The Life of Edward Irving: The Fore-Runner of the Charismatic Movement

by Arnold A. Dallimore

Book Overview

The ministry of Edward Irving in London, from its dramatic beginning in 1822 to its tragic close in 1834, when the preacher was only 42, became a talking-point of the 19th Century. An two of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0851513697
• ISBN13: 9780851513690
• Release Date: June 1983
• Publisher: Banner of Truth
• Length: 188 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Irving: Fore-Runner of Some Charismatics and Father of Many Charismatic Doctrines

I purchased Arnold Dallimore's book because the life and ministry of Edward Irving has always intrigued me. Having grown up in the Pentecostal Church and then spent several years in the Pentecostal Church as a minister before studying the Bible and leaving the Pentecostal Church, I had heard of Edward Irving. While modern Pentecostals have little knowledge of who Irving was, older Pentecostals (and especially Pentecostal colleges and seminaries) know who he was. Irving, to many Pentecostals, was way ahead of his time in his theology and practices. In this book Dallimore seeks to give us the life of Irving. This is not a collection of Irving's sermons or his theological writings. This is Irving's life on paper. Dallimore covers Irving's life from birth to death. He covers Irving's spiritual background, his early ministry, his conversion, and his fall into mystical experiences. Had Irving not become involved in the charismatics gifts, many evangelicals would probably remember him along with greats such as Jonathan Edwards or Charles Spurgeon. The book does a good job of presenting us to the man Edward Irving. By the end of the book you will want to be a lot like Irving in many ways. He was humble, he loved God, he longed to see the Spirit of God at work in the dead established Church he was apart of in 19th century England. Where he got off base was in went his desire went beyound the Scriptures to seeking personal experiences and "words from the Lord" rather than Jesus Himself. Irving was a noted preacher, a man of passion, and a man who was unwilling to just go along with popular notions and doctrines simply to fit in. He wanted to see people radically living for Jesus. Sadly, he is best remembered for his teachings on the charismatic gifts and not his ministry. My only reason for not giving Dallimore a five star rating for this book is that Dallimore tends to lump all charismatics along with Irving. If a person is charismatic in their theology then they must be a person who places personal experience above Scripture. This is simply not true of all charismatics. I would argue that my theology is somewhat charismatic (not all of it) but I certainly don't agree with Irving's entire thoughts nor do I seek personal experiences above the truth of the Word (John 8:31-32). Experience must flow from the truth of the Bible rather than vise versa (2 Timothy 3:16-4:6). However, the life of Edward Irving is a must study. I have read books on the lives of great saints such as A.W. Tozer, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, and many others but the life of Edward Irving is one that many of us can identify with. We want more out of our Christian experience and so it is easy (like Irving) to get off base as we seek more. May we learn from his example. May we stay biblical.

Excellent biography of a flawed clergyman

The late Arnold Dallimore, a Canadian pastor and popular biographer, begins this book by declaring his intent to write "without bias" and to present "historic truth with honesty and accuracy." Most readers of a Calvinist--or at least non-Charismatic--persuasion will agree that Dallimore has done his job carefully, thoughtfully, and well. Dallimore stresses Irving's great gifts and even empathizes with the eccentricities of character that propelled Irving from the pinnacle of success as a London clergyman of the 1820s to ridicule as a fanatic, a charlatan, and even a madman before his premature death in 1834.Irving seems to have been a man hard to dislike. His longtime friend, Thomas Carlyle called him "the freest, brotherliest, bravest human soul mine ever came in contact with." Yet an instability of temperament led Irving to endorse charismatic gifts such as prophecy, healing, and speaking in tongues; and support of these gifts ended with Irving's virtual subservience to their practitioners and thus to the virtual destruction of his ministry.Besides providing a portrait of a nearly forgotten preacher of the early nineteenth century, Dallimore employes Irving's instability to demonstrate the weakness of the modern charismatic movement. To my mind, his admonition to modern charismatics is sound, although they will undoubtedly disagree. Secular historians will also wonder if Dallimore's frankly stated theological agenda can coexist with the writing of unbiased history.My own most serious criticism of the biography is that in his decision to treat Irving as "the fore-runner of the charismatic movement," Dallimore has brushed lightly over Irving's other claim to theological importance, his emphasis on premillenialist eschatology, an important component of modern Protestant fundamentalism. Reviewers are rightfully warned not to criticize a book that the author has not written. Still, it is unfortunate that an author of Dallimore's abilities did not fill this void in what is likely to remain a standard biography of Edward Irving for some time to come.