What do you think?
Rate this book
The Gospel of Healing
In preparing the original manuscript for this book in 1888, Albert B. Simpson wrote, "The importance of this subject and the emphatic way in which God's Spirit is pressing it into the attention of His people demand for it the most careful and thorough scriptural study." Consider it carefully.
- GenresChristianChristianity
Paperback
First published May 1, 1986
About the author
A.B. Simpson
317 books43 followersAlbert Benjamin "A.B." Simpson (December 15, 1843 – October 29, 1919) was a Canadian preacher, theologian, author, and founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA), an evangelical Protestant denomination with an emphasis on global evangelism.
Simpson was born in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada as the third son and fourth child of James Simpson, Jr. and Janet Clark. Author Harold H. Simpson has gathered an extensive genealogy of Cavendish families in Cavendish: Its History, Its People. His research establishes the Clark family (A.B. Simpson's mother’s side) as one of the founding families of Cavendish in 1790, along with the Simpson family, and he traces common ancestors between Albert B. Simpson and Lucy Maud Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables.
The young Albert was raised in a strict Calvinistic Scottish Presbyterian and Puritan tradition. His conversion of faith began under the ministry of Henry Grattan Guinness, a visiting evangelist from Ireland during the revival of 1859. Simpson spent some time in the Chatham, Ontario area, and received his theological training in Toronto at Knox College, University of Toronto. After graduating in 1865, Simpson was subsequently ordained in the Canada Presbyterian Church, the largest of the Presbyterian groups in Canada that merged after his departure for the United States. At age 21, he accepted a call to the large Knox Presbyterian Church (closed in 1971) in nearby Hamilton, Ontario.
In December 1873, at age 30, Simpson left Canada and assumed the pulpit of the largest Presbyterian church in Louisville, Kentucky, the Chestnut Street Presbyterian Church. It was in Louisville that he first conceived of preaching the gospel to the common man by building a simple tabernacle structure for that purpose. Despite his success at the Chestnut Street Church, Simpson was frustrated by their reluctance to embrace this burden for wider evangelistic endeavor.
In 1880, Simpson was called to the Thirteenth Street Presbyterian Church in New York City where he immediately began reaching out to the world with the gospel. Beside active evangelistic work in the church, he published a missionary journal, The Gospel in All Lands, the first missionary journal with pictures. Simpson also founded and began publishing an illustrated magazine entitled The Word, Work, and World. By 1911, this magazine became known as The Alliance Weekly, then Alliance Life, and is now called a.life. It is the official publication of The Christian and Missionary Alliance, in the USA and Canada.
By 1881, after only two fruitful years at Thirteenth Presbyterian, he resigned in order to begin an independent gospel ministry to the many new immigrants and the neglected masses of New York City. Simpson began informal training classes in 1882 in order to reach "the neglected peoples of the world with the neglected resources of the church". By 1883, a formal program was in place and ministers and missionaries were being trained in a multi-cultural context (This school was the beginning of Nyack College and Alliance Theological Seminary). In 1889, Simpson and his church family moved into their new home at the corner of 44th St. and 8th Av. called the New York Tabernacle. This became the base not only of his ministry of evangelism in the city but also of his growing work of worldwide missions.
Simpson was born in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada as the third son and fourth child of James Simpson, Jr. and Janet Clark. Author Harold H. Simpson has gathered an extensive genealogy of Cavendish families in Cavendish: Its History, Its People. His research establishes the Clark family (A.B. Simpson's mother’s side) as one of the founding families of Cavendish in 1790, along with the Simpson family, and he traces common ancestors between Albert B. Simpson and Lucy Maud Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables.
The young Albert was raised in a strict Calvinistic Scottish Presbyterian and Puritan tradition. His conversion of faith began under the ministry of Henry Grattan Guinness, a visiting evangelist from Ireland during the revival of 1859. Simpson spent some time in the Chatham, Ontario area, and received his theological training in Toronto at Knox College, University of Toronto. After graduating in 1865, Simpson was subsequently ordained in the Canada Presbyterian Church, the largest of the Presbyterian groups in Canada that merged after his departure for the United States. At age 21, he accepted a call to the large Knox Presbyterian Church (closed in 1971) in nearby Hamilton, Ontario.
In December 1873, at age 30, Simpson left Canada and assumed the pulpit of the largest Presbyterian church in Louisville, Kentucky, the Chestnut Street Presbyterian Church. It was in Louisville that he first conceived of preaching the gospel to the common man by building a simple tabernacle structure for that purpose. Despite his success at the Chestnut Street Church, Simpson was frustrated by their reluctance to embrace this burden for wider evangelistic endeavor.
In 1880, Simpson was called to the Thirteenth Street Presbyterian Church in New York City where he immediately began reaching out to the world with the gospel. Beside active evangelistic work in the church, he published a missionary journal, The Gospel in All Lands, the first missionary journal with pictures. Simpson also founded and began publishing an illustrated magazine entitled The Word, Work, and World. By 1911, this magazine became known as The Alliance Weekly, then Alliance Life, and is now called a.life. It is the official publication of The Christian and Missionary Alliance, in the USA and Canada.
By 1881, after only two fruitful years at Thirteenth Presbyterian, he resigned in order to begin an independent gospel ministry to the many new immigrants and the neglected masses of New York City. Simpson began informal training classes in 1882 in order to reach "the neglected peoples of the world with the neglected resources of the church". By 1883, a formal program was in place and ministers and missionaries were being trained in a multi-cultural context (This school was the beginning of Nyack College and Alliance Theological Seminary). In 1889, Simpson and his church family moved into their new home at the corner of 44th St. and 8th Av. called the New York Tabernacle. This became the base not only of his ministry of evangelism in the city but also of his growing work of worldwide missions.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 25, 2012
Classic work and teaching of where the C&MA came from, and is no more
A.B. Simpson was the founder of The Christian and Missionary Alliance. He was in many ways a study in contrasts. He was trained and raised a Scottish Presbyterian who was steeped in Calvinism. However, his own personal religious path, brought him in touch with the holiness movement of the later 19th century and he was very much influenced and attracted to the spiritual dynamism that was so different from his own more conservative tradition.
Simpson retained his theological training but branched out in the influence of what he say as a necessary enthusiasm and dynamic spiritual life. His training was often in conflict with his experience. Yet he seemed to be little concerned about that and to reach out and grasp that which in his experience and observation worked.
As a result, he became a leading spokesman for foreign missions and for the fourfold gospel. Key within the fourfold Gospel was the importance of healing. Simpson believed healing was in the atonement and thus the Christian should in faith reach out and receive. He rejected much of medicine opting instead for direct healing intervention from God. To this end he himself sought healing in camps and meetings organized for just that purpose.
Today's C&MA and much of the evangelical church no longer holds to such an extreme line. This is evidenced within the C&MA where Simpson's works on healing are no longer held in high regard as evidenced by their low circulation. If you want to see what the Alliance holds to today, you must go to the later work "The Children's Bread" by Keith Bailey.
Of the original 4-Fold gospel, healing and sanctification receive considerable less attention than they did historically. Much of that change can be traced to the exodus in the early 20th century from the Alliance into what became the Assemblies of God. The Alliance is not stated anti-charismatic but in practise the gifts and the elements of healing embraced and evidenced in this book by Simpson are just not a viable and important part of most Alliance Churches.
There still remains a very strong appeal for the faith and experience of Simpson. This is an excellent work to study and see from whence the C&MA has come and where it is now. Perhaps the pendulum has swung too far and Simpson ironically has something more to say to his prodigal movement today.
A.B. Simpson was the founder of The Christian and Missionary Alliance. He was in many ways a study in contrasts. He was trained and raised a Scottish Presbyterian who was steeped in Calvinism. However, his own personal religious path, brought him in touch with the holiness movement of the later 19th century and he was very much influenced and attracted to the spiritual dynamism that was so different from his own more conservative tradition.
Simpson retained his theological training but branched out in the influence of what he say as a necessary enthusiasm and dynamic spiritual life. His training was often in conflict with his experience. Yet he seemed to be little concerned about that and to reach out and grasp that which in his experience and observation worked.
As a result, he became a leading spokesman for foreign missions and for the fourfold gospel. Key within the fourfold Gospel was the importance of healing. Simpson believed healing was in the atonement and thus the Christian should in faith reach out and receive. He rejected much of medicine opting instead for direct healing intervention from God. To this end he himself sought healing in camps and meetings organized for just that purpose.
Today's C&MA and much of the evangelical church no longer holds to such an extreme line. This is evidenced within the C&MA where Simpson's works on healing are no longer held in high regard as evidenced by their low circulation. If you want to see what the Alliance holds to today, you must go to the later work "The Children's Bread" by Keith Bailey.
Of the original 4-Fold gospel, healing and sanctification receive considerable less attention than they did historically. Much of that change can be traced to the exodus in the early 20th century from the Alliance into what became the Assemblies of God. The Alliance is not stated anti-charismatic but in practise the gifts and the elements of healing embraced and evidenced in this book by Simpson are just not a viable and important part of most Alliance Churches.
There still remains a very strong appeal for the faith and experience of Simpson. This is an excellent work to study and see from whence the C&MA has come and where it is now. Perhaps the pendulum has swung too far and Simpson ironically has something more to say to his prodigal movement today.
October 14, 2014
I think this is a good book to get you focused back onto Christ being our ultimate healer. That all sickness and diseases were healed, bore on Christ's body and we are therefore healed and made whole through the cross in all aspects of our lives...spiritually, mentally and physically. Many aspects are pointed out about healing, but they themselves are not the cure. It's about going to God and finding out through His word what He have you to do. At times I felt a little condemnation as I am on meds, seeing Drs for Ewings Sarcoma I've been battling for 5 years and more recently been given not a great outlook. But through it all I keep trusting God, sometimes feel I'm not (but feelings are like the wind they come and go). My mum said the book is not to condemn, and then the word came to me that condemnation is not from Christ. So I continued and finished the book. Glad I did ad for me it brought my focus back on God and the importance of being in His word and trusting and relying and having faith in Him. Sorry if I waffled a little, just my thoughts I had whilst reading this book.
November 16, 2017
Simpson advocates for the place of healing in Christian work today. Much of his book is given over to analysis of the scriptural descriptions of healing. The least powerful part of his argument is his assertion that divine healing, properly applied, is always wholly complete on Earth and human "means" are never to be employed by believers (Consider the limitations on spiritual gifts described in 1 Cor 13:8-10 and the fact that he resorted to reading glasses at the end of his life and died in a sanitarium). His most convincing demonstrations are 1) the close relationship between physical and spiritual healing exemplified in the witness of Scripture and 2) A. B. Simpson's personal testimony included in Chapter VI. Though I feel some specifics are misstated, this forms a convincing basis for a theology of healing for today's church.
August 30, 2019
Una Gran Bendición
Excelente libro. Todos deberían leerlo. La sanidad divina esta disponible para todos. Grandes testimonios. Una gran oportunidad para conocer a Dios personalmente.
Excelente libro. Todos deberían leerlo. La sanidad divina esta disponible para todos. Grandes testimonios. Una gran oportunidad para conocer a Dios personalmente.
Read
November 1, 2012Definitely did not agree with everything. But made me think, which is good.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews