can be an important -- and most effective -- tool of evangelism. He noticed how the crowds grew and how many came to Christ even when the Bosworth brothers ministered on the topic of healing. According to Kee, "Smith later observed that 'miracles of healing have frequently been used of God to gain a hearing for and to secure faith in the Gospel Message.'"

6. Miracles of healing were not experienced by all. 

Over time a number of problems began to appear among those who prayed for the sick. As a consequence, Smith's interest in divine healing started to wane, Kee noted. Smith had concerns about the many people who were not healed after receiving prayer. Kee suggested, "Smith was troubled that, in biblical times, all were healed, but many left the services of the Bosworths and others still afflicted by their infirmities." 

7. Miracles of healing, though biblical and genuine, were not without controversy. 

Smith was bothered by the role of money in the healing campaigns. He felt an emphasis on offerings put the church and healing ministries at risk of becoming "commercialized." Kee quoted him as saying, "The apostles made no money out of their healing ministry. Perhaps God is seeking to find a man even now whom he can trust along this line."

Related blog post:

"What P.C. Nelson Saw in the F.F. Bosworth Revival Meetings: How the Experience Moved Him to Begin His Own Healing Ministry." See here.

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Note: My book, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind "Christ the Healer," can be purchased here with a 25% discount. Use the discount code: bosworth25.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Want to know more

about F.F. Bosworth?

Follow the Bosworth Matters blog! 

See it here:

ffbosworth.strikingly.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information:
Visit the F.F. Bosworth page here. Questions about the research and commentary on F.F. Bosworth may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on F.F. Bosworth history, simply follow this blog or @bosworth_fred and @Roscoebarnes3 on Twitter. #ChristTheHealer #BosworthMention

Continuing Education and Long Distance Learning for Chaplains

By Roscoe Barnes III, PhD
Copyright (c) 2019

NOTE: This is the handout for a presentation I gave at a Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) State Chaplains Meeting on Thursday, April 18, 2019. The meeting was held at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF)/Youth Offender Unit (YOU) in Pearl, Miss.

Continuing Education and Long Distance Learning for Chaplains

Dr. Roscoe Barnes III
Chaplain, MTC/Wilkinson County Correctional Facility
Email: Roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com or doctorbarnes3@gmail.com

CLASS DESCRIPTION: This class will provide resources for online/non-traditional education by presenting chaplains (and offenders) with practical, low-cost ways to further their education and earn legitimate degrees and diplomas at a distance.

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION:

The class will focus on the following topics:

1. Accreditation: Important facts that everyone should know about accrediting agencies, degree mills, diploma mills and outright scams. A list of legitimate accrediting agencies is presented along with warning signs to consider when searching for a school.

2. Recommended Online Resources: A review of DegreeInfo.com and BakersGuide.com, two of the most popular online resources available on legitimate schools with religious programs.

* DegreeInfo.com has forums in which its members discuss all aspects of distance learning. Its members include some of the top experts in the field, including Dr. John Bear. Its forums provide a place where you can ask any questions you have about schools, degrees, tuition, and various online programs of study. Many of its members have gone on to earn doctorates. DegreeInfo’s search feature is pure gold, allowing you to easily look up information on many schools and topics.

* BakersGuide.com offers a Christian Online Degree Directory that features more than 1,000 online undergraduate and graduate degrees offered by Christian colleges and universities, Bible colleges, and theological seminaries. Only accredited (U.S.) or government-approved (international) colleges, universities, and seminaries are listed. Writes Baker: “If the Christian school you're considering is not listed there, you have good reason to be cautious.” Questions may be sent to info@bakersguide.com.

3. Foreign Schools and Research Degrees: A look at schools in South Africa, Australia, Open University, India, etc. The schools in these countries are as good and as rigorous as the schools in the United States. However, their tuition cost is much lower than the cost of US schools. Earning degrees through these schools have advantages and disadvantages.

4. Popular Almost-Free School for Chaplains and Offenders: A look at NationsUniversity.

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ROSCOE BARNES III, Ph.D., is a writer, chaplain, historian, and former newspaper reporter. He is the author of more than a dozen books and Gospel tracts. For more information about his work and history, see his Personal Profile here or visit his website: roscoebarnes.net. Connect with him on Twitter (@roscoebarnes3) or by email: roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com.

My Hemingway Paper Approved for the 17th International Hemingway Colloquium

Research offers fresh look at Hemingway's success with 'The Old Man and the Sea'

By Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D.
Author, Off to War: Franklin Countians in WWII
Copyright (c) 2019

#Hemingway
#ErnestHemingway

It’s official! I’m going to Cuba!

I'm happy to announce my paper on Ernest Hemingway has been approved for the 17th International Hemingway Colloquium. The conference will be held June 20-23, 2019, at the Finca Vigia, Cuba. 

My paper is titled, "The Old Man and the Spree: What Two of Hemingway's Favorite Pastimes Reveal about His Later Outburst of Writing Success."

On April 16, 2019,  I received this email from Prof. Rebecca Johnston:

Hello Roscoe,

I am forwarding the email I sent out today to those accepted, I am happy to say your name was on the list.

I look forward to presenting my paper. My research focuses on Hemingway's comeback as a writer. It offers a fresh look at some of the contributing factors to his success with his final book of fiction that was published before his death. Although critics have presented a number of possible reasons for the success of The Old Man and the Sea, this paper will highlight the role of regression in his final writing spree. Specifically, it will show how his success in 1952 may have been influenced on some level by two of his favorite pastimes: boxing and fishing.

Further reading:

The End of Something Short: Hemingway’s Use of Repetition as a Closing Device in Five Short Stories. See here.

PowerPoint - The End of Something Short: Hemingway’s Use of Repetition as a Closing Device in Five Short Stories. See here.

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ROSCOE BARNES III, Ph.D., is a writer, chaplain, historian, and former newspaper reporter. He is the author of more than a dozen books and Gospel tracts. For more information about his work and history, see his Personal Profile here or visit his website: roscoebarnes.net. Connect with him on Twitter (@roscoebarnes3) or by email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com.

James Moore Hickson: The 'Miracle Man' Recognized by F.F. Bosworth and David J. du Plessis

By Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D.
Author, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind "Christ the Healer"
Copyright (c) 2019

#FFBosworth

James Moore Hickson
(1868 - 1933)

Reminder: "F.F. Bosworth History" is now on Twitter. Follow @bosworth_fred

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When F.F. Bosworth sought to bolster his argument for "healing in the Atonement," he cited a number of "eminent men" from the Episcopal church. One of those men was James Moore Hickson, a layman who was known as the "Miracle Man."

In his book, Christ the Healer, Bosworth mentioned Hickson in Chapter 2, "Did Jesus Redeem Us From Our Diseases When He Atoned for Our Sins?" He noted:

James Moore Hickson pleads: "A living Church is one in which the Living Christ lives and walks, doing through its members what He did in the days of His flesh. It must, therefore, be a HEALING  Church as well as a soul-saving Church ... Spiritual healing is sacramental. It is the extension through the members of His mystical body of His own incarnate life."

Hickson, who was sometimes called a "Healer," was born in 1868 in Mansfield, Victoria, Australia. He began praying for the sick -- and seeing them healed -- when he was just 14 years of age.

"The man has had peculiar power from childhood and feels it his mission to stir up the church to its possibilities," a woman said of him in the Coronado Eagle and Journal (February 7, 1920).

Hickson was the author of The Healing of Christ in His Church (Edwin S. Gorham, 1919) and Heal the Sick (Methuen & Company, 1924). He was also the founder of The Society of Emmanuel. The ministry changed its name to The Divine Healing Mission in 1933.

Like others in his day, Hickson was often lambasted in newspapers and accused of promoting quackery and counterfeit healings. Still, there were many who reportedly found healing or some measure of comfort through his ministry. Although some of the healings in his ministry were instantaneous, most were  gradual, according to Hickson. He carried his ministry of healing to many nations, including the United States.

David J. du Plessis, a.k.a., Mr. Pentecost, believed Hickson was an apostle whom God used to restore the message of divine healing to the church in the 20th century. He suggested his ministry of healing in mainline denominations was an ecumenical effort that surpassed even the work of Pentecostals. He discussed Hickson in his book, The Spirit Bade Me Go: The Astounding Move of God in the Denominational Churches (Logos International, 1970). In Chapter 1, "A Pentecostal in Ecumenical Circles," du Plessis shared the following:

Besides speaking with tongues, there was another very important doctrine and practice which the churches had rejected -- namely, divine healing. In my estimation Mr. James Moor [sic] Hickson was the man God used to really set the churches right on this matter. Pentecostals could not do it, although they were preaching the message and praying for the sick in almost every meeting in those days. Till this day I consider Mr. Hickson as God's great apostle to restore to the world the reality of divine healing.


Further reading:
The Story of Crowhurst Christian Healing Centre, The Old Rectory, and The Divine Healing Mission. See article here.

James Moore Hickson (Jim). See article here.

The Healing of Christ in His Church. See article here.

The Hickson Healing Mission – 1922. See article here.

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Note: My book, F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind "Christ the Healer," can be purchased here with a 25% discount. Use the discount code: bosworth25.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Want to know more

about F.F. Bosworth?

Follow the Bosworth Matters blog!

See it here:

ffbosworth.strikingly.com 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information:
Visit the F.F. Bosworth page here. Questions about the research and commentary on F.F. Bosworth may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on F.F. Bosworth history, simply follow this blog or @bosworth_fred and @Roscoebarnes3 on Twitter. #ChristTheHealer #BosworthMatters #BosworthMention