The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-01-07
S. J. higgins Withdraws From
Parham School.
Takes No Stock in Recent ssGift
Of Tongues"
STRANGE GIBBERTSH.
ssStudents'' Talk But No One
Understands Them.
Mr.. Parham Calls 1t g Power of
the LOrd.''

There is row at Bethel Bible col
lege. S. J. higgins, a student. is the
cause of the trouble. He pronounces the
institution a fake of the most pro-
nounced type. This is the school at the
Stone mansion west of the city, found
ed by Rev. Charles F. Parham, and
which he is conducting on faith prin-
ciples.
Mr.. Parham and his followers believe
they have the gift of tongues spoken of
in the second chapter Of the Acts of the
Apostles. With this they believe they
have the power of discernment and the
gift Of prophecy.
Mr.. higgins came to the school sew
eral weeks ago with class from Kan
sas City. He went there, as he says, ito
study the Bible and do what I could for
the cause Of God, but there were those
at the school whom I did not think were
the earnest Christians I had supposed
them to be, and left the school to work
in the city and study the Bible. Later
went to Kansas City and worked with
one of the missions there, and after
wards came back to Bethel. This was
after the ones with whom felt could
not work had left.
After staying at the school the last
time things came to a pretty pass. They
began to claim the gift of tongues and
the gift Of diScernment, and each
talked a different kind of gibberish,
claiming to be inspired by God, and that
they talked one of the foreign Ian
guages-
Il was not under the influence, and
could see that the students of the school
had been led to this extreme through
their fanaticism, and finally decided to
leave the school. Accordingly last Sat
urday morning I went away, but before
going called the inmates of the build
ing together and explained to them my
reasons for leaving. I told them they
were under the influence of the evil one
nd hoe n
would be to leave the school, as was
doing. They all laughed at me, and ]
left the school, and do not intend to
return"
The Bible school was started at
Stones Folly some months ago by
Mr.. Parham, who for several years has
been the pastor of the Apostolic congre-
cation in this city. He was brought into
some prominence last fall through be-
ing connected for a time with Rev
Sandborn, who took a class of about
sixty to his Bible school at Shiloh, Me,
among them being Lizzie Bell the To-
pelxa girl who ran away from the school
during an alleged fit of temporary in
sanity.
After returning from Shiloh, Me-. Mr.
Parham shortly after started the Bible
school in this city, which is conducted
on the lines laid down by the larger
school at Shiloh.
Theirs is faith belief, and it IS
through faith and prayer that the
school is kept in existence. Everything
used at the school has been furnished
through free-will offering and in an
sWer to prayer It is their belief that
everything needed BY them will be fur
Their faith also teaches healing through
prayer.
About week ago the "gift of
tongue was bestowed upon one Of their
number, Miss Agnes N. Oman, who be-
gan to speak in words which 1T is
claimed is one of the foreign languages.
Since that time she has written and
spoken several languages it is claimed
through inspiration of God.
About fifteen members of the colony
have now been given the gift of tongue,
and when a State Journal reporter
called at the school this morning each
spoke a few sentences in strange and
unnatural way, Outlandish words which
they neither knew the meaning of nor
the language to which they belonged.
Their reason for uttering them is that
the Lord inspires them, and that dur
ing the time they are speaking they do
not know what they are saying, but
afterwards the Lord prompts them to
utter the meaning of the strange words
1t is a peculiar sight to see a whole
room full of the men and women or the
school sitting around, occasionally
breaking out with brief OutburSts Of
talk in one of the many languages
which they claim to speak, and writing
the quaint and indistin guishable hero
glyphics which they believe to be the
characters for words in the Syrian, Chi
nese, japanese, Arabic and other Ian
guages.
Mr.. Parham said: 1T is a wonderful
work, coming as it does on the eve of
the twentieth century. We have for
long believed that the power of the Lord
would be manifested in our midst, and
that power would be given US to speak
other languages, and that the time viii
come when we will be sent to go into all
the nations and preach the gospel, and
that the Lord will give us the power of
speech to talk to the people of the vari-
Gus nations without having to study
them in schools