Evan
Roberts and Jessie Penn-Lewis were the central minister and the most
influential expositor,[1]
respectively, of the Welsh holiness revivalism concentrated from December 1904
to May 1905,[2]
co-opting and eclipsing a genuine revival movement in Wales that had already
been occurring. Roberts received infant baptism
a few weeks after his birth on June 8, 1878[3]
and grew up in the Calvinistic Methodist denomination. His “name appears in the church roll for the
first time in 1893-94” after taking a “preparation class,”[4]
but evidence of his own personal conversion is very weak at best.[5] A minister claimed that he had been the
instrument some time after 1898 of Roberts’s “conversion or consecration,”[6]
but Roberts himself does not appear to have affirmed that he was born again at
that time—indeed, Roberts testified that he was not a Christian until a number
of months before the onset of his work of holiness revivalism.[7] The closest one can come to a testimony of
conversion by Roberts appears to be a time when he was “taking steps to enter
ministerial training” and seeking to be “baptized with the Spirit.” Hearing a “voice . . . within his troubled
heart” about willingness to receive the Spirit, “he went . . . to the chapel”[8]
where a Keswick-style Convention was taking place[9]
and at that meeting, affirmed:
Roberts and Jessie Penn-Lewis were the central minister and the most
influential expositor,[1]
respectively, of the Welsh holiness revivalism concentrated from December 1904
to May 1905,[2]
co-opting and eclipsing a genuine revival movement in Wales that had already
been occurring. Roberts received infant baptism
a few weeks after his birth on June 8, 1878[3]
and grew up in the Calvinistic Methodist denomination. His “name appears in the church roll for the
first time in 1893-94” after taking a “preparation class,”[4]
but evidence of his own personal conversion is very weak at best.[5] A minister claimed that he had been the
instrument some time after 1898 of Roberts’s “conversion or consecration,”[6]
but Roberts himself does not appear to have affirmed that he was born again at
that time—indeed, Roberts testified that he was not a Christian until a number
of months before the onset of his work of holiness revivalism.[7] The closest one can come to a testimony of
conversion by Roberts appears to be a time when he was “taking steps to enter
ministerial training” and seeking to be “baptized with the Spirit.” Hearing a “voice . . . within his troubled
heart” about willingness to receive the Spirit, “he went . . . to the chapel”[8]
where a Keswick-style Convention was taking place[9]
and at that meeting, affirmed:
What boiled in my bosom was
the verse, “For God commendeth his love.”
I fell on my knees with my arms outstretched on the seat before me. The perspiration poured down my face and my
tears streamed quickly until I thought the blood came out. Mrs. Davies of Mona, Newquay, came to wipe my
face, and Magdalen Phillips stood on my right and Maud Davies on my left. I cried, “Bend Me, Bend Me, Bend Me. . . .
OH! OH! OH! . . . After I was bended, a wave of peace and joy filled my bosom.[10]
the verse, “For God commendeth his love.”
I fell on my knees with my arms outstretched on the seat before me. The perspiration poured down my face and my
tears streamed quickly until I thought the blood came out. Mrs. Davies of Mona, Newquay, came to wipe my
face, and Magdalen Phillips stood on my right and Maud Davies on my left. I cried, “Bend Me, Bend Me, Bend Me. . . .
OH! OH! OH! . . . After I was bended, a wave of peace and joy filled my bosom.[10]
Roberts
affirmed that “Living Energy” came and “invaded his soul, burst all his bonds,
and overwhelmed him,” and he gave his testimony at the afternoon service about
this experience “as if it were a kind of conversion or new birth”[11]
through seeking and receiving Spirit baptism. Through this Keswick-inspired
experience, “the blessing . . . [was] borne to Wales from Keswick and the
conventions at Llandrindod and Pontypridd.”[12] Evan Roberts testified that a “living energy
or force enter[ed] his bosom till it held his breath and made his legs tremble.”[13] He took this feeling as evidence that his
sins were forgiven and that the spirit which had entered him, hindering his
breathing and making his legs wobbly, was the Holy Spirit. Such “bodily agitations . . . [and]
convulsions were the natural and legitimate results of the new birth,”[14]
in his view, although his landlady turned him out of the house, having “become
afraid of him,” fearing “he was possessed or somewhat mad.”[15]
affirmed that “Living Energy” came and “invaded his soul, burst all his bonds,
and overwhelmed him,” and he gave his testimony at the afternoon service about
this experience “as if it were a kind of conversion or new birth”[11]
through seeking and receiving Spirit baptism. Through this Keswick-inspired
experience, “the blessing . . . [was] borne to Wales from Keswick and the
conventions at Llandrindod and Pontypridd.”[12] Evan Roberts testified that a “living energy
or force enter[ed] his bosom till it held his breath and made his legs tremble.”[13] He took this feeling as evidence that his
sins were forgiven and that the spirit which had entered him, hindering his
breathing and making his legs wobbly, was the Holy Spirit. Such “bodily agitations . . . [and]
convulsions were the natural and legitimate results of the new birth,”[14]
in his view, although his landlady turned him out of the house, having “become
afraid of him,” fearing “he was possessed or somewhat mad.”[15]
Although there are not strong
grounds to conclude that Roberts was, at whatever point, genuinely converted,
and not just the subject of a variety of powerful religious experiences arising
from his flesh or from the devil, at least “ever since he had been filled with
the Spirit he had been physically conscious of the Spirit’s prohibitions and
commands”[16] in
voices and visions. He “began to have
visions”[17] from
the time of his Spirit baptism and alleged conversion, so that “it [was]
evident that Evan Roberts [was] conscious that he ha[d] received a gift of
prophecy through his baptism of the Spirit.”[18] Roberts’s experiences were comparable to
those of “St. Teresa, Jakob Boehme, George Fox, [and] Ignatius Loyola,”[19]
having the same sources in the spirit world as such Roman Catholic,
theosophist, and Quaker luminaries.
grounds to conclude that Roberts was, at whatever point, genuinely converted,
and not just the subject of a variety of powerful religious experiences arising
from his flesh or from the devil, at least “ever since he had been filled with
the Spirit he had been physically conscious of the Spirit’s prohibitions and
commands”[16] in
voices and visions. He “began to have
visions”[17] from
the time of his Spirit baptism and alleged conversion, so that “it [was]
evident that Evan Roberts [was] conscious that he ha[d] received a gift of
prophecy through his baptism of the Spirit.”[18] Roberts’s experiences were comparable to
those of “St. Teresa, Jakob Boehme, George Fox, [and] Ignatius Loyola,”[19]
having the same sources in the spirit world as such Roman Catholic,
theosophist, and Quaker luminaries.
[1] Of course, other men were involved, such as “W. S.
Jones,” who not long before 1904 “had a vision,” after which it “soon became
evident that God had chosen him to be the first receiver and transmitter of
Holy Spirit baptism. Around him there
gathered a group of young pastors such as Keri Evans, W. W. Lewis and D.
Saunders who sought the same experience” (pgs. xvi-xvii, An Instrument of Revival, Jones).
Nevertheless, “Evan Roberts . . . must be placed at the center of
events” (Pg. xviii, Ibid.).
Jones,” who not long before 1904 “had a vision,” after which it “soon became
evident that God had chosen him to be the first receiver and transmitter of
Holy Spirit baptism. Around him there
gathered a group of young pastors such as Keri Evans, W. W. Lewis and D.
Saunders who sought the same experience” (pgs. xvi-xvii, An Instrument of Revival, Jones).
Nevertheless, “Evan Roberts . . . must be placed at the center of
events” (Pg. xviii, Ibid.).
[2] Pg. 65, Voices
from the Welsh Revival, 1904-1905, Brynmor P. Jones. It is worth noting that practically all the
resources employed in this study of Roberts, Penn-Lewis, and the Welsh revival
are written by men sympathetic or even adulatory of Evan Roberts and Jessie
Penn-Lewis and hostile to their critics.
For example, one of the least adulatory and most even-handed writers, J.
Vyrnwy Morgan, stated that “he would rather burn . . . [his] manuscript . . .
than be the cause of adversely affecting the work of God through Mr. Roberts .
. . I have . . . profound regard for Mr. Evan Roberts” (pg. 268, The Welsh Religious Revival, 1904-5: A Retrospect and a Criticism. London:
Chapman & Hall, 1909). Morgan
notes: “The title of this volume should
not be taken as implying any hostility to revivals. Criticism is the science of discrimination,
and it is the science upon which this [book] is based” (pg. xi). Other works cited frequently do not hesitate
to attack the character, impugn the motives, and employ other unjustifiable
tactics to oppose critics of Roberts, Penn-Lewis, and their ministries. The intent of these resources was by no means
to put Roberts or Penn-Lewis in a bad light.
from the Welsh Revival, 1904-1905, Brynmor P. Jones. It is worth noting that practically all the
resources employed in this study of Roberts, Penn-Lewis, and the Welsh revival
are written by men sympathetic or even adulatory of Evan Roberts and Jessie
Penn-Lewis and hostile to their critics.
For example, one of the least adulatory and most even-handed writers, J.
Vyrnwy Morgan, stated that “he would rather burn . . . [his] manuscript . . .
than be the cause of adversely affecting the work of God through Mr. Roberts .
. . I have . . . profound regard for Mr. Evan Roberts” (pg. 268, The Welsh Religious Revival, 1904-5: A Retrospect and a Criticism. London:
Chapman & Hall, 1909). Morgan
notes: “The title of this volume should
not be taken as implying any hostility to revivals. Criticism is the science of discrimination,
and it is the science upon which this [book] is based” (pg. xi). Other works cited frequently do not hesitate
to attack the character, impugn the motives, and employ other unjustifiable
tactics to oppose critics of Roberts, Penn-Lewis, and their ministries. The intent of these resources was by no means
to put Roberts or Penn-Lewis in a bad light.
[3] Pg. 3, An
Instrument of Revival: The Complete Life
of Evan Roberts, 1878-1951, Brynmor Pierce Jones.
Instrument of Revival: The Complete Life
of Evan Roberts, 1878-1951, Brynmor Pierce Jones.
[4] Pg. 5, An
Instrument of Revival, Jones.
Instrument of Revival, Jones.
[5] Roberts’s very sympathetic biographer B. P. Jones
believes that Roberts was converted “[a]t some point” (pg. 5, An Instrument of Revival, Jones) but
gives no specific or certain details or words of Roberts himself about this
event which Jones affirms took place.
Similarly, S. B. Shaw records Roberts’s birth, youth, and entrance into
revivalistic work in the Welsh holiness revival with not a jot or tittle of
reference to an experience of personal conversion (pgs. 121-125, The Great Revival in Wales: Also an Account of the Great Revival in
Ireland in 1859, S. B. Shaw. Chicago, IL: S. B. Shaw, 1905). Nor does W. T. Stead record a syllable that
recounts a reasonable personal conversion testimony in his account of Evan
Roberts’s life (pgs. 41ff., The Revival in the West, W.
T. Stead). Instead, Roberts passes from
thinking he is not a Christian to being someone who has visions and encounters
with supernatural forces and therefore concludes that he belongs to God.
believes that Roberts was converted “[a]t some point” (pg. 5, An Instrument of Revival, Jones) but
gives no specific or certain details or words of Roberts himself about this
event which Jones affirms took place.
Similarly, S. B. Shaw records Roberts’s birth, youth, and entrance into
revivalistic work in the Welsh holiness revival with not a jot or tittle of
reference to an experience of personal conversion (pgs. 121-125, The Great Revival in Wales: Also an Account of the Great Revival in
Ireland in 1859, S. B. Shaw. Chicago, IL: S. B. Shaw, 1905). Nor does W. T. Stead record a syllable that
recounts a reasonable personal conversion testimony in his account of Evan
Roberts’s life (pgs. 41ff., The Revival in the West, W.
T. Stead). Instead, Roberts passes from
thinking he is not a Christian to being someone who has visions and encounters
with supernatural forces and therefore concludes that he belongs to God.
[6] Pg. 9, An
Instrument of Revival, Jones.
Instrument of Revival, Jones.
[7] Pg. 41, The
Revival in the West, W. T. Stead.
“[A]ccording to his own account . . . he was not a Christian until
little more than fifteen months” before Stead wrote his book in 1904 (Ibid).
Revival in the West, W. T. Stead.
“[A]ccording to his own account . . . he was not a Christian until
little more than fifteen months” before Stead wrote his book in 1904 (Ibid).
[8] Pg. 24, An
Instrument of Revival, Jones.
Instrument of Revival, Jones.
[9] Pg.
34, Rent Heavens: The Welsh Revival of 1904, R. B. Jones, 3rd.
ed. Asheville, NC: Revival Literature, 1950.
34, Rent Heavens: The Welsh Revival of 1904, R. B. Jones, 3rd.
ed. Asheville, NC: Revival Literature, 1950.
[10] Pg. 24, An
Instrument of Revival, Jones. Note
the discussion by the headmaster of the school where Roberts prepared for the
ministry for a few weeks on pgs. 110-112, Psychological
Aspects of the Welsh Revival, A. T. Fryer.
Proceedings of the Society for
Psychical Research, Vol. 19 (December 1905).
Instrument of Revival, Jones. Note
the discussion by the headmaster of the school where Roberts prepared for the
ministry for a few weeks on pgs. 110-112, Psychological
Aspects of the Welsh Revival, A. T. Fryer.
Proceedings of the Society for
Psychical Research, Vol. 19 (December 1905).
[11] Pgs. 23-24, An
Instrument of Revival, Jones.
Instrument of Revival, Jones.
[12] Pg. 85, Rent Heavens: The Welsh Revival of 1904, R. B. Jones, 3rd.
ed. Asheville, NC: Revival Publications, 1950.
ed. Asheville, NC: Revival Publications, 1950.
[13] Pg. 19, Voices from
the Welsh Revival, 1904-1905, Brynmor P. Jones.
the Welsh Revival, 1904-1905, Brynmor P. Jones.
[14] Pg. 234, The Welsh
Religious Revival, Morgan.
Religious Revival, Morgan.
[15] Pg. 42, The Revival
in the West, W. T. Stead.
in the West, W. T. Stead.
[16] Pg. 108, An
Instrument of Revival, Jones.
Instrument of Revival, Jones.
[17] Pg. 111, Psychological
Aspects of the Welsh Revival, A. T. Fryer.
Proceedings of the Society for
Psychical Research, Vol. 19 (December 1905).
Aspects of the Welsh Revival, A. T. Fryer.
Proceedings of the Society for
Psychical Research, Vol. 19 (December 1905).
[18] Pg. 178, The
Pentecostals, Hollenweger.
Pentecostals, Hollenweger.
[19] Pg. 180, The
Pentecostals, Hollenweger.
Pentecostals, Hollenweger.
Brother Ross,
Thanks for this information on Evan Roberts.
Once, after preaching on music to a youth group, I was approached by a young person with seemingly serious questions about what I had preached. He did not seem to understand some simple statements based upon God's Word.
The youth pastor at that church was standing nearby & listening as I attempted to answer this young person's questions. He could see that I was having trouble persuading the youth. At that point he said to the young person, "When were you saved?" There was no answer. The youth pastor knew the reason for the youth's questions was that the youth was unconverted. I was immediately enlightened as to why there was a difficulty in the understanding of the youth.
As I read stories of "great Christians of the past" & take note of the unscriptural practices & doctrines, I often wish I could ask them, "When were you saved?" I believe their answer to that question would clear up a lot of questions about why they believed & practiced the way they did. A good example of this would be Charles Finney.
Yes, lack of true conversion is a big problem.
Something I have difficulty in understanding is why people who profess the necessity of conversion will exalt someone like Evan Roberts who did not have any evidence of real conversion (something we will also see in subsequent parts of this series, Lord willing). The only people who should be excited about Evan Roberts are charismatics.
Thanks for the comment.