To have considered briefly the teaching and practices of the Movement will enable us the better to understand what is written of Dr. Buchman himself, and come to some definite conclusion as to him and the Movement he has founded.
Harold Begbie has told us in his book written over twenty years ago, " In appearance he is a young-looking man of middle life, tall, upright, stoutish, clean-shaven, spectacled, with that mien of scrupulous, shampooed, and almost medical cleanness, or freshness, which is so characteristic of the hygienic American " (" Life Changers," p. 24). He was ordained a Lutheran minister at twenty-four years of age, labored in Philadelphia for some time, visited the Near East for a twelvemonth, and in the year 1908 he paid a visit to England with the express object of attending the well-known Keswick Convention.
At this time he was feeling depressed because of the little power he had in his ministry. In this frame of mind he wandered into a little village church in Cumberland, England, where a woman preacher, a Pentecostalist, spoke to a congregation of seventeen people.
The woman preacher spoke of some aspect of the cross. It is really strange that F. B. cannot recall what aspect of the cross was emphasized, seeing it was the means of such a change in him. Nor does he know the name of the woman preacher, though he states her preaching " personalized the Cross " to him. Strangely enough he recalls how many made up the small congregation. But undoubtedly a great change took place. Begbie describes what took place, mostly in F. B.'s own words:- "He said, ' I remember one sensation very distinctly; it was a vibrant feeling as if a strong current of life had suddenly been poured into me. That followed on my surrender. No; it came at the same time. It was instantaneous.' What followed on this sensation, was the dazed feeling of 'a great shaking up.' He sat for some moments in a certain confusion of mind, not trembling in the body, but conscious of a long vibration in his soul, as though it was still throbbing under the shock of this new experience. There was no immediate feeling of lightness, no rejoicing sense of deliverance and liberation. He was very conscious of a very mighty change in himself, but for some time could only think of that change in terms of its physical effects" ("Life Changers," pp. 29, 30).
Will the reader note the closing statement; for some time the change could ONLY be thought of in terms of its physical effects? We have read of such physical effects in the case of Pentecostalists, Holy Rollers and the like. What sort of conversion is this? We are not told what or to whom was his surrender. No word about Christ or confessing his sins or receiving forgiveness of his sins. If such had been his previous experience, there is no testimony here as to coming into these truths in a deeper or fuller way.
Begbie tells us, that in that little Cumberland church, "There came to him [F. B.] very palpably and with a most poignant realism, albeit with no suddenness, no dramatic intensity, a vision of the Crucified. He was conscious at once of two shuddering realizations—the realization of a great abyss between him and the suffering Christ, the realization of an infinite sorrow in the face of the Master... A wave of strong emotion, rising up within him from the depths of his estranged spiritual life, seemed, as it were, to lift his soul from its anchorage of selfishness and to bear it across that great sundering abyss to the foot of the Cross. There he made his surrender to the divine Will; there he lost all sense of oppression and helplessness. It was the work of a moment, and a gesture of his spirit invisible to human eyes" (" Life Changers," p. 29). Note, Christ is called "Master," a name greatly affected by Modernists, not Savior, nor Lord; he surrenders to the divine Will, no personal name, such as God or Christ as Savior, is mentioned. Nothing is said as to his sins or their forgiveness. We stand in doubt of such an unsatisfactory testimony.
Why cannot F. B. write his own testimony, and give an account of the teaching and practices of the Movement?
It is certainly singular that the two volumes F. B. has authorized to be written concerning himself and his movement were written by two journalists-the late Harold Begbie (" Life Changers, " 188 pages) and A. J. Russell (" For Sinners Only, " 345 pages). We all know how journalists love the sensational, and to write down what makes "good copy."
It would be well at this stage to inquire what sort of power F. B. wields. It is a very remarkable power. Is it of the Spirit of God, or of what? A. J. Russell styles him "the legendary Frank." Greats says that "his influence is wholly independent of his theology," a very serious statement to make concerning a professedly Christian teacher; for, if it is true, it means that his influence is not that of the Spirit of God.
Greats says:- "F. B. is at least a remarkable personality, and as such possesses the gift of producing violent reactions in those with whom he come in contact. There are few men among those who know him at all well who do not feel either an intense liking or an intense dislike for him; who are not by turns surprised, admiring, disappointed, enthusiastic, disgusted, afraid or scornful of this apparently commonplace American" (" Life Changers," p. 43). Again he says:—"He refused to preside at any of the meetings, but we knew without looking for him, whether he was there or not " (" Life Changers," p. 61). That F. B.'s influence is extremely strong is seen in Greats saying that he writes, "As far as possible 'in a cool hour,' after living for six months entirely out of the range of his influence and out of the sound of his name " (" Life Changers," P. 43). Greats speaks of "Some uncanny personal quality of the man, some quasi-hypnotic influence " (" Life Changers," p. 60).
We can only come to the conclusion that the above remark is true, only changing the word " quasi-hypnotic " to hypnotic.
Further, there is always the possibility of this strong influence being Satanic. We have the warning in Scripture of Satan being " transformed into an angel of light" of " false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ... whose end shall be according to their works " (2 Cor. 2:13-1513I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia. 14Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place. 15For we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: (2 Corinthians 2:13‑15)). Scripture speaks of the attempt that will be made in the last days, when "if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect" (Matt. 24:2424For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (Matthew 24:24)). It therefore behooves us to inquire very closely into this Movement.
We think the following experience of a Christian young man, well founded in the knowledge of the fundamental truths of the Christian faith, and well-known to the writer, may assure the reader that our warning is true. He says:- "At this stage I came inter touch with 'a real live Grouper.' He was a divinity student and apparently the Groups had filled him with vital religion.' He had a purpose in life. He was frank—out for the highest, and as far as I could judge a true believer.
" One night he said to me as I was leaving his house, 'Let's have a quiet time.' We sat for some time in silence. Personally my feelings were mixed, but I quietly prayed, and yet strangely unquiet in spirit. I prayed that God would protect me from error and danger. Nothing particular occurred. His 'guidance' read quite tamely. My thoughts were quite typical and normal. If not from God, specifically, at least they seemed innocuous and simple.
"A week later we met, and in the course of conversation he remarked, 'Every morning guidance has come through to read the Bible more.' That remark helped to satisfy me as to the safety of guidance. Accordingly morning by morning I practiced 'the Quiet Time' with guidance book, wondering whereunto it would grow.
"One day I was told during my Quiet Time to look out for someone, whom I was most unlikely to meet. I met him by apparent chance.
"This new field of work and adventure filled me with joy and a sense of well-being.
"At this juncture I became conscious that the sense of the love of Christ, the appreciation of His Godhead and Person, and of His work upon the Cross, had strangely receded in my mind. My sense of eternal values seemed altered.
"And I found this new type of personal work easier and more attractive than normal old-fashioned evangelism, and I began to ponder why with a certain amount of alarm.
One morning 'guidance' refused to come, and I felt that I ought to spend more time in quiet to induce what the Group speaks of as the fruit of their methods of 'Quiet Time.'
"This and other considerations made me call a halt. I found that prayer had been strangely ousted from my life, although, mysteriously enough, I had not noticed it. I got down on my knees, and cried to God to show me whether I was on the wrong track.
"Within a few hours the answer came overwhelmingly through a dozen sources. Then followed two months of acute doubt and perplexity. Thoughts that I knew were from the evil one assailed me hour by hour. The presence of Christ, ever with me, gave hope in the midst of despair, courage in the midst of fear, and the comfort of the knowledge of His great work at Calvary gave me an anchor of the soul that would not drag.
"How thankful I was that my salvation and peace rested not on the quicksands of my own surrender,' nor on the quality of my character or life, but on the unchanging love of a crucified Redeemer, who had died for me on the cross.
"As I regained what had been lost (and I cannot doubt but that Satan was the angel of light who robbed me), I set myself to study and discuss and think under the true guidance of a loving heavenly Father, until the whole position became clear to me.
"Little by little it has become obvious to me that The Movement is far more subtle than it appears. My own judgment is perfectly clear, and I would earnestly warn every true believer to steer clear of the whole movement, even where it appears quite harmless and good."
In examining the doctrines of The Movement as set forth in their literature, and the practices of the cult, and the character of its founder, we are now in a position to draw clear conclusions.