Head of Church of England Says He Speaks in Tongues Every Day

Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, says that he speaks in “tongues” every day. In a recent interview with the Christian radio station Premier, he said, “In my own prayer life, and as part of my daily discipline, I pray in tongues every day--not as an occasional thing, but as part of daily prayer. It’s not something to make a great song and dance about. Given it’s usually extremely early in the morning it’s not usually an immensely ecstatic moment” (BBC News, Jan. 21, 2019). The “archbishop” is also open to receiving words of knowledge and prophecies. He claims that he was “filled with the Holy Spirit” and began speaking in tongues at age 19. That was at Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB), one of the largest and most prestigious Church of England parishes. It is located at the heart of Knightsbridge, London’s most exclusive shopping district, just down the street from Harrods department store. It was at Holy Trinity that the “laughing revival” was birthed in England in 1994. Nicky Gumbel, a priest at Holy Trinity, had an experience “like massive electricity going through” his body. In a meeting Gumbel was leading, a man lay on the floor with his feet in the air and started laughing like a hyena. (This information is from material published by Holy Trinity Brompton that I picked up on a research visit there in 1997.) In an interview with Charles Moore in 2013, Welby said it isn’t necessary to have a personal conversion experience to be a Christian. “There is an incredible range of ways in which the Spirit works. It doesn’t matter how you get there” (Welby interview with Charles Moore, The Daily Telegraph, Jul. 12, 2013). Welby practices Roman Catholic contemplative prayers. His “spiritual director” is a Roman Catholic priest who has taught him to engage in “the adoration of the Eucharist,” which is the worship of the consecrated host of the mass, and the methodology of Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits (The Daily Telegraph, Jul. 12, 2013). When asked if “gay sex is sinful,” Welby said, “I don’t do blanket condemnation and I haven’t got a good answer to that question” (“Justin Welby unable to give ‘straight answer,’” The Guardian, Oct. 2, 2017). In conclusion, I have a word of knowledge for Archbishop Welby that is based solidly on the Bible’s teaching: “You are the head of an apostate institution which is not a New Testament church; your ‘tongues’ are gibberish; your contemplative mysticism is demonic; and there is only one way of salvation, which is through a born again conversion experience by repentance toward God and faith in the once-for-all sacrificial blood atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

(Friday Church News Notes, February 22, 2019, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

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