Thread by @Jedidiahhartley

Day 2 of Exposing Abusers and Grifters who Shaped the Pentecostal Church

1/11🧵on Smith Wigglesworth, a violent faith healer who would "punch sickness" out of people, his bullying ministry tactics, and his dismissal from the PMU for "shocking and sad" sexual allegations.

2. Smith Wigglesworth, who is labeled as one of "God's Generals", was a widely lauded faith healer in the early Pentecostal church.

He is commonly referred to as "the Apostle of Faith" and is considered by many to be a major pioneer of Pentecostalism.

3. Wigglesworth was known as an arrogant and violent man who would host healing revivals where he would assault sick members of the audience in, what he considered, an act of faith.

Wigglesworth often "drove his fist into the stomach of those suffering" in order to heal them.

4. Wigglesworth claimed healings came from this abrasive approach. However when many reported they were unhealed or harmed by Wigglesworth, he would often blame them for their "lack of faith". Even once shoving a man off the platform when he returned to Wigglesworth unhealed.

5. Wigglesworth defended his violent approach to healing by claiming he was "dealing with satanic forces that [were] binding the person", stating "demon power must be dislodged" and espousing a dangerous belief that sickness was related to "misconduct" and spiritual neglect.

6. While Wigglesworth approach to healing will seem unbelievably extreme, his method has inspired many other "faith healers" to follow suit. A contemporary example of a violent faith healer can be found in Todd Bentley (who will get his own thread on another day).

7. Wigglesworth apologist, Julian Wilson, writes in her biographical account of the ministers life, about a crippled woman who successfully sued Wigglesworth for harming her through his "usual vigorous" healing method.

Wilson dismisses the women's claim as "completely bogus" however offers no defense as to why the claim was bogus.

8. Wilson also includes in her book a 1922 newspaper article from the Sun that criticized Wigglesworth faith-healing performance, calling it a "cruellest kind of torture" and pointing to Wigglesworth tendency to blame unsuccessful healings on the sufferer's "lack of faith".

9. In addition to Wigglesworth's violent approach to faith healing, he was forced to resign from the PMU when two women wrote a "letter of complaint" about Wigglesworth behaviors.

Wigglesworth vaguely admitted to "foolishness", however he contended that God had forgiven him and that the two women were attempting to join together to ruin his work.

10. While there is no accessible record of what transpired between Wigglesworth and these two women, fellow pastor and PMU board member, Cecil Polhill claimed that one of the victims testimony of the event painted a "truly sad and shocking story", and the board ruled to expel Wigglesworth due to his behavior.

11. Pay close attention to Wigglesworth defense of his actions (dismissing his behaviors as mere "foolishness", claiming it was not a sin as he did not commit adultery, and painting his victims as conspirators) as they behaviors eerily echoed by future Pentecostal figures.